Derrick Lewis vs. Curtis Blaydes

UFC 20-12-0 vs. 14-6-0 (1 NC)

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
20-12-0
UFC record
14-6-0 (1 NC)
Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Heavyweight
41
AgeΔ 6 yrs
35
6'3"
HeightΔ 1"
6'4"
79"
ReachΔ 1"
80"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
1.8
Layoff (months)Δ 2.1 mo
3.9
LLWWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLWL

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Curtis Blaydes hunts takedowns — 5.12 per 15 minutes, vs a 0.95 Heavyweight norm.
Curtis Blaydes owns the mat — in control 45% of cage time, vs a 17% Heavyweight norm.
Derrick Lewis carries real power — 0.58 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Heavyweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Derrick Lewis

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 2013
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 40
Tier 3 — regional circuit 51

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.24 · 24 tier-1/2 wins · 25 finish wins over 44 documented bouts

In the UFC: 14-12 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.1 wins over .500

Curtis Blaydes

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 146
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 10
Tier 3 — regional circuit 40

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.44 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 26 documented bouts

In the UFC: 11-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.6 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6822.41/min · norm 3.36
Sig. strikes landed
8094.18/min · norm 3.36
7912.79/min · norm 3.19
Sig. strikes absorbed
5342.76/min · norm 3.19
48.9%norm 47.8%
Striking accuracy
52.1%norm 47.8%
38.7%norm 52.5%
Striking defense
53.9%norm 52.5%
110.58/15 · norm 0.28
Knockdowns
20.16/15 · norm 0.28

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

Derrick Lewis

Distance 57.5% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 13.2% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 29.3% (norm 9.3%)

Curtis Blaydes

Distance 69.1% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 11.4% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 19.5% (norm 9.3%)

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

Derrick Lewis

Head 85.2% (norm 79.2%) · Body 11.8% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 3.0% (norm 7.6%)

Curtis Blaydes

Head 83.7% (norm 79.2%) · Body 6.6% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 9.7% (norm 7.6%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Lewis L/AAccHeavyweight med Blaydes L/AAccHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 272 / 802 33.9% 40.1% 421 / 1073 39.2% 40.1%
In the clinch 126 / 184 68.5% 70.6% 145 / 177 81.9% 70.6%
On the ground 284 / 408 69.6% 70.2% 243 / 302 80.5% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 538 / 1188 45.3% 38.9% 585 / 1299 45.0% 38.9%
To the body 115 / 164 70.1% 76.8% 89 / 103 86.4% 76.8%
To the legs 29 / 42 69.0% 87.8% 135 / 150 90.0% 87.8%

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 (Heavyweight: 93 fighters · 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 Lewis L/AOpp accHeavyweight med vs Blaydes L/AOpp accHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 447 / 834 53.6% 40.7% 427 / 1021 41.8% 40.7%
In the clinch 126 / 176 71.6% 70.6% 82 / 108 75.9% 70.6%
On the ground 218 / 281 77.6% 72.0% 25 / 30 83.3% 72.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 509 / 940 54.1% 38.8% 440 / 1037 42.4% 38.8%
To the body 153 / 205 74.6% 75.1% 64 / 87 73.6% 75.1%
To the legs 129 / 146 88.4% 84.4% 30 / 35 85.7% 84.4%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1025.6% acc · 0.53/15 · norm 0.95
Takedowns landed
6647.8% acc · 5.12/15 · norm 0.95
5551.9% def · norm 64.3%
Takedowns stopped
735.0% def · norm 64.3%
30:4910.9% of cage time · norm 17.2%
Control time
87:4245.3% of cage time · norm 17.2%
100:455:20 per 15 · norm 2:28
Time under control
8:550:41 per 15 · norm 2:28
00.00/15 · norm 0.16
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.16

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