BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Jose Aldo vs.
Frankie Edgar

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

14-9-0 Jose Aldo · UFC
18-11-1 Frankie Edgar · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

14-9-0
UFC record
18-11-1
Featherweight
Division (benchmark)
Featherweight
39
AgeΔ 5 yrs
44
5'7"
HeightΔ 1"
5'6"
70"
ReachΔ 2"
68"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
14.9
Layoff (months)Δ 29.9 mo
44.8
LLWLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWL
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.

Frankie Edgar hunts takedowns — 2.29 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.19 Featherweight norm.
Jose Aldo rarely shoots — 0.51 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.19 Featherweight norm.
Frankie Edgar owns the mat — in control 22% of cage time, vs a 17% Featherweight 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.

Jose Aldo

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

In the UFC: 14-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.5 wins over .500

Frankie Edgar

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

In the UFC: 17-11 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.3 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

13543.57/min · norm 3.54
Sig. strikes landed
18013.77/min · norm 3.54
16004.21/min · norm 3.47
Sig. strikes absorbed
13462.82/min · norm 3.47
45.3%norm 45.0%
Striking accuracy
40.5%norm 45.0%
58.4%norm 54.85%
Striking defense
65.9%norm 54.85%
70.28/15 · norm 0.29
Knockdowns
30.09/15 · norm 0.29

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

Jose Aldo

Distance 93.6% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 2.3% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 4.0% (norm 6.5%)

Frankie Edgar

Distance 82.5% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 4.7% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 12.9% (norm 6.5%)

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

Jose Aldo

Head 79.8% (norm 77.4%) · Body 13.9% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 6.2% (norm 7.8%)

Frankie Edgar

Head 79.6% (norm 77.4%) · Body 12.7% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 7.6% (norm 7.8%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Aldo L/AAccFeatherweight med Edgar L/AAccFeatherweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1220 / 2802 43.5% 40.9% 1263 / 3672 34.4% 40.9%
In the clinch 56 / 69 81.2% 70.8% 129 / 207 62.3% 70.8%
On the ground 78 / 121 64.5% 69.2% 409 / 572 71.5% 69.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 913 / 2389 38.2% 37.2% 1195 / 3545 33.7% 37.2%
To the body 280 / 416 67.3% 68.2% 344 / 566 60.8% 68.2%
To the legs 161 / 187 86.1% 80.7% 262 / 340 77.1% 80.7%

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 (Featherweight: 126 fighters · Featherweight: 126 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 Aldo L/AOpp accFeatherweight med vs Edgar L/AOpp accFeatherweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1242 / 3376 36.8% 39.2% 1159 / 3660 31.7% 39.2%
In the clinch 153 / 189 81.0% 70.3% 93 / 156 59.6% 70.3%
On the ground 205 / 277 74.0% 69.4% 94 / 135 69.6% 69.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 991 / 2993 33.1% 35.9% 995 / 3447 28.9% 35.9%
To the body 289 / 433 66.7% 67.9% 204 / 317 64.4% 67.9%
To the legs 320 / 416 76.9% 81.5% 147 / 187 78.6% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

1350.0% acc · 0.51/15 · norm 1.19
Takedowns landed
7331.5% acc · 2.29/15 · norm 1.19
9891.6% def · norm 61.5%
Takedowns stopped
4265.6% def · norm 61.5%
44:0611.6% of cage time · norm 16.7%
Control time
105:3722.1% of cage time · norm 16.7%
52:302:04 per 15 · norm 3:12
Time under control
16:260:30 per 15 · norm 3:12
40.16/15 · norm 0.46
Submission attempts
100.31/15 · norm 0.46

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.