BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Conor McGregor vs.
Chad Mendes

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

10-5-0 Conor McGregor · UFC
9-5-0 Chad Mendes · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

10-5-0
UFC record
9-5-0
Featherweight
Division (benchmark)
Featherweight
38.1
AgeΔ 3.2 yrs
41.3
5'9"
HeightΔ 3"
5'6"
74"
ReachΔ 8"
66"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
0.9
Layoff (months)Δ 90.3 mo
91.2
LLLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLLW
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.

Conor McGregor carries real power — 1.72 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.29 Featherweight norm.
Chad Mendes carries real power — 1.03 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.29 Featherweight norm.
Chad Mendes hunts takedowns — 3.48 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.19 Featherweight 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.

Conor McGregor

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 105
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 41
Tier 3 — regional circuit 81

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.31 · 14 tier-1/2 wins · 20 finish wins over 29 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +7.1 wins over .500

Chad Mendes

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

In the UFC: 6-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.6 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

5995.27/min · norm 3.54
Sig. strikes landed
3813.28/min · norm 3.54
5364.71/min · norm 3.47
Sig. strikes absorbed
3322.85/min · norm 3.47
49.5%norm 45.0%
Striking accuracy
50.3%norm 45.0%
53.9%norm 54.85%
Striking defense
67.5%norm 54.85%
131.72/15 · norm 0.29
Knockdowns
81.03/15 · norm 0.29

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

Conor McGregor

Distance 84.5% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 6.2% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 9.3% (norm 6.5%)

Chad Mendes

Distance 78.6% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 4.7% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 16.6% (norm 6.5%)

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

Conor McGregor

Head 78.8% (norm 77.4%) · Body 13.1% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 8.2% (norm 7.8%)

Chad Mendes

Head 77.2% (norm 77.4%) · Body 6.5% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 16.4% (norm 7.8%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone McGregor L/AAccFeatherweight med Mendes L/AAccFeatherweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 461 / 1022 45.1% 40.9% 260 / 596 43.6% 40.9%
In the clinch 61 / 75 81.3% 70.8% 24 / 36 66.7% 70.8%
On the ground 77 / 113 68.1% 69.2% 97 / 126 77.0% 69.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 419 / 953 44.0% 37.2% 257 / 585 43.9% 37.2%
To the body 102 / 158 64.6% 68.2% 33 / 49 67.3% 68.2%
To the legs 78 / 99 78.8% 80.7% 91 / 124 73.4% 80.7%

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 (Featherweight: 126 fighters · Featherweight: 126 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 McGregor L/AOpp accFeatherweight med vs Mendes L/AOpp accFeatherweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 336 / 864 38.9% 39.2% 292 / 965 30.3% 39.2%
In the clinch 96 / 142 67.6% 70.3% 13 / 27 48.1% 70.3%
On the ground 104 / 156 66.7% 69.4% 27 / 29 93.1% 69.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 372 / 913 40.7% 35.9% 226 / 841 26.9% 35.9%
To the body 88 / 136 64.7% 67.9% 63 / 107 58.9% 67.9%
To the legs 76 / 113 67.3% 81.5% 43 / 73 58.9% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

555.6% acc · 0.66/15 · norm 1.19
Takedowns landed
2748.2% acc · 3.48/15 · norm 1.19
2266.7% def · norm 61.5%
Takedowns stopped
14100.0% def · norm 61.5%
13:5112.2% of cage time · norm 16.7%
Control time
29:4425.6% of cage time · norm 16.7%
31:344:09 per 15 · norm 3:12
Time under control
2:060:16 per 15 · norm 3:12
10.13/15 · norm 0.46
Submission attempts
20.26/15 · norm 0.46

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.