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Islam Makhachev vs. Nik Lentz

UFC 18-1-0 vs. 14-9-1 (1 NC)

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
18-1-0
UFC record
14-9-1 (1 NC)
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
34
AgeΔ 8 yrs
42
5'10"
HeightΔ 2"
5'8"
70"
ReachΔ 2"
68"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
2.2
Layoff (months)Δ 66.7 mo
68.9
WWWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Islam Makhachev owns the mat — in control 51% of cage time, vs a 19% Lightweight norm.
Nik Lentz is a submission threat — 1.24 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.48 Lightweight norm.
Nik Lentz hunts takedowns — 3.30 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.34 Lightweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

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: 16-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +6.0 wins over .500

Nik Lentz

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 149
Tier 3 — regional circuit 163

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.95 · 14 tier-1/2 wins · 19 finish wins over 45 documented bouts

In the UFC: 9-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.9 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

5072.27/min · norm 3.44
Sig. strikes landed
10793.44/min · norm 3.44
3161.42/min · norm 3.38
Sig. strikes absorbed lower is better
10223.25/min · norm 3.38
58.0%norm 43.65%
Striking accuracy
47.6%norm 43.65%
61.5%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
50.1%norm 56.3%
50.34/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
20.10/15 · norm 0.25

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

Islam Makhachev

Distance 69.0% (norm 83.1%) · Clinch 12.8% (norm 7.3%) · Ground 18.2% (norm 8.0%)

Nik Lentz

Distance 74.4% (norm 83.1%) · Clinch 13.9% (norm 7.3%) · Ground 11.7% (norm 8.0%)

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

Islam Makhachev

Head 80.4% (norm 78.0%) · Body 15.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 4.6% (norm 8.0%)

Nik Lentz

Head 76.4% (norm 78.0%) · Body 15.1% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 8.6% (norm 8.0%)

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 Lentz L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 293 / 603 48.6% 38.3% 655 / 1686 38.8% 38.3%
In the clinch 95 / 112 84.8% 67.5% 213 / 316 67.4% 67.5%
On the ground 119 / 159 74.8% 68.8% 211 / 265 79.6% 68.8%
BY TARGET
To the head 353 / 703 50.2% 35.1% 650 / 1731 37.6% 35.1%
To the body 117 / 131 89.3% 69.1% 269 / 342 78.7% 69.1%
To the legs 37 / 40 92.5% 81.8% 160 / 194 82.5% 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 (Lightweight: 204 fighters · Lightweight: 204 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 Lentz L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 228 / 707 32.2% 38.8% 701 / 1584 44.3% 38.8%
In the clinch 69 / 84 82.1% 68.6% 180 / 262 68.7% 68.6%
On the ground 19 / 29 65.5% 68.0% 141 / 202 69.8% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 150 / 566 26.5% 35.2% 762 / 1717 44.4% 35.2%
To the body 110 / 178 61.8% 68.2% 160 / 215 74.4% 68.2%
To the legs 56 / 76 73.7% 81.5% 100 / 116 86.2% 81.5%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
4854.5% acc · 3.22/15 · norm 1.34
Takedowns landed
6932.9% acc · 3.30/15 · norm 1.34
2191.3% def · norm 63.7%
Takedowns stopped
3643.9% def · norm 63.7%
113:5851.0% of cage time · norm 18.95%
Control time
98:4331.4% of cage time · norm 18.95%
15:521:03 per 15 · norm 2:50
Time under control lower is better
75:453:37 per 15 · norm 2:50
130.87/15 · norm 0.48
Submission attempts
261.24/15 · norm 0.48

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