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Derrick Lewis vs. Tai Tuivasa

UFC 20-12-0 vs. 8-11-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
20-12-0
UFC record
8-11-0
Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Heavyweight
41
AgeΔ 8 yrs
33
6'3"
HeightΔ 1"
6'2"
79"
ReachΔ 4"
75"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
4.2
Layoff (months)Δ 3.2 mo
1
LLWWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLL

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Tai Tuivasa carries real power — 0.75 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.29 Heavyweight norm.
Derrick Lewis carries real power — 0.58 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.29 Heavyweight norm.
Tai Tuivasa rarely shoots — 0.09 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.90 Heavyweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Derrick Lewis

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 2012
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 40
Tier 3 — regional circuit 51

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.3 · 24 tier-1/2 wins · 25 finish wins over 43 documented bouts

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

Tai Tuivasa

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 810
Tier 3 — regional circuit 60

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.85 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 24 documented bouts

In the UFC: 5-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.6 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6822.41/min · norm 3.28
Sig. strikes landed
5223.25/min · norm 3.28
7912.79/min · norm 3.19
Sig. strikes absorbed lower is better
7014.36/min · norm 3.19
48.9%norm 47.5%
Striking accuracy
48.4%norm 47.5%
38.7%norm 52.5%
Striking defense
43.7%norm 52.5%
110.58/15 · norm 0.29
Knockdowns
80.75/15 · norm 0.29

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

Derrick Lewis

Distance 57.5% (norm 79.2%) · Clinch 13.2% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 29.3% (norm 9.3%)

Tai Tuivasa

Distance 78.7% (norm 79.2%) · Clinch 17.1% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 4.3% (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%)

Tai Tuivasa

Head 73.0% (norm 79.2%) · Body 11.5% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 15.5% (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 Tuivasa L/AAccHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 272 / 802 33.9% 40.1% 359 / 848 42.3% 40.1%
In the clinch 126 / 184 68.5% 70.4% 129 / 184 70.1% 70.4%
On the ground 284 / 408 69.6% 70.2% 34 / 46 73.9% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 538 / 1188 45.3% 39.0% 307 / 787 39.0% 39.0%
To the body 115 / 164 70.1% 77.0% 95 / 124 76.6% 77.0%
To the legs 29 / 42 69.0% 87.8% 120 / 167 71.9% 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 Tuivasa L/AOpp accHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 447 / 834 53.6% 40.7% 513 / 996 51.5% 40.7%
In the clinch 126 / 176 71.6% 70.6% 67 / 88 76.1% 70.6%
On the ground 218 / 281 77.6% 72.2% 121 / 161 75.2% 72.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 509 / 940 54.1% 39.3% 499 / 993 50.3% 39.3%
To the body 153 / 205 74.6% 75.1% 121 / 156 77.6% 75.1%
To the legs 129 / 146 88.4% 84.4% 81 / 96 84.4% 84.4%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1025.6% acc · 0.53/15 · norm 0.90
Takedowns landed
111.1% acc · 0.09/15 · norm 0.90
5551.9% def · norm 63.2%
Takedowns stopped
2756.3% def · norm 63.2%
30:4910.9% of cage time · norm 17.2%
Control time
25:0515.6% of cage time · norm 17.2%
100:455:20 per 15 · norm 2:28
Time under control lower is better
40:513:48 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.