BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Clint Hester vs.
Robert Whittaker

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

4-3-0 Clint Hester · UFC
18-7-0 Robert Whittaker · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

4-3-0
UFC record
18-7-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
39.7
AgeΔ 4.1 yrs
35.6
6'2"
HeightΔ 2"
6'0"
77"
ReachΔ 4"
73"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
123.4
Layoff (months)Δ 122.5 mo
0.9
LLLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
WLLWW
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.

Clint Hester carries real power — 0.61 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
Robert Whittaker carries real power — 0.53 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
Robert Whittaker rarely shoots — 0.71 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.

Clint Hester

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

In the UFC: 2-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.7 wins over .500

Robert Whittaker

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 187
Tier 3 — regional circuit 92

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.3 · 18 tier-1/2 wins · 16 finish wins over 36 documented bouts

In the UFC: 16-7 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

2483.36/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
14894.41/min · norm 3.25
2543.44/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
11483.40/min · norm 3.20
42.8%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
43.4%norm 47.4%
56.9%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
59.2%norm 53.8%
30.61/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
120.53/15 · norm 0.32

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

Clint Hester

Distance 85.8% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 5.9% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 8.3% (norm 10.3%)

Robert Whittaker

Distance 90.5% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 4.9% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 4.6% (norm 10.3%)

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

Clint Hester

Head 84.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 9.3% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 6.0% (norm 8.4%)

Robert Whittaker

Head 83.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 7.3% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 9.1% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Hester L/AAccMiddleweight med Whittaker L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 191 / 497 38.4% 40.5% 1288 / 3106 41.5% 40.5%
In the clinch 23 / 34 67.6% 70.3% 100 / 167 59.9% 70.3%
On the ground 34 / 48 70.8% 69.1% 101 / 159 63.5% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 179 / 490 36.5% 38.9% 1069 / 2869 37.3% 38.9%
To the body 42 / 54 77.8% 71.7% 153 / 250 61.2% 71.7%
To the legs 27 / 35 77.1% 83.3% 267 / 313 85.3% 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 Hester L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Whittaker L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 153 / 451 33.9% 39.5% 965 / 2563 37.7% 39.5%
In the clinch 8 / 18 too few to rate 70.9% 120 / 172 69.8% 70.9%
On the ground 93 / 120 77.5% 69.0% 63 / 77 81.8% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 194 / 510 38.0% 37.9% 645 / 2110 30.6% 37.9%
To the body 30 / 39 76.9% 71.3% 234 / 378 61.9% 71.3%
To the legs 30 / 40 75.0% 82.1% 269 / 324 83.0% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

535.7% acc · 1.02/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
1638.1% acc · 0.71/15 · norm 1.42
1560.0% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
7680.0% def · norm 63.1%
12:5117.4% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
26:397.9% of cage time · norm 19.75%
22:274:33 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
36:231:36 per 15 · norm 3:00
00.00/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.47

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.