Chad Mendes vs.
Jose Aldo
Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.
The men, measured.
Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.
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.
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.
Chad Mendes
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 9 | 5 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 9 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.28 · 9 tier-1/2 wins · 10 finish wins over 23 documented bouts
In the UFC: 6-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.6 wins over .500
Jose Aldo
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 14 | 9 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 18 | 1 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.13 · 14 tier-1/2 wins · 18 finish wins over 42 documented bouts
In the UFC: 14-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.5 wins over .500
The stand-up battle.
Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Chad Mendes
Distance 78.6% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 4.7% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 16.6% (norm 6.5%)
Jose Aldo
Distance 93.6% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 2.3% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 4.0% (norm 6.5%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Chad Mendes
Head 77.2% (norm 77.4%) · Body 6.5% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 16.4% (norm 7.8%)
Jose Aldo
Head 79.8% (norm 77.4%) · Body 13.9% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 6.2% (norm 7.8%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Mendes L/A | Acc | Featherweight med | Aldo L/A | Acc | Featherweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 260 / 596 | 43.6% | 40.9% | 1220 / 2802 | 43.5% | 40.9% |
| In the clinch | 24 / 36 | 66.7% | 70.8% | 56 / 69 | 81.2% | 70.8% |
| On the ground | 97 / 126 | 77.0% | 69.2% | 78 / 121 | 64.5% | 69.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 257 / 585 | 43.9% | 37.2% | 913 / 2389 | 38.2% | 37.2% |
| To the body | 33 / 49 | 67.3% | 68.2% | 280 / 416 | 67.3% | 68.2% |
| To the legs | 91 / 124 | 73.4% | 80.7% | 161 / 187 | 86.1% | 80.7% |
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 (Featherweight: 126 fighters · Featherweight: 126 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 Mendes L/A | Opp acc | Featherweight med | vs Aldo L/A | Opp acc | Featherweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 292 / 965 | 30.3% | 39.2% | 1242 / 3376 | 36.8% | 39.2% |
| In the clinch | 13 / 27 | 48.1% | 70.3% | 153 / 189 | 81.0% | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 27 / 29 | 93.1% | 69.4% | 205 / 277 | 74.0% | 69.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 226 / 841 | 26.9% | 35.9% | 991 / 2993 | 33.1% | 35.9% |
| To the body | 63 / 107 | 58.9% | 67.9% | 289 / 433 | 66.7% | 67.9% |
| To the legs | 43 / 73 | 58.9% | 81.5% | 320 / 416 | 76.9% | 81.5% |
The ground war.
Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Aldo has more cage time on record.