BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Elias Theodorou vs.
Derek Brunson

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

8-3-0 Elias Theodorou · UFC
14-7-0 Derek Brunson · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

8-3-0
UFC record
14-7-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
38.2
AgeΔ 4.4 yrs
42.6
6'1"
HeightΔ 0"
6'1"
75"
ReachΔ 2"
77"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
87.1
Layoff (months)Δ 46 mo
41.1
LWWWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWWW
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.

Derek Brunson hunts takedowns — 3.00 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Derek Brunson owns the mat — in control 39% of cage time, vs a 20% Middleweight norm.
Elias Theodorou outworks the Middleweight division — 4.19 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.25 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.

Elias Theodorou

Full career not yet synced for Elias Theodorou — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).

In the UFC: 5-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.9 wins over .500

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

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6444.19/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
6483.60/min · norm 3.25
3672.39/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
5733.18/min · norm 3.20
42.3%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
46.6%norm 47.4%
53.0%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
50.9%norm 53.8%
00.00/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
60.50/15 · norm 0.32

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

Elias Theodorou

Distance 78.1% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 15.7% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 6.1% (norm 10.3%)

Derek Brunson

Distance 72.2% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 10.4% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 17.4% (norm 10.3%)

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

Elias Theodorou

Head 59.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 24.0% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 16.3% (norm 8.4%)

Derek Brunson

Head 79.9% (norm 78.0%) · Body 10.7% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 9.3% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Theodorou L/AAccMiddleweight med Brunson L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 407 / 1191 34.2% 40.5% 405 / 1004 40.3% 40.5%
In the clinch 165 / 240 68.8% 70.3% 96 / 145 66.2% 70.3%
On the ground 72 / 93 77.4% 69.1% 147 / 242 60.7% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 279 / 909 30.7% 38.9% 457 / 1112 41.1% 38.9%
To the body 211 / 366 57.7% 71.7% 99 / 149 66.4% 71.7%
To the legs 154 / 249 61.8% 83.3% 92 / 130 70.8% 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 Theodorou L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Brunson L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 227 / 583 38.9% 39.5% 423 / 973 43.5% 39.5%
In the clinch 130 / 186 69.9% 70.9% 91 / 123 74.0% 70.9%
On the ground 10 / 12 too few to rate 69.0% 59 / 71 83.1% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 215 / 574 37.5% 37.9% 341 / 848 40.2% 37.9%
To the body 98 / 135 72.6% 71.3% 151 / 198 76.3% 71.3%
To the legs 54 / 72 75.0% 82.1% 81 / 121 66.9% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

1328.3% acc · 1.27/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
3631.6% acc · 3.00/15 · norm 1.42
2959.2% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
1684.2% def · norm 63.1%
33:5522.1% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
69:3338.6% of cage time · norm 19.75%
21:122:04 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
4:470:23 per 15 · norm 3:00
00.00/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
70.58/15 · norm 0.47

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.