BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

John Makdessi vs.
Daron Cruickshank

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

11-9-0 John Makdessi · UFC
6-6-0 (1 NC) Daron Cruickshank · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

11-9-0
UFC record
6-6-0 (1 NC)
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
41
AgeΔ 0 yrs
41
5'8"
HeightΔ 0"
5'8"
68"
ReachΔ 4"
72"
Orthodox
Stance
Switch
34.9
Layoff (months)Δ 91.7 mo
126.6
LLWLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLNCW
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.

Daron Cruickshank carries real power — 0.57 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
John Makdessi rarely shoots — 0.00 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 Lightweight norm.
John Makdessi outworks the Lightweight division — 5.52 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.42 norm.
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.

John Makdessi

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

In the UFC: 6-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.1 wins over .500

Daron Cruickshank

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

In the UFC: 2-3 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

13405.52/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
3812.88/min · norm 3.42
10084.15/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
3952.98/min · norm 3.37
49.8%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
38.1%norm 43.5%
68.0%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
57.4%norm 56.3%
60.37/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
50.57/15 · norm 0.25

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

John Makdessi

Distance 93.7% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 4.3% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 2.0% (norm 8.0%)

Daron Cruickshank

Distance 84.8% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 9.6% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 5.6% (norm 8.0%)

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

John Makdessi

Head 63.5% (norm 78.2%) · Body 21.1% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 15.5% (norm 7.9%)

Daron Cruickshank

Head 74.4% (norm 78.2%) · Body 18.2% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 7.4% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Makdessi L/AAccLightweight med Cruickshank L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1249 / 2520 49.6% 37.9% 276 / 849 32.5% 37.9%
In the clinch 64 / 115 55.7% 67.3% 62 / 96 64.6% 67.3%
On the ground 27 / 55 49.1% 69.1% 43 / 56 76.8% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 678 / 1707 39.7% 35.0% 216 / 745 29.0% 35.0%
To the body 325 / 567 57.3% 69.1% 105 / 182 57.7% 69.1%
To the legs 337 / 416 81.0% 81.9% 60 / 74 81.1% 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 Makdessi L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Cruickshank L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 942 / 3050 30.9% 38.9% 299 / 769 38.9% 38.9%
In the clinch 41 / 66 62.1% 68.6% 38 / 77 49.4% 68.6%
On the ground 25 / 38 65.8% 68.0% 58 / 81 71.6% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 572 / 2497 22.9% 35.1% 218 / 682 32.0% 35.1%
To the body 204 / 363 56.2% 68.1% 82 / 126 65.1% 68.1%
To the legs 232 / 294 78.9% 81.5% 95 / 119 79.8% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

00.0% acc · 0.00/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
1841.9% acc · 2.04/15 · norm 1.38
4486.3% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
1260.0% def · norm 64.0%
3:481.6% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
17:0612.9% of cage time · norm 19.5%
9:310:35 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
27:263:06 per 15 · norm 2:46
00.00/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
20.23/15 · norm 0.49

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.