Justin Willis vs.
Curtis Blaydes
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.
Justin Willis
Full career not yet synced for Justin Willis — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 1-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.6 wins over .500
Curtis Blaydes
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 14 | 6 |
| Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) | 1 | 0 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 4 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.44 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 26 documented bouts
In the UFC: 11-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.6 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)
Justin Willis
Distance 83.1% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 7.6% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 9.3% (norm 9.3%)
Curtis Blaydes
Distance 69.1% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 11.4% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 19.5% (norm 9.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Justin Willis
Head 87.1% (norm 79.2%) · Body 7.3% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 5.6% (norm 7.6%)
Curtis Blaydes
Head 83.7% (norm 79.2%) · Body 6.6% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 9.7% (norm 7.6%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Willis L/A | Acc | Heavyweight med | Blaydes L/A | Acc | Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 168 / 296 | 56.8% | 40.1% | 421 / 1073 | 39.2% | 40.1% |
| In the clinch | 14 / 27 | 51.9% | 70.6% | 145 / 177 | 81.9% | 70.6% |
| On the ground | 29 / 33 | 87.9% | 70.2% | 243 / 302 | 80.5% | 70.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 176 / 310 | 56.8% | 38.9% | 585 / 1299 | 45.0% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 19 / 26 | 73.1% | 76.8% | 89 / 103 | 86.4% | 76.8% |
| To the legs | 16 / 20 | too few to rate | 87.8% | 135 / 150 | 90.0% | 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 Willis L/A | Opp acc | Heavyweight med | vs Blaydes L/A | Opp acc | Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 123 / 326 | 37.7% | 40.7% | 427 / 1021 | 41.8% | 40.7% |
| In the clinch | 24 / 35 | 68.6% | 70.6% | 82 / 108 | 75.9% | 70.6% |
| On the ground | 14 / 21 | too few to rate | 72.0% | 25 / 30 | 83.3% | 72.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 68 / 260 | 26.2% | 38.8% | 440 / 1037 | 42.4% | 38.8% |
| To the body | 55 / 80 | 68.8% | 75.1% | 64 / 87 | 73.6% | 75.1% |
| To the legs | 38 / 42 | 90.5% | 84.4% | 30 / 35 | 85.7% | 84.4% |
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 — Blaydes has more cage time on record.