Ion Cutelaba vs.
Kennedy Nzechukwu
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.
Ion Cutelaba
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 9 | 11 |
| Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) | 0 | 1 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 11 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.77 · 9 tier-1/2 wins · 17 finish wins over 34 documented bouts
In the UFC: 5-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.5 wins over .500
Kennedy Nzechukwu
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 10 | 6 |
| Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) | 1 | 0 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 3 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.3 · 11 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 21 documented bouts
In the UFC: 2-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.3 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)
Ion Cutelaba
Distance 76.0% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 12.4% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 11.6% (norm 10.4%)
Kennedy Nzechukwu
Distance 85.0% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 7.9% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 7.1% (norm 10.4%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Ion Cutelaba
Head 82.2% (norm 79.2%) · Body 10.9% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 6.9% (norm 9.7%)
Kennedy Nzechukwu
Head 87.2% (norm 79.2%) · Body 12.1% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 0.7% (norm 9.7%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Cutelaba L/A | Acc | Light Heavyweight med | Nzechukwu L/A | Acc | Light Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 416 / 1209 | 34.4% | 41.4% | 472 / 1069 | 44.2% | 41.4% |
| In the clinch | 138 / 198 | 69.7% | 70.9% | 81 / 99 | 81.8% | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 140 / 184 | 76.1% | 72.3% | 71 / 89 | 79.8% | 72.3% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 480 / 1308 | 36.7% | 38.9% | 510 / 1096 | 46.5% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 124 / 174 | 71.3% | 71.9% | 108 / 152 | 71.1% | 71.9% |
| To the legs | 90 / 109 | 82.6% | 81.8% | 6 / 9 | too few to rate | 81.8% |
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 (Light Heavyweight: 93 fighters · Light Heavyweight: 93 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 Cutelaba L/A | Opp acc | Light Heavyweight med | vs Nzechukwu L/A | Opp acc | Light Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 445 / 888 | 50.1% | 40.4% | 496 / 1080 | 45.9% | 40.4% |
| In the clinch | 71 / 99 | 71.7% | 68.7% | 79 / 114 | 69.3% | 68.7% |
| On the ground | 59 / 80 | 73.8% | 70.4% | 28 / 41 | 68.3% | 70.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 429 / 897 | 47.8% | 37.5% | 370 / 946 | 39.1% | 37.5% |
| To the body | 74 / 93 | 79.6% | 72.3% | 118 / 154 | 76.6% | 72.3% |
| To the legs | 72 / 77 | 93.5% | 83.0% | 115 / 135 | 85.2% | 83.0% |
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 — Cutelaba has more cage time on record.