BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Geoff Neal vs.
Belal Muhammad

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

8-6-0 Geoff Neal · UFC
15-6-0 (1 NC) Belal Muhammad · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

8-6-0
UFC record
15-6-0 (1 NC)
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
35
AgeΔ 3 yrs
38
5'11"
HeightΔ 0"
5'11"
75"
ReachΔ 3"
72"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
5.5
Layoff (months)Δ 3.5 mo
2
LLWLL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWW
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.

Geoff Neal carries real power — 0.87 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.38 Welterweight norm.
Geoff Neal absorbs 5.56 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.06 Welterweight norm — hittable.
Belal Muhammad hunts takedowns — 1.98 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight 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.

Geoff Neal

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 96
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 30
Tier 3 — regional circuit 42

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.07 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 12 finish wins over 24 documented bouts

In the UFC: 6-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.3 wins over .500

Belal Muhammad

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 176
Tier 3 — regional circuit 70

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.39 · 17 tier-1/2 wins · 6 finish wins over 31 documented bouts

In the UFC: 11-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.5 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6875.00/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
15154.36/min · norm 3.17
7645.56/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
13623.92/min · norm 3.06
50.7%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
42.4%norm 44.9%
57.0%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
55.2%norm 55.25%
80.87/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · norm 0.38

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

Geoff Neal

Distance 86.9% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 8.0% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 5.1% (norm 8.1%)

Belal Muhammad

Distance 91.5% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 3.5% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 5.0% (norm 8.1%)

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

Geoff Neal

Head 90.5% (norm 78.2%) · Body 6.1% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 3.5% (norm 8.4%)

Belal Muhammad

Head 86.6% (norm 78.2%) · Body 9.1% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 4.3% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Neal L/AAccWelterweight med Muhammad L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 566 / 1177 48.1% 38.6% 1324 / 3270 40.5% 38.6%
In the clinch 72 / 108 66.7% 67.8% 72 / 124 58.1% 67.8%
On the ground 49 / 69 71.0% 67.2% 119 / 178 66.9% 67.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 585 / 1225 47.8% 37.2% 1166 / 3095 37.7% 37.2%
To the body 58 / 82 70.7% 70.7% 219 / 324 67.6% 70.7%
To the legs 44 / 47 93.6% 82.9% 130 / 153 85.0% 82.9%

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 (Welterweight: 182 fighters · Welterweight: 182 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 Neal L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Muhammad L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 684 / 1658 41.3% 39.0% 1257 / 2896 43.4% 39.0%
In the clinch 73 / 104 70.2% 68.9% 68 / 86 79.1% 68.9%
On the ground 7 / 13 too few to rate 68.0% 37 / 57 64.9% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 477 / 1409 33.9% 35.6% 780 / 2308 33.8% 35.6%
To the body 208 / 280 74.3% 69.6% 245 / 350 70.0% 69.6%
To the legs 79 / 86 91.9% 82.1% 337 / 381 88.5% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

545.5% acc · 0.55/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
4635.9% acc · 1.98/15 · norm 1.27
2689.7% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
4890.6% def · norm 63.9%
19:5514.5% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
76:1821.9% of cage time · norm 18.5%
7:280:48 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
18:530:48 per 15 · norm 3:15
10.11/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
30.13/15 · norm 0.45

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.