Derek Brunson vs.
Robert Whittaker
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.
Derek Brunson
Full career not yet synced for Derek Brunson — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 11-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.6 wins over .500
Robert Whittaker
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 18 | 7 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 9 | 2 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.3 · 18 tier-1/2 wins · 16 finish wins over 36 documented bouts
In the UFC: 16-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.1 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)
Derek Brunson
Distance 72.2% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 10.4% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 17.4% (norm 10.3%)
Robert Whittaker
Distance 90.5% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 4.9% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 4.6% (norm 10.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Derek Brunson
Head 79.9% (norm 78.0%) · Body 10.7% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 9.3% (norm 8.4%)
Robert Whittaker
Head 83.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 7.3% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 9.1% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Brunson L/A | Acc | Middleweight med | Whittaker L/A | Acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 405 / 1004 | 40.3% | 40.5% | 1288 / 3106 | 41.5% | 40.5% |
| In the clinch | 96 / 145 | 66.2% | 70.3% | 100 / 167 | 59.9% | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 147 / 242 | 60.7% | 69.1% | 101 / 159 | 63.5% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 457 / 1112 | 41.1% | 38.9% | 1069 / 2869 | 37.3% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 99 / 149 | 66.4% | 71.7% | 153 / 250 | 61.2% | 71.7% |
| To the legs | 92 / 130 | 70.8% | 83.3% | 267 / 313 | 85.3% | 83.3% |
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 (Middleweight: 174 fighters · Middleweight: 174 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 Brunson L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med | vs Whittaker L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 423 / 973 | 43.5% | 39.5% | 965 / 2563 | 37.7% | 39.5% |
| In the clinch | 91 / 123 | 74.0% | 70.9% | 120 / 172 | 69.8% | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 59 / 71 | 83.1% | 69.0% | 63 / 77 | 81.8% | 69.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 341 / 848 | 40.2% | 37.9% | 645 / 2110 | 30.6% | 37.9% |
| To the body | 151 / 198 | 76.3% | 71.3% | 234 / 378 | 61.9% | 71.3% |
| To the legs | 81 / 121 | 66.9% | 82.1% | 269 / 324 | 83.0% | 82.1% |
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 — Whittaker has more cage time on record.