David Abbott vs.
Paul Varelans
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.
David Abbott
Full career not yet synced for David Abbott — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 3-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.9 wins over .500
Paul Varelans
Full career not yet synced for Paul Varelans — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.6 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)
David Abbott
Distance 44.4% (norm 50.2%) · Clinch 26.2% (norm 14.9%) · Ground 29.3% (norm 28.7%)
Paul Varelans
Distance 54.7% (norm 50.2%) · Clinch 28.1% (norm 14.9%) · Ground 17.2% (norm 28.7%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
David Abbott
Head 97.4% (norm 81.2%) · Body 2.6% (norm 8.0%) · Legs 0.0% (norm 5.2%)
Paul Varelans
Head 81.2% (norm 81.2%) · Body 6.2% (norm 8.0%) · Legs 12.5% (norm 5.2%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Abbott L/A | Acc | Open Weight med | Varelans L/A | Acc | Open Weight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 54 / 156 | 34.6% | 27.8% | 17 / 70 | 24.3% | 27.8% |
| In the clinch | 46 / 92 | 50.0% | 63.8% | 21 / 36 | 58.3% | 63.8% |
| On the ground | 56 / 103 | 54.4% | 65.8% | 18 / 22 | too few to rate | 65.8% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 148 / 342 | 43.3% | 39.3% | 40 / 104 | 38.5% | 39.3% |
| To the body | 8 / 9 | too few to rate | 90.5% | 6 / 8 | too few to rate | 90.5% |
| To the legs | 0 / 0 | too few to rate | 53.5% | 10 / 16 | too few to rate | 53.5% |
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 (Open Weight: 11 fighters · Open Weight: 11 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 Abbott L/A | Opp acc | Open Weight med | vs Varelans L/A | Opp acc | Open Weight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 62 / 121 | 51.2% | 37.0% | 44 / 83 | 53.0% | 37.0% |
| In the clinch | 75 / 98 | 76.5% | 66.7% | 9 / 37 | 24.3% | 66.7% |
| On the ground | 72 / 89 | 80.9% | 67.1% | 26 / 37 | 70.3% | 67.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 114 / 207 | 55.1% | 47.0% | 46 / 101 | 45.5% | 47.0% |
| To the body | 57 / 61 | 93.4% | 87.9% | 3 / 7 | too few to rate | 87.9% |
| To the legs | 38 / 40 | 95.0% | 61.2% | 30 / 49 | 61.2% | 61.2% |
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 — Abbott has more cage time on record.