Istela Nunes vs.
Sam Hughes
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.
Istela Nunes
Full career not yet synced for Istela Nunes — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.4 wins over .500
Sam Hughes
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 6 | 6 |
| Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) | 2 | 1 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 3 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.88 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 6 finish wins over 18 documented bouts
In the UFC: 3-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.9 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)
Istela Nunes
Distance 93.3% (norm 86.9%) · Clinch 5.7% (norm 7.7%) · Ground 1.1% (norm 5.0%)
Sam Hughes
Distance 85.2% (norm 86.9%) · Clinch 6.6% (norm 7.7%) · Ground 8.2% (norm 5.0%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Istela Nunes
Head 69.9% (norm 76.4%) · Body 20.0% (norm 14.9%) · Legs 10.1% (norm 9.1%)
Sam Hughes
Head 77.8% (norm 76.4%) · Body 12.5% (norm 14.9%) · Legs 9.7% (norm 9.1%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Nunes L/A | Acc | Women's Strawweight med | Hughes L/A | Acc | Women's Strawweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 200 / 443 | 45.1% | 38.3% | 543 / 1273 | 42.7% | 38.3% |
| In the clinch | 24 / 27 | 88.9% | 72.6% | 78 / 99 | 78.8% | 72.6% |
| On the ground | 1 / 5 | too few to rate | 75.0% | 89 / 122 | 73.0% | 75.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 117 / 332 | 35.2% | 35.4% | 478 / 1162 | 41.1% | 35.4% |
| To the body | 66 / 95 | 69.5% | 69.3% | 121 / 187 | 64.7% | 69.3% |
| To the legs | 42 / 48 | 87.5% | 77.9% | 111 / 145 | 76.6% | 77.9% |
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 (Women's Strawweight: 63 fighters · Women's Strawweight: 63 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 Nunes L/A | Opp acc | Women's Strawweight med | vs Hughes L/A | Opp acc | Women's Strawweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 160 / 445 | 36.0% | 39.7% | 588 / 1594 | 36.9% | 39.7% |
| In the clinch | 18 / 31 | 58.1% | 71.5% | 148 / 181 | 81.8% | 71.5% |
| On the ground | 36 / 55 | 65.5% | 74.4% | 18 / 25 | 72.0% | 74.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 167 / 453 | 36.9% | 36.0% | 395 / 1304 | 30.3% | 36.0% |
| To the body | 32 / 59 | 54.2% | 68.4% | 266 / 371 | 71.7% | 68.4% |
| To the legs | 15 / 19 | too few to rate | 79.1% | 93 / 125 | 74.4% | 79.1% |
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 — Hughes has more cage time on record.