BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Fares Ziam vs.
Nazim Sadykhov

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
4-2-1 Nazim Sadykhov · 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
4-2-1
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
29.4
AgeΔ 2.8 yrs
32.2
6'1"
HeightΔ 3"
5'10"
75"
ReachΔ 6"
69"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
2
Layoff (months)Δ 0.7 mo
1.3
LWWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWWD
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.

Nazim Sadykhov carries real power — 0.52 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
Nazim Sadykhov absorbs 6.01 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.37 Lightweight norm — hittable.
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

Nazim Sadykhov

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 52
Tier 3 — regional circuit 61

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.22 · 5 tier-1/2 wins · 10 finish wins over 15 documented bouts

In the UFC: 3-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.0 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
2734.75/min · norm 3.42
2301.58/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
3466.01/min · norm 3.37
52.4%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
46.9%norm 43.5%
63.8%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
47.2%norm 56.3%
20.21/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
20.52/15 · 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%)

Nazim Sadykhov

Distance 84.4% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 10.7% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 5.0% (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%)

Nazim Sadykhov

Head 78.4% (norm 78.2%) · Body 14.1% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 7.6% (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 Sadykhov L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 271 / 567 47.8% 37.9% 200 / 491 40.7% 37.9%
In the clinch 49 / 65 75.4% 67.3% 49 / 62 79.0% 67.3%
On the ground 69 / 110 62.7% 69.1% 24 / 29 82.8% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 255 / 590 43.2% 35.0% 179 / 456 39.3% 35.0%
To the body 72 / 84 85.7% 69.1% 65 / 82 79.3% 69.1%
To the legs 62 / 68 91.2% 81.9% 29 / 44 65.9% 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 Sadykhov L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 157 / 512 30.7% 38.9% 303 / 591 51.3% 38.9%
In the clinch 36 / 60 60.0% 68.6% 32 / 47 68.1% 68.6%
On the ground 37 / 63 58.7% 68.0% 11 / 17 too few to rate 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 94 / 439 21.4% 35.1% 199 / 484 41.1% 35.1%
To the body 78 / 118 66.1% 68.1% 92 / 107 86.0% 68.1%
To the legs 58 / 78 74.4% 81.5% 55 / 64 85.9% 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
545.5% acc · 1.30/15 · norm 1.38
5170.8% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
1168.8% def · norm 64.0%
39:3027.2% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
7:2913.0% of cage time · norm 19.5%
48:565:03 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
12:163:11 per 15 · norm 2:46
50.52/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
10.26/15 · 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.