BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Cub Swanson vs.
Giga Chikadze

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

16-10-0 Cub Swanson · UFC
8-4-0 Giga Chikadze · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

16-10-0
UFC record
8-4-0
Featherweight
Division (benchmark)
Featherweight
42.8
AgeΔ 4.9 yrs
37.9
5'8"
HeightΔ 4"
6'0"
70"
ReachΔ 4"
74"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
3.8
Layoff (months)Δ 4 mo
7.8
WWLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWL
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.

Giga Chikadze carries real power — 0.59 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.29 Featherweight norm.
Cub Swanson carries real power — 0.58 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.29 Featherweight norm.
Giga Chikadze rarely shoots — 0.20 takedowns 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.

Cub Swanson

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1610
Tier 3 — regional circuit 154

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

Giga Chikadze

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

In the UFC: 4-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.8 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

16455.30/min · norm 3.54
Sig. strikes landed
5893.85/min · norm 3.54
13804.44/min · norm 3.47
Sig. strikes absorbed
5313.47/min · norm 3.47
52.6%norm 45.0%
Striking accuracy
42.2%norm 45.0%
58.5%norm 54.85%
Striking defense
61.1%norm 54.85%
120.58/15 · norm 0.29
Knockdowns
60.59/15 · norm 0.29

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%)

Giga Chikadze

Distance 94.1% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 1.0% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 4.9% (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%)

Giga Chikadze

Head 74.6% (norm 77.4%) · Body 16.8% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 8.5% (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/AAccFeatherweight med Chikadze L/AAccFeatherweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1363 / 2764 49.3% 40.9% 538 / 1313 41.0% 40.9%
In the clinch 160 / 199 80.4% 70.8% 5 / 14 too few to rate 70.8%
On the ground 122 / 166 73.5% 69.2% 46 / 69 66.7% 69.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 992 / 2281 43.5% 37.2% 340 / 1042 32.6% 37.2%
To the body 323 / 432 74.8% 68.2% 154 / 235 65.5% 68.2%
To the legs 330 / 416 79.3% 80.7% 95 / 119 79.8% 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/AOpp accFeatherweight med vs Chikadze L/AOpp accFeatherweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1129 / 2932 38.5% 39.2% 491 / 1313 37.4% 39.2%
In the clinch 127 / 193 65.8% 70.3% 11 / 14 too few to rate 70.3%
On the ground 124 / 204 60.8% 69.4% 29 / 37 78.4% 69.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 885 / 2628 33.7% 35.9% 351 / 1081 32.5% 35.9%
To the body 247 / 370 66.8% 67.9% 104 / 179 58.1% 67.9%
To the legs 248 / 331 74.9% 81.5% 76 / 104 73.1% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

1451.9% acc · 0.68/15 · norm 1.19
Takedowns landed
240.0% acc · 0.20/15 · norm 1.19
8272.6% def · norm 61.5%
Takedowns stopped
2268.8% def · norm 61.5%
22:527.4% of cage time · norm 16.7%
Control time
3:102.1% of cage time · norm 16.7%
58:402:50 per 15 · norm 3:12
Time under control
18:221:47 per 15 · norm 3:12
20.10/15 · norm 0.46
Submission attempts
20.20/15 · norm 0.46

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.