BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Cody Gibson vs.
Aljamain Sterling

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

3-8-0 Cody Gibson · UFC
18-5-0 Aljamain Sterling · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

3-8-0
UFC record
18-5-0
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Bantamweight
38.9
AgeΔ 1.9 yrs
37
5'10"
HeightΔ 3"
5'7"
71"
ReachΔ 0"
71"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
0.4
Layoff (months)Δ 3 mo
3.4
LLLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
WWLWL
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.

Cody Gibson is a submission threat — 0.94 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Bantamweight norm.
Aljamain Sterling is a submission threat — 0.64 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Bantamweight norm.
Aljamain Sterling hunts takedowns — 2.54 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.12 Bantamweight 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.

Cody Gibson

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 38
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 10
Tier 3 — regional circuit 175

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.41 · 4 tier-1/2 wins · 12 finish wins over 34 documented bouts

In the UFC: 1-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record -0.1 wins over .500

Aljamain Sterling

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 185
Tier 3 — regional circuit 80

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.61 · 18 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 31 documented bouts

In the UFC: 16-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.3 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4033.59/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
14074.26/min · norm 3.52
3843.42/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
7102.15/min · norm 3.58
46.9%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
52.6%norm 43.4%
54.8%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
59.2%norm 56.6%
20.27/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · norm 0.30

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

Cody Gibson

Distance 80.9% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 16.1% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 3.0% (norm 6.5%)

Aljamain Sterling

Distance 77.2% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 10.1% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 12.7% (norm 6.5%)

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

Cody Gibson

Head 78.9% (norm 77.4%) · Body 14.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 6.4% (norm 8.4%)

Aljamain Sterling

Head 64.0% (norm 77.4%) · Body 23.3% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 12.7% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Gibson L/AAccBantamweight med Sterling L/AAccBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 284 / 695 40.9% 39.0% 941 / 2066 45.5% 39.0%
In the clinch 102 / 138 73.9% 68.7% 209 / 270 77.4% 68.7%
On the ground 17 / 26 65.4% 70.2% 257 / 339 75.8% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 269 / 678 39.7% 34.9% 703 / 1712 41.1% 34.9%
To the body 88 / 126 69.8% 66.8% 443 / 622 71.2% 66.8%
To the legs 46 / 55 83.6% 79.4% 261 / 341 76.5% 79.4%

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 (Bantamweight: 117 fighters · Bantamweight: 117 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 Gibson L/AOpp accBantamweight med vs Sterling L/AOpp accBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 269 / 677 39.7% 39.3% 567 / 1534 37.0% 39.3%
In the clinch 82 / 124 66.1% 70.4% 92 / 134 68.7% 70.4%
On the ground 33 / 49 67.3% 72.4% 51 / 71 71.8% 72.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 265 / 685 38.7% 34.9% 355 / 1230 28.9% 34.9%
To the body 65 / 98 66.3% 66.0% 190 / 302 62.9% 66.0%
To the legs 54 / 67 80.6% 79.1% 165 / 207 79.7% 79.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

1537.5% acc · 2.01/15 · norm 1.12
Takedowns landed
5632.2% acc · 2.54/15 · norm 1.12
1768.0% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
2244.9% def · norm 66.7%
27:0924.2% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
109:3333.1% of cage time · norm 17.4%
28:393:49 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
56:062:32 per 15 · norm 2:24
70.94/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
140.64/15 · norm 0.28

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.