BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Gleison Tibau vs.
Tony Ferguson

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

16-12-0 Gleison Tibau · UFC
15-9-0 Tony Ferguson · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

16-12-0
UFC record
15-9-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
42
AgeΔ 0 yrs
42
5'10"
HeightΔ 1"
5'11"
71"
ReachΔ 5"
76"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
98.2
Layoff (months)Δ 74.1 mo
24.1
LLLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLL
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.

Gleison Tibau hunts takedowns — 4.08 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 Lightweight norm.
Tony Ferguson is a submission threat — 0.88 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.49 Lightweight norm.
Gleison Tibau owns the mat — in control 34% of cage time, vs a 20% 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.

Gleison Tibau

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

In the UFC: 8-11 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.1 wins over .500

Tony Ferguson

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 159
Tier 3 — regional circuit 102

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.17 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 20 finish wins over 36 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.8 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6011.95/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
13324.91/min · norm 3.42
7752.51/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
11864.37/min · norm 3.37
31.8%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
45.9%norm 43.5%
63.5%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
55.4%norm 56.3%
20.10/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
30.17/15 · norm 0.25

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

Gleison Tibau

Distance 81.7% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 8.0% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 10.3% (norm 8.0%)

Tony Ferguson

Distance 94.3% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 1.7% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 4.1% (norm 8.0%)

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

Gleison Tibau

Head 89.9% (norm 78.2%) · Body 7.6% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 2.5% (norm 7.9%)

Tony Ferguson

Head 75.1% (norm 78.2%) · Body 13.5% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 11.4% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Tibau L/AAccLightweight med Ferguson L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 383 / 1543 24.8% 37.9% 1210 / 2738 44.2% 37.9%
In the clinch 99 / 151 65.6% 67.3% 31 / 49 63.3% 67.3%
On the ground 119 / 195 61.0% 69.1% 91 / 118 77.1% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 467 / 1698 27.5% 35.0% 800 / 2182 36.7% 35.0%
To the body 91 / 143 63.6% 69.1% 259 / 393 65.9% 69.1%
To the legs 43 / 48 89.6% 81.9% 273 / 330 82.7% 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 Tibau L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Ferguson L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 546 / 1755 31.1% 38.9% 1028 / 2394 42.9% 38.9%
In the clinch 156 / 239 65.3% 68.6% 15 / 48 31.2% 68.6%
On the ground 73 / 128 57.0% 68.0% 143 / 216 66.2% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 441 / 1615 27.3% 35.1% 790 / 2103 37.6% 35.1%
To the body 209 / 327 63.9% 68.1% 225 / 356 63.2% 68.1%
To the legs 125 / 180 69.4% 81.5% 171 / 199 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.

8453.5% acc · 4.08/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
735.0% acc · 0.39/15 · norm 1.38
7092.1% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
3966.1% def · norm 64.0%
103:4233.6% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
8:002.9% of cage time · norm 19.5%
35:501:44 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
63:463:31 per 15 · norm 2:46
170.83/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
160.88/15 · norm 0.49

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.