BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Josh Barnett vs.
Randy Couture

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

7-3-0 Josh Barnett · UFC
16-8-0 Randy Couture · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

7-3-0
UFC record
16-8-0
Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Heavyweight
48
AgeΔ 15 yrs
63
6'3"
HeightΔ 2"
6'1"
78"
ReachΔ 3"
75"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
119.1
Layoff (months)Δ 64.1 mo
183.2
WLWLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LWWWL
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.

Josh Barnett is a submission threat — 0.82 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.16 Heavyweight norm.
Randy Couture is a submission threat — 0.60 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.16 Heavyweight norm.
Randy Couture hunts takedowns — 2.85 per 15 minutes, vs a 0.95 Heavyweight 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.

Josh Barnett

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

In the UFC: 4-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.3 wins over .500

Randy Couture

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

In the UFC: 13-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.7 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

3924.27/min · norm 3.36
Sig. strikes landed
7782.84/min · norm 3.36
2202.39/min · norm 3.19
Sig. strikes absorbed
3961.45/min · norm 3.19
61.5%norm 47.8%
Striking accuracy
59.2%norm 47.8%
50.6%norm 52.5%
Striking defense
59.1%norm 52.5%
10.16/15 · norm 0.28
Knockdowns
10.05/15 · norm 0.28

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

Josh Barnett

Distance 44.7% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 34.4% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 20.9% (norm 9.3%)

Randy Couture

Distance 39.7% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 23.2% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 37.1% (norm 9.3%)

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

Josh Barnett

Head 74.7% (norm 79.2%) · Body 20.4% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 4.9% (norm 7.6%)

Randy Couture

Head 84.6% (norm 79.2%) · Body 7.7% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 7.7% (norm 7.6%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Barnett L/AAccHeavyweight med Couture L/AAccHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 133 / 285 46.7% 40.1% 208 / 522 39.8% 40.1%
In the clinch 171 / 219 78.1% 70.6% 235 / 305 77.0% 70.6%
On the ground 88 / 133 66.2% 70.2% 335 / 488 68.6% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 248 / 476 52.1% 38.9% 598 / 1113 53.7% 38.9%
To the body 116 / 130 89.2% 76.8% 87 / 101 86.1% 76.8%
To the legs 28 / 31 90.3% 87.8% 93 / 101 92.1% 87.8%

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 (Heavyweight: 93 fighters · Heavyweight: 93 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 Barnett L/AOpp accHeavyweight med vs Couture L/AOpp accHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 113 / 282 40.1% 40.7% 186 / 652 28.5% 40.7%
In the clinch 75 / 113 66.4% 70.6% 105 / 158 66.5% 70.6%
On the ground 32 / 50 64.0% 72.0% 105 / 158 66.5% 72.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 145 / 352 41.2% 38.8% 269 / 819 32.8% 38.8%
To the body 42 / 51 82.4% 75.1% 71 / 83 85.5% 75.1%
To the legs 33 / 42 78.6% 84.4% 56 / 66 84.8% 84.4%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

562.5% acc · 0.82/15 · norm 0.95
Takedowns landed
5250.0% acc · 2.85/15 · norm 0.95
1359.1% def · norm 64.3%
Takedowns stopped
1959.4% def · norm 64.3%
28:5931.5% of cage time · norm 17.2%
Control time
126:4251.0% of cage time · norm 17.2%
28:584:43 per 15 · norm 2:28
Time under control
43:412:23 per 15 · norm 2:28
50.82/15 · norm 0.16
Submission attempts
110.60/15 · norm 0.16

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.