BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Chris Weidman vs.
Anderson Silva

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

12-8-0 Chris Weidman · UFC
17-7-0 (1 NC) Anderson Silva · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

12-8-0
UFC record
17-7-0 (1 NC)
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
42.1
AgeΔ 9.2 yrs
51.3
6'2"
HeightΔ 0"
6'2"
78"
ReachΔ 1"
77"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
19.9
Layoff (months)Δ 49.3 mo
69.2
LWLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWL
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.

Anderson Silva carries real power — 1.00 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
Chris Weidman hunts takedowns — 3.27 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Anderson Silva rarely shoots — 0.17 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 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 Weidman

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 128
Tier 3 — regional circuit 40

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.12 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 10 finish wins over 24 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.2 wins over .500

Anderson Silva

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

In the UFC: 15-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.7 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6263.11/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
8323.07/min · norm 3.25
6793.37/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
6982.58/min · norm 3.20
45.1%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
59.0%norm 47.4%
51.0%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
59.5%norm 53.8%
50.37/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
181.00/15 · norm 0.32

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

Chris Weidman

Distance 77.4% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 6.4% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 16.2% (norm 10.3%)

Anderson Silva

Distance 76.7% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 10.4% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 12.9% (norm 10.3%)

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

Chris Weidman

Head 82.3% (norm 78.0%) · Body 11.8% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 5.9% (norm 8.4%)

Anderson Silva

Head 66.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 16.4% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 17.0% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Weidman L/AAccMiddleweight med Silva L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 416 / 1073 38.8% 40.5% 567 / 1081 52.5% 40.5%
In the clinch 58 / 89 65.2% 70.3% 123 / 147 83.7% 70.3%
On the ground 152 / 225 67.6% 69.1% 142 / 182 78.0% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 460 / 1141 40.3% 38.9% 449 / 939 47.8% 38.9%
To the body 100 / 164 61.0% 71.7% 181 / 231 78.4% 71.7%
To the legs 66 / 82 80.5% 83.3% 202 / 240 84.2% 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 Weidman L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Silva L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 423 / 1032 41.0% 39.5% 456 / 1308 34.9% 39.5%
In the clinch 101 / 148 68.2% 70.9% 72 / 129 55.8% 70.9%
On the ground 155 / 206 75.2% 69.0% 170 / 287 59.2% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 452 / 1094 41.3% 37.9% 423 / 1321 32.0% 37.9%
To the body 127 / 169 75.1% 71.3% 88 / 153 57.5% 71.3%
To the legs 100 / 123 81.3% 82.1% 187 / 250 74.8% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

4442.3% acc · 3.27/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
375.0% acc · 0.17/15 · norm 1.42
2172.4% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
5876.3% def · norm 63.1%
64:5832.2% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
13:495.1% of cage time · norm 19.75%
14:431:05 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
68:133:46 per 15 · norm 3:00
110.82/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
60.33/15 · norm 0.47

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.