BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Fabricio Werdum vs.
Roy Nelson

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

12-6-0 Fabricio Werdum · UFC
9-10-0 Roy Nelson · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

12-6-0
UFC record
9-10-0
Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Heavyweight
49
AgeΔ 1 yrs
50
6'4"
HeightΔ 4"
6'0"
77"
ReachΔ 4"
73"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
72.4
Layoff (months)Δ 39.3 mo
111.7
WLLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLWL
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.

Fabricio Werdum is a submission threat — 0.47 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.16 Heavyweight norm.
Roy Nelson carries real power — 0.67 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Heavyweight norm.
Fabricio Werdum's takedown defense leaks — 27% stopped, vs a 64% 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.

Fabricio Werdum

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

In the UFC: 11-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.4 wins over .500

Roy Nelson

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

In the UFC: 5-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.0 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

8904.60/min · norm 3.36
Sig. strikes landed
4392.17/min · norm 3.36
6283.25/min · norm 3.19
Sig. strikes absorbed
9854.86/min · norm 3.19
56.4%norm 47.8%
Striking accuracy
37.3%norm 47.8%
54.9%norm 52.5%
Striking defense
45.6%norm 52.5%
40.31/15 · norm 0.28
Knockdowns
90.67/15 · norm 0.28

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

Fabricio Werdum

Distance 79.8% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 9.8% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 10.4% (norm 9.3%)

Roy Nelson

Distance 82.5% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 13.0% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 4.5% (norm 9.3%)

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

Fabricio Werdum

Head 75.9% (norm 79.2%) · Body 13.6% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 10.4% (norm 7.6%)

Roy Nelson

Head 89.1% (norm 79.2%) · Body 6.3% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 4.6% (norm 7.6%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Werdum L/AAccHeavyweight med Nelson L/AAccHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 673 / 1260 53.4% 40.1% 315 / 970 32.5% 40.1%
In the clinch 112 / 155 72.3% 70.6% 83 / 153 54.2% 70.6%
On the ground 105 / 164 64.0% 70.2% 41 / 53 77.4% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 568 / 1199 47.4% 38.9% 341 / 1048 32.5% 38.9%
To the body 169 / 215 78.6% 76.8% 53 / 74 71.6% 76.8%
To the legs 153 / 165 92.7% 87.8% 45 / 54 83.3% 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 Werdum L/AOpp accHeavyweight med vs Nelson L/AOpp accHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 482 / 1199 40.2% 40.7% 710 / 1438 49.4% 40.7%
In the clinch 97 / 140 69.3% 70.6% 259 / 354 73.2% 70.6%
On the ground 49 / 55 89.1% 72.0% 16 / 18 too few to rate 72.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 417 / 1107 37.7% 38.8% 640 / 1402 45.6% 38.8%
To the body 82 / 115 71.3% 75.1% 237 / 293 80.9% 75.1%
To the legs 129 / 172 75.0% 84.4% 108 / 115 93.9% 84.4%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

1628.6% acc · 1.24/15 · norm 0.95
Takedowns landed
1629.6% acc · 1.18/15 · norm 0.95
426.7% def · norm 64.3%
Takedowns stopped
2064.5% def · norm 64.3%
36:0418.6% of cage time · norm 17.2%
Control time
41:0420.3% of cage time · norm 17.2%
21:431:41 per 15 · norm 2:28
Time under control
24:411:49 per 15 · norm 2:28
60.47/15 · norm 0.16
Submission attempts
10.07/15 · norm 0.16

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.