BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Eric Schafer vs.
Michael Bisping

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

3-6-0 Eric Schafer · UFC
20-9-0 Michael Bisping · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

3-6-0
UFC record
20-9-0
Light Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
48
AgeΔ 1 yrs
47
6'3"
HeightΔ 2"
6'1"
76"
ReachΔ 1"
75"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
174.5
Layoff (months)Δ 70.1 mo
104.4
LLLLW
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.

Eric Schafer is a submission threat — 1.81 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.27 Light Heavyweight norm.
Eric Schafer hunts takedowns — 1.81 per 15 minutes, vs a 0.87 Light Heavyweight norm.
Michael Bisping defends head shots well — opponents land just 26%, vs a 38% Middleweight 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.

Eric Schafer

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

In the UFC: 0-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.8 wins over .500

Michael Bisping

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

In the UFC: 14-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.7 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

1411.89/min · norm 3.41
Sig. strikes landed
15674.29/min · norm 3.25
2523.38/min · norm 3.35
Sig. strikes absorbed
9992.73/min · norm 3.20
34.5%norm 48.3%
Striking accuracy
37.7%norm 47.4%
56.9%norm 52.9%
Striking defense
65.4%norm 53.8%
00.00/15 · norm 0.40
Knockdowns
80.33/15 · norm 0.32

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

Eric Schafer

Distance 72.4% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 9.8% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 17.8% (norm 10.4%)

Michael Bisping

Distance 88.1% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 5.8% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 6.1% (norm 10.3%)

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

Eric Schafer

Head 89.7% (norm 79.2%) · Body 6.8% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 3.4% (norm 9.7%)

Michael Bisping

Head 86.5% (norm 78.0%) · Body 6.8% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 6.7% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Schafer L/AAccLight Heavyweight med Bisping L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 61 / 296 20.6% 41.4% 1271 / 3664 34.7% 40.5%
In the clinch 25 / 40 62.5% 70.9% 152 / 241 63.1% 70.3%
On the ground 55 / 73 75.3% 72.3% 144 / 255 56.5% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 110 / 367 30.0% 38.9% 1132 / 3600 31.4% 38.9%
To the body 19 / 28 67.9% 71.9% 195 / 283 68.9% 71.7%
To the legs 12 / 14 too few to rate 81.8% 240 / 277 86.6% 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 (Light Heavyweight: 93 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 Schafer L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med vs Bisping L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 130 / 387 33.6% 40.4% 820 / 2543 32.2% 39.5%
In the clinch 54 / 85 63.5% 68.7% 84 / 168 50.0% 70.9%
On the ground 68 / 113 60.2% 70.4% 95 / 173 54.9% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 198 / 510 38.8% 37.5% 587 / 2294 25.6% 37.9%
To the body 35 / 53 66.0% 72.3% 185 / 312 59.3% 71.3%
To the legs 19 / 22 too few to rate 83.0% 227 / 278 81.7% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

936.0% acc · 1.81/15 · norm 0.87
Takedowns landed
2643.3% acc · 1.07/15 · norm 1.42
650.0% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
6263.3% def · norm 63.1%
18:5425.3% of cage time · norm 16.5%
Control time
33:069.1% of cage time · norm 19.75%
18:173:40 per 15 · norm 2:48
Time under control
54:532:15 per 15 · norm 3:00
91.81/15 · norm 0.27
Submission attempts
50.21/15 · norm 0.47

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.