BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Derrick Lewis vs.
Tai Tuivasa

Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.

20-12-0 Derrick Lewis · UFC
8-10-0 Tai Tuivasa · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.

20-12-0
UFC record
8-10-0
Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Heavyweight
41.5
AgeΔ 8.1 yrs
33.4
6'3"
HeightΔ 1"
6'2"
79"
ReachΔ 4"
75"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
1.7
Layoff (months)Δ 1.4 mo
3.1
LLWWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLL
The read

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.

Tai Tuivasa carries real power — 0.82 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Heavyweight norm.
Derrick Lewis carries real power — 0.58 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Heavyweight norm.
Tai Tuivasa rarely shoots — 0.00 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.95 Heavyweight norm.
Level of competition

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.

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

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 +2.8 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6822.41/min · norm 3.36
Sig. strikes landed
4913.37/min · norm 3.36
7912.79/min · norm 3.19
Sig. strikes absorbed
6714.61/min · norm 3.19
48.9%norm 47.8%
Striking accuracy
48.6%norm 47.8%
38.7%norm 52.5%
Striking defense
42.9%norm 52.5%
110.58/15 · norm 0.28
Knockdowns
80.82/15 · 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%)

Tai Tuivasa

Distance 80.3% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 16.3% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 3.4% (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 73.1% (norm 79.2%) · Body 11.4% (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% 347 / 811 42.8% 40.1%
In the clinch 126 / 184 68.5% 70.6% 120 / 165 72.7% 70.6%
On the ground 284 / 408 69.6% 70.2% 24 / 34 70.6% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 538 / 1188 45.3% 38.9% 290 / 738 39.3% 38.9%
To the body 115 / 164 70.1% 76.8% 86 / 115 74.8% 76.8%
To the legs 29 / 42 69.0% 87.8% 115 / 157 73.2% 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% 495 / 948 52.2% 40.7%
In the clinch 126 / 176 71.6% 70.6% 61 / 77 79.2% 70.6%
On the ground 218 / 281 77.6% 72.0% 115 / 151 76.2% 72.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 509 / 940 54.1% 38.8% 470 / 925 50.8% 38.8%
To the body 153 / 205 74.6% 75.1% 120 / 155 77.4% 75.1%
To the legs 129 / 146 88.4% 84.4% 81 / 96 84.4% 84.4%
Grappling

The ground war.

Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.

1025.6% acc · 0.53/15 · norm 0.95
Takedowns landed
00.0% acc · 0.00/15 · norm 0.95
5551.9% def · norm 64.3%
Takedowns stopped
2758.7% def · norm 64.3%
30:4910.9% of cage time · norm 17.2%
Control time
18:0712.4% of cage time · norm 17.2%
100:455:20 per 15 · norm 2:28
Time under control
35:433:40 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.

Next move

Let the engine settle it.