BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Bryan Barberena vs.
Gerald Meerschaert

Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.

9-10-0 Bryan Barberena · UFC
12-14-0 Gerald Meerschaert · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.

9-10-0
UFC record
12-14-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
37.3
AgeΔ 1.3 yrs
38.6
6'0"
HeightΔ 1"
6'1"
72"
ReachΔ 5"
77"
Southpaw
Stance
Southpaw
28.7
Layoff (months)Δ 25.5 mo
3.2
LLLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLL
The read

What the numbers say.

Scouting notes, auto-generated — only stats deviating more than 25% from the division median make this list. No narratives, just deviations.

Gerald Meerschaert is a submission threat — 1.49 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.47 Middleweight norm.
Bryan Barberena rarely shoots — 0.13 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.
Bryan Barberena outworks the Welterweight division — 5.35 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.17 norm.
Level of competition

Who did they actually beat?

Full-career records re-graded by the tier of opposition — the same grading the Contender Series pick model uses. Records built on tier-4 competition are worth less than records built on killers.

Bryan Barberena

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 910
Tier 3 — regional circuit 92

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.74 · 9 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 30 documented bouts

In the UFC: 6-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.3 wins over .500

Gerald Meerschaert

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1214
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 10
Tier 3 — regional circuit 248

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.67 · 13 tier-1/2 wins · 35 finish wins over 59 documented bouts

In the UFC: 7-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.2 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

11915.35/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
6522.95/min · norm 3.25
10224.59/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
7603.44/min · norm 3.20
48.0%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
45.1%norm 47.4%
44.2%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
53.6%norm 53.8%
60.40/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
30.20/15 · norm 0.32

Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)

Bryan Barberena

Distance 83.3% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 11.8% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 4.9% (norm 8.1%)

Gerald Meerschaert

Distance 87.4% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 6.7% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 5.9% (norm 10.3%)

What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)

Bryan Barberena

Head 80.6% (norm 78.2%) · Body 8.7% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 10.7% (norm 8.4%)

Gerald Meerschaert

Head 85.8% (norm 78.0%) · Body 9.5% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 4.7% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.

Zone Barberena L/AAccWelterweight med Meerschaert L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 897 / 2065 43.4% 38.6% 527 / 1265 41.7% 40.5%
In the clinch 202 / 293 68.9% 67.8% 67 / 97 69.1% 70.3%
On the ground 92 / 121 76.0% 67.2% 58 / 85 68.2% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 833 / 1997 41.7% 37.2% 477 / 1241 38.4% 38.9%
To the body 158 / 216 73.1% 70.7% 112 / 138 81.2% 71.7%
To the legs 200 / 266 75.2% 82.9% 63 / 68 92.6% 83.3%

Zones with fewer than 25 attempts are marked "too few to rate". Each fighter is measured against the median of leaderboard-eligible fighters in his own division (Welterweight: 182 fighters · Middleweight: 174 fighters).

What lands on them Opponents' accuracy against each man

Green ≤ division median — harder to hit than the typical man in his division.

Zone vs Barberena L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Meerschaert L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 804 / 1546 52.0% 39.0% 525 / 1271 41.3% 39.5%
In the clinch 158 / 212 74.5% 68.9% 48 / 70 68.6% 70.9%
On the ground 60 / 73 82.2% 68.0% 187 / 297 63.0% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 656 / 1392 47.1% 35.6% 531 / 1344 39.5% 37.9%
To the body 269 / 333 80.8% 69.6% 144 / 192 75.0% 71.3%
To the legs 97 / 106 91.5% 82.1% 85 / 102 83.3% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.

222.2% acc · 0.13/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
2529.4% acc · 1.70/15 · norm 1.42
6250.0% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
1840.0% def · norm 63.1%
17:197.8% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
49:2322.4% of cage time · norm 19.75%
66:314:28 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
48:463:18 per 15 · norm 3:00
40.27/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
221.49/15 · norm 0.47

Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Meerschaert has more cage time on record.

Next move

Let the engine settle it.