BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Fares Ziam vs.
Don Madge

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 Fares Ziam · UFC
2-0-0 Don Madge · 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
2-0-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
29.4
AgeΔ 6.3 yrs
35.7
6'1"
HeightΔ 1"
6'0"
75"
ReachΔ 3"
72"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
2
Layoff (months)Δ 81 mo
83
LWWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
WW
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.

Don Madge carries real power — 1.48 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
Don Madge owns the mat — in control 50% of cage time, vs a 20% Lightweight norm.
Fares Ziam is hard to hit — absorbs 1.58 sig. strikes per minute, vs a 3.37 Lightweight 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.

Fares Ziam

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 83
Tier 3 — regional circuit 102

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

Don Madge

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

In the UFC: 0-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.0 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

3892.68/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
422.08/min · norm 3.42
2301.58/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
150.74/min · norm 3.37
52.4%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
52.5%norm 43.5%
63.8%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
67.4%norm 56.3%
20.21/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
21.48/15 · norm 0.25

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%)

Don Madge

Distance 61.2% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 13.8% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 25.0% (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%)

Don Madge

Head 73.8% (norm 78.2%) · Body 17.5% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 8.8% (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/AAccLightweight med Madge L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 271 / 567 47.8% 37.9% 20 / 49 40.8% 37.9%
In the clinch 49 / 65 75.4% 67.3% 6 / 11 too few to rate 67.3%
On the ground 69 / 110 62.7% 69.1% 16 / 20 too few to rate 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 255 / 590 43.2% 35.0% 25 / 59 42.4% 35.0%
To the body 72 / 84 85.7% 69.1% 12 / 14 too few to rate 69.1%
To the legs 62 / 68 91.2% 81.9% 5 / 7 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/AOpp accLightweight med vs Madge L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 157 / 512 30.7% 38.9% 13 / 38 34.2% 38.9%
In the clinch 36 / 60 60.0% 68.6% 2 / 4 too few to rate 68.6%
On the ground 37 / 63 58.7% 68.0% 0 / 4 too few to rate 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 94 / 439 21.4% 35.1% 10 / 40 25.0% 35.1%
To the body 78 / 118 66.1% 68.1% 2 / 3 too few to rate 68.1%
To the legs 58 / 78 74.4% 81.5% 3 / 3 too few to rate 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

1842.9% acc · 1.86/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
325.0% acc · 2.22/15 · norm 1.38
5170.8% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
480.0% def · norm 64.0%
39:3027.2% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
10:0750.0% of cage time · norm 19.5%
48:565:03 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
6:144:37 per 15 · norm 2:46
50.52/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
10.74/15 · norm 0.49

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.