BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Chris Curtis vs.
Kelvin Gastelum

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

6-5-0 (1 NC) Chris Curtis · UFC
14-11-0 (1 NC) Kelvin Gastelum · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

6-5-0 (1 NC)
UFC record
14-11-0 (1 NC)
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
39.1
AgeΔ 4.3 yrs
34.8
5'10"
HeightΔ 1"
5'9"
75"
ReachΔ 4"
71"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
4.8
Layoff (months)Δ 1 mo
3.8
LWLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLWL
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.

Chris Curtis rarely shoots — 0.00 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Chris Curtis absorbs 5.79 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.20 Middleweight norm — hittable.
Kelvin Gastelum carries real power — 0.43 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 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.

Chris Curtis

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 87
Tier 3 — regional circuit 245

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.86 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 18 finish wins over 45 documented bouts

In the UFC: 4-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.8 wins over .500

Kelvin Gastelum

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1411
Tier 3 — regional circuit 60

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.01 · 14 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 32 documented bouts

In the UFC: 12-11 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.0 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

8485.39/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
12693.65/min · norm 3.25
9105.79/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
12223.52/min · norm 3.20
49.3%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
42.4%norm 47.4%
53.8%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
57.3%norm 53.8%
30.29/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
100.43/15 · norm 0.32

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

Chris Curtis

Distance 95.1% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 4.0% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 1.0% (norm 10.3%)

Kelvin Gastelum

Distance 90.0% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 5.7% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 4.3% (norm 10.3%)

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

Chris Curtis

Head 78.9% (norm 78.0%) · Body 18.1% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 3.0% (norm 8.4%)

Kelvin Gastelum

Head 80.8% (norm 78.0%) · Body 10.9% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 8.3% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Curtis L/AAccMiddleweight med Gastelum L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 780 / 1635 47.7% 40.5% 1082 / 2695 40.1% 40.5%
In the clinch 55 / 68 80.9% 70.3% 109 / 171 63.7% 70.3%
On the ground 13 / 17 too few to rate 69.1% 78 / 129 60.5% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 578 / 1357 42.6% 38.9% 824 / 2419 34.1% 38.9%
To the body 225 / 312 72.1% 71.7% 233 / 326 71.5% 71.7%
To the legs 45 / 51 88.2% 83.3% 212 / 250 84.8% 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 Curtis L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Gastelum L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 845 / 1865 45.3% 39.5% 1052 / 2613 40.3% 39.5%
In the clinch 45 / 76 59.2% 70.9% 102 / 153 66.7% 70.9%
On the ground 20 / 29 69.0% 69.0% 68 / 97 70.1% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 570 / 1548 36.8% 37.9% 768 / 2234 34.4% 37.9%
To the body 173 / 238 72.7% 71.3% 274 / 406 67.5% 71.3%
To the legs 167 / 184 90.8% 82.1% 180 / 223 80.7% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

00.0% acc · 0.00/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
2435.3% acc · 1.04/15 · norm 1.42
5364.6% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
5560.4% def · norm 63.1%
3:062.0% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
47:1513.6% of cage time · norm 19.75%
26:362:32 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
51:252:13 per 15 · norm 3:00
00.00/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
20.09/15 · norm 0.47

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.