BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Cyrille Diabate vs.
Steve Cantwell

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

4-4-0 Cyrille Diabate · UFC
1-5-0 Steve Cantwell · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

4-4-0
UFC record
1-5-0
Light Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Light Heavyweight
52.8
AgeΔ 13.1 yrs
39.7
6'6"
HeightΔ 4"
6'2"
81"
ReachΔ 6"
75"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
148.9
Layoff (months)Δ 24.4 mo
173.3
LLWWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLL
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.

Steve Cantwell is a submission threat — 0.57 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.27 Light Heavyweight norm.
Cyrille Diabate carries real power — 0.77 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.40 Light Heavyweight norm.
Steve Cantwell absorbs 6.22 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.35 Light Heavyweight norm — hittable.
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.

Cyrille Diabate

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

In the UFC: 1-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record -0.4 wins over .500

Steve Cantwell

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

In the UFC: 0-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record -0.5 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

2544.34/min · norm 3.41
Sig. strikes landed
2503.16/min · norm 3.41
981.68/min · norm 3.35
Sig. strikes absorbed
4926.22/min · norm 3.35
72.8%norm 48.3%
Striking accuracy
31.7%norm 48.3%
62.3%norm 52.9%
Striking defense
53.6%norm 52.9%
30.77/15 · norm 0.40
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · norm 0.40

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

Cyrille Diabate

Distance 74.5% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 9.2% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 16.3% (norm 10.4%)

Steve Cantwell

Distance 93.0% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 5.3% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 1.6% (norm 10.4%)

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

Cyrille Diabate

Head 67.9% (norm 79.2%) · Body 21.2% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 10.9% (norm 9.7%)

Steve Cantwell

Head 75.2% (norm 79.2%) · Body 18.0% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 6.8% (norm 9.7%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Diabate L/AAccLight Heavyweight med Cantwell L/AAccLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 177 / 260 68.1% 41.4% 210 / 734 28.6% 41.4%
In the clinch 24 / 32 75.0% 70.9% 29 / 42 69.0% 70.9%
On the ground 53 / 57 93.0% 72.3% 11 / 13 too few to rate 72.3%
BY TARGET
To the head 156 / 237 65.8% 38.9% 118 / 593 19.9% 38.9%
To the body 65 / 74 87.8% 71.9% 92 / 142 64.8% 71.9%
To the legs 33 / 38 86.8% 81.8% 40 / 54 74.1% 81.8%

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 (Light Heavyweight: 93 fighters · Light Heavyweight: 93 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 Diabate L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med vs Cantwell L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 49 / 184 26.6% 40.4% 432 / 954 45.3% 40.4%
In the clinch 18 / 25 72.0% 68.7% 45 / 84 53.6% 68.7%
On the ground 31 / 51 60.8% 70.4% 15 / 23 too few to rate 70.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 60 / 203 29.6% 37.5% 332 / 864 38.4% 37.5%
To the body 17 / 32 53.1% 72.3% 84 / 108 77.8% 72.3%
To the legs 21 / 25 84.0% 83.0% 76 / 89 85.4% 83.0%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

583.3% acc · 1.28/15 · norm 0.87
Takedowns landed
330.0% acc · 0.57/15 · norm 0.87
1657.1% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
2080.0% def · norm 66.7%
9:5316.9% of cage time · norm 16.5%
Control time
3:073.9% of cage time · norm 16.5%
23:195:58 per 15 · norm 2:48
Time under control
9:171:45 per 15 · norm 2:48
10.26/15 · norm 0.27
Submission attempts
30.57/15 · norm 0.27

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.