Gunnar Nelson vs.
Bryan Barberena
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.
Gunnar Nelson
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 10 | 6 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 9 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.39 · 10 tier-1/2 wins · 17 finish wins over 26 documented bouts
In the UFC: 7-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.0 wins over .500
Bryan Barberena
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 9 | 10 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 9 | 2 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.74 · 9 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 30 documented bouts
In the UFC: 6-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.3 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)
Gunnar Nelson
Distance 64.2% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 8.6% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 27.3% (norm 8.1%)
Bryan Barberena
Distance 83.3% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 11.8% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 4.9% (norm 8.1%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Gunnar Nelson
Head 82.0% (norm 78.2%) · Body 12.4% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 5.7% (norm 8.4%)
Bryan Barberena
Head 80.6% (norm 78.2%) · Body 8.7% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 10.7% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Nelson L/A | Acc | Welterweight med | Barberena L/A | Acc | Welterweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 148 / 306 | 48.4% | 38.6% | 897 / 2065 | 43.4% | 38.6% |
| In the clinch | 31 / 41 | 75.6% | 67.8% | 202 / 293 | 68.9% | 67.8% |
| On the ground | 113 / 130 | 86.9% | 67.2% | 92 / 121 | 76.0% | 67.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 222 / 391 | 56.8% | 37.2% | 833 / 1997 | 41.7% | 37.2% |
| To the body | 47 / 59 | 79.7% | 70.7% | 158 / 216 | 73.1% | 70.7% |
| To the legs | 23 / 27 | 85.2% | 82.9% | 200 / 266 | 75.2% | 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 Nelson L/A | Opp acc | Welterweight med | vs Barberena L/A | Opp acc | Welterweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 277 / 678 | 40.9% | 39.0% | 804 / 1546 | 52.0% | 39.0% |
| In the clinch | 123 / 162 | 75.9% | 68.9% | 158 / 212 | 74.5% | 68.9% |
| On the ground | 106 / 149 | 71.1% | 68.0% | 60 / 73 | 82.2% | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 265 / 686 | 38.6% | 35.6% | 656 / 1392 | 47.1% | 35.6% |
| To the body | 151 / 197 | 76.6% | 69.6% | 269 / 333 | 80.8% | 69.6% |
| To the legs | 90 / 106 | 84.9% | 82.1% | 97 / 106 | 91.5% | 82.1% |
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 — Barberena has more cage time on record.