Joe Lauzon vs.
Brandon Melendez
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.
Joe Lauzon
Full career not yet synced for Joe Lauzon — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 6-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.9 wins over .500
Brandon Melendez
Full career not yet synced for Brandon Melendez — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.0 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)
Joe Lauzon
Distance 76.1% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 9.4% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 14.4% (norm 8.0%)
Brandon Melendez
Distance 82.6% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 0.0% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 17.4% (norm 8.0%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Joe Lauzon
Head 94.2% (norm 78.2%) · Body 4.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 1.2% (norm 7.9%)
Brandon Melendez
Head 91.3% (norm 78.2%) · Body 8.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 0.0% (norm 7.9%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Lauzon L/A | Acc | Lightweight med | Melendez L/A | Acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 326 / 1161 | 28.1% | 37.9% | 5 / 19 | too few to rate | 37.9% |
| In the clinch | 99 / 144 | 68.8% | 67.3% | 0 / 0 | too few to rate | 67.3% |
| On the ground | 180 / 220 | 81.8% | 69.1% | 1 / 4 | too few to rate | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 537 / 1436 | 37.4% | 35.0% | 5 / 21 | too few to rate | 35.0% |
| To the body | 56 / 71 | 78.9% | 69.1% | 1 / 2 | too few to rate | 69.1% |
| To the legs | 12 / 18 | too few to rate | 81.9% | 0 / 0 | 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 Lauzon L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med | vs Melendez L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 828 / 2022 | 40.9% | 38.9% | 0 / 7 | too few to rate | 38.9% |
| In the clinch | 204 / 312 | 65.4% | 68.6% | 0 / 0 | too few to rate | 68.6% |
| On the ground | 116 / 202 | 57.4% | 68.0% | 4 / 4 | too few to rate | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 792 / 2089 | 37.9% | 35.1% | 3 / 10 | too few to rate | 35.1% |
| To the body | 260 / 334 | 77.8% | 68.1% | 1 / 1 | too few to rate | 68.1% |
| To the legs | 96 / 113 | 85.0% | 81.5% | 0 / 0 | too few to rate | 81.5% |
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 — Lauzon has more cage time on record.