Gunnar Nelson vs.
Leon Edwards
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
Leon Edwards
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 14 | 5 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 8 | 1 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.33 · 14 tier-1/2 wins · 10 finish wins over 29 documented bouts
In the UFC: 10-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.2 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%)
Leon Edwards
Distance 83.7% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 8.9% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 7.3% (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%)
Leon Edwards
Head 71.3% (norm 78.2%) · Body 16.6% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 12.1% (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 | Edwards L/A | Acc | Welterweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 148 / 306 | 48.4% | 38.6% | 662 / 1345 | 49.2% | 38.6% |
| In the clinch | 31 / 41 | 75.6% | 67.8% | 119 / 143 | 83.2% | 67.8% |
| On the ground | 113 / 130 | 86.9% | 67.2% | 92 / 118 | 78.0% | 67.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 222 / 391 | 56.8% | 37.2% | 490 / 1145 | 42.8% | 37.2% |
| To the body | 47 / 59 | 79.7% | 70.7% | 206 / 266 | 77.4% | 70.7% |
| To the legs | 23 / 27 | 85.2% | 82.9% | 177 / 195 | 90.8% | 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 Edwards L/A | Opp acc | Welterweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 277 / 678 | 40.9% | 39.0% | 594 / 1434 | 41.4% | 39.0% |
| In the clinch | 123 / 162 | 75.9% | 68.9% | 118 / 156 | 75.6% | 68.9% |
| On the ground | 106 / 149 | 71.1% | 68.0% | 107 / 144 | 74.3% | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 265 / 686 | 38.6% | 35.6% | 503 / 1295 | 38.8% | 35.6% |
| To the body | 151 / 197 | 76.6% | 69.6% | 192 / 261 | 73.6% | 69.6% |
| To the legs | 90 / 106 | 84.9% | 82.1% | 124 / 178 | 69.7% | 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 — Edwards has more cage time on record.