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Donald Cerrone vs. Edson Barboza

UFC 23-14-0 (1 NC) vs. 18-15-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
23-14-0 (1 NC)
UFC record
18-15-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
43
AgeΔ 3 yrs
40
6'1"
HeightΔ 2"
5'11"
73"
ReachΔ 2"
75"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
51.6
Layoff (months)Δ 49.4 mo
2.2
LLNCLL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Donald Cerrone carries real power — 0.84 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
Edson Barboza carries real power — 0.62 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
Edson Barboza rarely shoots — 0.42 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.34 Lightweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Donald Cerrone

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 2314
Tier 3 — regional circuit 133

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.09 · 23 tier-1/2 wins · 27 finish wins over 55 documented bouts

In the UFC: 20-13 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.8 wins over .500

Edson Barboza

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1814
Tier 3 — regional circuit 60

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.06 · 18 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 38 documented bouts

In the UFC: 13-13 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.2 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

17484.90/min · norm 3.44
Sig. strikes landed
16164.15/min · norm 3.44
18255.11/min · norm 3.38
Sig. strikes absorbed lower is better
18554.76/min · norm 3.38
47.4%norm 43.65%
Striking accuracy
44.7%norm 43.65%
51.6%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
55.5%norm 56.3%
200.84/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
160.62/15 · norm 0.25

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

Donald Cerrone

Distance 89.1% (norm 83.1%) · Clinch 6.2% (norm 7.3%) · Ground 4.7% (norm 8.0%)

Edson Barboza

Distance 94.7% (norm 83.1%) · Clinch 2.7% (norm 7.3%) · Ground 2.5% (norm 8.0%)

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

Donald Cerrone

Head 71.3% (norm 78.0%) · Body 16.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 12.8% (norm 8.0%)

Edson Barboza

Head 65.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 20.4% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 14.1% (norm 8.0%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Cerrone L/AAccLightweight med Barboza L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1478 / 3290 44.9% 38.3% 1476 / 3425 43.1% 38.3%
In the clinch 151 / 229 65.9% 67.5% 80 / 98 81.6% 67.5%
On the ground 119 / 172 69.2% 68.8% 60 / 92 65.2% 68.8%
BY TARGET
To the head 893 / 2630 34.0% 35.1% 707 / 2371 29.8% 35.1%
To the body 442 / 589 75.0% 69.1% 511 / 736 69.4% 69.1%
To the legs 413 / 472 87.5% 81.8% 398 / 508 78.3% 81.8%

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 (Lightweight: 204 fighters · Lightweight: 204 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 Cerrone L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Barboza L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1558 / 3375 46.2% 38.8% 1494 / 3662 40.8% 38.8%
In the clinch 211 / 305 69.2% 68.6% 90 / 134 67.2% 68.6%
On the ground 56 / 88 63.6% 68.0% 271 / 374 72.5% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 1069 / 2721 39.3% 35.2% 1343 / 3460 38.8% 35.2%
To the body 444 / 668 66.5% 68.2% 254 / 398 63.8% 68.2%
To the legs 312 / 379 82.3% 81.5% 258 / 312 82.7% 81.5%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
2428.9% acc · 1.01/15 · norm 1.34
Takedowns landed
1150.0% acc · 0.42/15 · norm 1.34
6288.6% def · norm 63.7%
Takedowns stopped
7673.1% def · norm 63.7%
38:3610.8% of cage time · norm 18.95%
Control time
24:396.3% of cage time · norm 18.95%
19:550:50 per 15 · norm 2:50
Time under control lower is better
67:122:35 per 15 · norm 2:50
110.46/15 · norm 0.48
Submission attempts
20.08/15 · norm 0.48

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