BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Islam Makhachev vs.
Leo Kuntz

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

17-1-0 Islam Makhachev · UFC
0-2-0 Leo Kuntz · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

17-1-0
UFC record
0-2-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
34
AgeΔ 8 yrs
42
5'10"
HeightΔ 0"
5'10"
70"
Reach
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
8.7
Layoff (months)Δ 119.6 mo
128.3
WWWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LL
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.

Islam Makhachev owns the mat — in control 51% of cage time, vs a 20% Lightweight norm.
Islam Makhachev hunts takedowns — 3.10 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 Lightweight norm.
Opponents land 52% of their head shots on Leo Kuntz, vs a 35% Lightweight norm — a hole in the guard.
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.

Islam Makhachev

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 171
Tier 3 — regional circuit 110

Tier-weighted record quality: 2.04 · 17 tier-1/2 wins · 18 finish wins over 29 documented bouts

In the UFC: 15-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.8 wins over .500

Leo Kuntz

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

In the UFC: 0-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record -0.5 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4852.45/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
381.68/min · norm 3.42
2871.45/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
863.80/min · norm 3.37
58.4%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
32.8%norm 43.5%
62.0%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
45.9%norm 56.3%
40.30/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · norm 0.25

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

Islam Makhachev

Distance 68.3% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 12.7% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 19.0% (norm 8.0%)

Leo Kuntz

Distance 94.0% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 4.3% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 1.7% (norm 8.0%)

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

Islam Makhachev

Head 81.0% (norm 78.2%) · Body 15.4% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 3.6% (norm 7.9%)

Leo Kuntz

Head 79.3% (norm 78.2%) · Body 11.2% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 9.5% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Makhachev L/AAccLightweight med Kuntz L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 278 / 567 49.0% 37.9% 34 / 109 31.2% 37.9%
In the clinch 89 / 105 84.8% 67.3% 2 / 5 too few to rate 67.3%
On the ground 118 / 158 74.7% 69.1% 2 / 2 too few to rate 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 344 / 672 51.2% 35.0% 27 / 92 29.3% 35.0%
To the body 114 / 128 89.1% 69.1% 5 / 13 too few to rate 69.1%
To the legs 27 / 30 90.0% 81.9% 6 / 11 too few to rate 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 Makhachev L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Kuntz L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 206 / 650 31.7% 38.9% 58 / 116 50.0% 38.9%
In the clinch 62 / 76 81.6% 68.6% 13 / 25 52.0% 68.6%
On the ground 19 / 29 65.5% 68.0% 15 / 18 too few to rate 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 143 / 526 27.2% 35.1% 77 / 148 52.0% 35.1%
To the body 94 / 161 58.4% 68.1% 6 / 8 too few to rate 68.1%
To the legs 50 / 68 73.5% 81.5% 3 / 3 too few to rate 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

4156.2% acc · 3.10/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
325.0% acc · 1.99/15 · norm 1.38
2191.3% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
233.3% def · norm 64.0%
101:2851.2% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
6:2528.4% of cage time · norm 19.5%
15:181:09 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
3:252:15 per 15 · norm 2:46
130.98/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
10.66/15 · norm 0.49

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.