Daria Zhelezniakova vs.
Melissa Croden
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.
Daria Zhelezniakova
Full career not yet synced for Daria Zhelezniakova — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 2-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.0 wins over .500
Melissa Croden
Full career not yet synced for Melissa Croden — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 2-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.7 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)
Daria Zhelezniakova
Distance 95.6% (norm 80.3%) · Clinch 4.2% (norm 9.7%) · Ground 0.2% (norm 7.5%)
Melissa Croden
Distance 72.6% (norm 80.3%) · Clinch 12.4% (norm 9.7%) · Ground 14.9% (norm 7.5%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Daria Zhelezniakova
Head 80.9% (norm 75.2%) · Body 18.3% (norm 14.3%) · Legs 0.8% (norm 8.8%)
Melissa Croden
Head 78.4% (norm 75.2%) · Body 11.9% (norm 14.3%) · Legs 9.7% (norm 8.8%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Zhelezniakova L/A | Acc | Women's Bantamweight med | Croden L/A | Acc | Women's Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 188 / 481 | 39.1% | 38.3% | 118 / 292 | 40.4% | 38.3% |
| In the clinch | 13 / 21 | too few to rate | 73.3% | 34 / 50 | 68.0% | 73.3% |
| On the ground | 1 / 1 | too few to rate | 70.8% | 38 / 60 | 63.3% | 70.8% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 137 / 407 | 33.7% | 37.7% | 134 / 315 | 42.5% | 37.7% |
| To the body | 61 / 92 | 66.3% | 70.0% | 31 / 48 | 64.6% | 70.0% |
| To the legs | 4 / 4 | too few to rate | 80.9% | 25 / 39 | 64.1% | 80.9% |
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 (Women's Bantamweight: 40 fighters · Women's Bantamweight: 40 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 Zhelezniakova L/A | Opp acc | Women's Bantamweight med | vs Croden L/A | Opp acc | Women's Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 132 / 404 | 32.7% | 41.3% | 68 / 196 | 34.7% | 41.3% |
| In the clinch | 21 / 37 | 56.8% | 74.7% | 27 / 37 | 73.0% | 74.7% |
| On the ground | 12 / 19 | too few to rate | 74.2% | 0 / 1 | too few to rate | 74.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 118 / 386 | 30.6% | 38.1% | 59 / 186 | 31.7% | 38.1% |
| To the body | 28 / 50 | 56.0% | 73.2% | 29 / 40 | 72.5% | 73.2% |
| To the legs | 19 / 24 | too few to rate | 80.9% | 7 / 8 | too few to rate | 80.9% |
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 — Zhelezniakova has more cage time on record.