BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Cezar Ferreira vs.
Thiago Santos

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

9-6-0 Cezar Ferreira · UFC
14-10-0 Thiago Santos · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

9-6-0
UFC record
14-10-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
41.5
AgeΔ 1.1 yrs
42.6
6'1"
HeightΔ 1"
6'2"
78"
ReachΔ 2"
76"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
84.8
Layoff (months)Δ 36.8 mo
48
LLWWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWLL
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.

Thiago Santos carries real power — 0.88 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
Cezar Ferreira hunts takedowns — 2.69 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Cezar Ferreira owns the mat — in control 32% of cage time, vs a 20% Middleweight 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.

Cezar Ferreira

Full career not yet synced for Cezar Ferreira — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).

In the UFC: 4-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.9 wins over .500

Thiago Santos

Full career not yet synced for Thiago Santos — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).

In the UFC: 11-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.6 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

2971.90/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
8883.72/min · norm 3.25
3812.44/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
6142.57/min · norm 3.20
42.9%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
48.2%norm 47.4%
53.8%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
53.9%norm 53.8%
20.19/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
140.88/15 · norm 0.32

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

Cezar Ferreira

Distance 86.0% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 4.2% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 9.8% (norm 10.3%)

Thiago Santos

Distance 69.7% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 9.8% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 20.5% (norm 10.3%)

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

Cezar Ferreira

Head 67.7% (norm 78.0%) · Body 20.1% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 12.3% (norm 8.4%)

Thiago Santos

Head 65.9% (norm 78.0%) · Body 16.8% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 17.3% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Ferreira L/AAccMiddleweight med Santos L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 233 / 596 39.1% 40.5% 512 / 1285 39.8% 40.5%
In the clinch 18 / 29 62.1% 70.3% 150 / 181 82.9% 70.3%
On the ground 46 / 68 67.6% 69.1% 226 / 378 59.8% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 157 / 469 33.5% 38.9% 455 / 1216 37.4% 38.9%
To the body 75 / 139 54.0% 71.7% 204 / 309 66.0% 71.7%
To the legs 65 / 85 76.5% 83.3% 229 / 319 71.8% 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 (Middleweight: 174 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 Ferreira L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Santos L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 260 / 651 39.9% 39.5% 417 / 1085 38.4% 39.5%
In the clinch 63 / 97 64.9% 70.9% 87 / 110 79.1% 70.9%
On the ground 58 / 77 75.3% 69.0% 110 / 138 79.7% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 260 / 645 40.3% 37.9% 330 / 914 36.1% 37.9%
To the body 58 / 87 66.7% 71.3% 141 / 215 65.6% 71.3%
To the legs 63 / 93 67.7% 82.1% 143 / 204 70.1% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

2853.8% acc · 2.69/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
1433.3% acc · 0.88/15 · norm 1.42
2284.6% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
3865.5% def · norm 63.1%
49:3031.7% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
31:3813.2% of cage time · norm 19.75%
11:121:04 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
39:232:28 per 15 · norm 3:00
50.48/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
10.06/15 · norm 0.47

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.