Cub Swanson vs.
Darren Elkins
Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.
The men, measured.
Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.
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.
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.
Cub Swanson
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 16 | 10 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 15 | 4 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.93 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 19 finish wins over 45 documented bouts
In the UFC: 12-10 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.9 wins over .500
Darren Elkins
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 19 | 11 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 10 | 1 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.15 · 19 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 41 documented bouts
In the UFC: 13-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.3 wins over .500
The stand-up battle.
Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Cub Swanson
Distance 88.3% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 6.4% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 5.3% (norm 6.5%)
Darren Elkins
Distance 75.8% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 11.7% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 12.4% (norm 6.5%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Cub Swanson
Head 72.9% (norm 77.4%) · Body 13.8% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 13.3% (norm 7.8%)
Darren Elkins
Head 86.2% (norm 77.4%) · Body 11.6% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 2.2% (norm 7.8%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Swanson L/A | Acc | Featherweight med | Elkins L/A | Acc | Featherweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 1363 / 2764 | 49.3% | 40.9% | 685 / 2348 | 29.2% | 40.9% |
| In the clinch | 160 / 199 | 80.4% | 70.8% | 242 / 363 | 66.7% | 70.8% |
| On the ground | 122 / 166 | 73.5% | 69.2% | 263 / 385 | 68.3% | 69.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 992 / 2281 | 43.5% | 37.2% | 904 / 2670 | 33.9% | 37.2% |
| To the body | 323 / 432 | 74.8% | 68.2% | 235 / 359 | 65.5% | 68.2% |
| To the legs | 330 / 416 | 79.3% | 80.7% | 51 / 67 | 76.1% | 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 Swanson L/A | Opp acc | Featherweight med | vs Elkins L/A | Opp acc | Featherweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 1129 / 2932 | 38.5% | 39.2% | 817 / 1924 | 42.5% | 39.2% |
| In the clinch | 127 / 193 | 65.8% | 70.3% | 166 / 227 | 73.1% | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 124 / 204 | 60.8% | 69.4% | 186 / 244 | 76.2% | 69.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 885 / 2628 | 33.7% | 35.9% | 853 / 1992 | 42.8% | 35.9% |
| To the body | 247 / 370 | 66.8% | 67.9% | 182 / 245 | 74.3% | 67.9% |
| To the legs | 248 / 331 | 74.9% | 81.5% | 134 / 158 | 84.8% | 81.5% |
The ground war.
Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Elkins has more cage time on record.