BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Chuck Liddell vs.
Wanderlei Silva

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

16-7-0 Chuck Liddell · UFC
5-7-0 Wanderlei Silva · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

16-7-0
UFC record
5-7-0
Light Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Light Heavyweight
56.6
AgeΔ 6.5 yrs
50.1
6'2"
HeightΔ 3"
5'11"
76"
ReachΔ 2"
74"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
193.8
Layoff (months)Δ 32.7 mo
161.1
LLLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
WLWLW
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.

Wanderlei Silva carries real power — 1.11 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.40 Light Heavyweight norm.
Chuck Liddell carries real power — 1.03 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.40 Light Heavyweight norm.
Wanderlei Silva rarely shoots — 0.25 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.87 Light Heavyweight 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.

Chuck Liddell

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

In the UFC: 12-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.7 wins over .500

Wanderlei Silva

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

In the UFC: 3-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.1 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6112.99/min · norm 3.41
Sig. strikes landed
3252.66/min · norm 3.41
4342.12/min · norm 3.35
Sig. strikes absorbed
3913.21/min · norm 3.35
37.3%norm 48.3%
Striking accuracy
33.6%norm 48.3%
60.2%norm 52.9%
Striking defense
62.8%norm 52.9%
141.03/15 · norm 0.40
Knockdowns
91.11/15 · norm 0.40

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

Chuck Liddell

Distance 81.2% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 8.2% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 10.6% (norm 10.4%)

Wanderlei Silva

Distance 84.1% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 10.9% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 5.1% (norm 10.4%)

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

Chuck Liddell

Head 84.5% (norm 79.2%) · Body 4.0% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 11.6% (norm 9.7%)

Wanderlei Silva

Head 85.7% (norm 79.2%) · Body 5.9% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 8.4% (norm 9.7%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Liddell L/AAccLight Heavyweight med Silva L/AAccLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 430 / 1329 32.4% 41.4% 229 / 812 28.2% 41.4%
In the clinch 83 / 134 61.9% 70.9% 65 / 105 61.9% 70.9%
On the ground 98 / 173 56.6% 72.3% 31 / 49 63.3% 72.3%
BY TARGET
To the head 417 / 1382 30.2% 38.9% 228 / 828 27.5% 38.9%
To the body 45 / 65 69.2% 71.9% 43 / 57 75.4% 71.9%
To the legs 149 / 189 78.8% 81.8% 54 / 81 66.7% 81.8%

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 (Light Heavyweight: 93 fighters · Light Heavyweight: 93 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 Liddell L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med vs Silva L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 367 / 977 37.6% 40.4% 329 / 933 35.3% 40.4%
In the clinch 41 / 72 56.9% 68.7% 31 / 57 54.4% 68.7%
On the ground 26 / 42 61.9% 70.4% 31 / 60 51.7% 70.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 262 / 886 29.6% 37.5% 282 / 906 31.1% 37.5%
To the body 51 / 63 81.0% 72.3% 68 / 93 73.1% 72.3%
To the legs 121 / 142 85.2% 83.0% 41 / 51 80.4% 83.0%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

787.5% acc · 0.51/15 · norm 0.87
Takedowns landed
240.0% acc · 0.25/15 · norm 0.87
7081.4% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
1248.0% def · norm 66.7%
17:399.8% of cage time · norm 16.5%
Control time
4:193.6% of cage time · norm 16.5%
10:450:47 per 15 · norm 2:48
Time under control
24:082:58 per 15 · norm 2:48
00.00/15 · norm 0.27
Submission attempts
10.12/15 · norm 0.27

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.