Fares Ziam vs.
Claudio Puelles
Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.
The men, measured.
Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.
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.
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.
Fares Ziam
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 8 | 3 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 10 | 2 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.13 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 23 documented bouts
In the UFC: 4-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.3 wins over .500
Claudio Puelles
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 5 | 4 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 7 | 1 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.04 · 5 tier-1/2 wins · 9 finish wins over 17 documented bouts
In the UFC: 2-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.9 wins over .500
The stand-up battle.
Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Fares Ziam
Distance 76.4% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 8.8% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 14.8% (norm 8.0%)
Claudio Puelles
Distance 70.7% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 5.2% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 24.1% (norm 8.0%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Fares Ziam
Head 79.5% (norm 78.2%) · Body 11.3% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 9.2% (norm 7.9%)
Claudio Puelles
Head 75.1% (norm 78.2%) · Body 21.2% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 3.8% (norm 7.9%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Ziam L/A | Acc | Lightweight med | Puelles L/A | Acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 271 / 567 | 47.8% | 37.9% | 90 / 244 | 36.9% | 37.9% |
| In the clinch | 49 / 65 | 75.4% | 67.3% | 10 / 18 | too few to rate | 67.3% |
| On the ground | 69 / 110 | 62.7% | 69.1% | 61 / 83 | 73.5% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 255 / 590 | 43.2% | 35.0% | 100 / 259 | 38.6% | 35.0% |
| To the body | 72 / 84 | 85.7% | 69.1% | 52 / 73 | 71.2% | 69.1% |
| To the legs | 62 / 68 | 91.2% | 81.9% | 9 / 13 | too few to rate | 81.9% |
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: 201 fighters · Lightweight: 201 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 Ziam L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med | vs Puelles L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 157 / 512 | 30.7% | 38.9% | 175 / 388 | 45.1% | 38.9% |
| In the clinch | 36 / 60 | 60.0% | 68.6% | 23 / 35 | 65.7% | 68.6% |
| On the ground | 37 / 63 | 58.7% | 68.0% | 77 / 107 | 72.0% | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 94 / 439 | 21.4% | 35.1% | 151 / 370 | 40.8% | 35.1% |
| To the body | 78 / 118 | 66.1% | 68.1% | 77 / 104 | 74.0% | 68.1% |
| To the legs | 58 / 78 | 74.4% | 81.5% | 47 / 56 | 83.9% | 81.5% |
The ground war.
Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Ziam has more cage time on record.