BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Kamaru Usman vs.
Gilbert Burns

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

16-4-0 Kamaru Usman · UFC
15-10-0 Gilbert Burns · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

16-4-0
UFC record
15-10-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
39
AgeΔ 1 yrs
40
6'0"
HeightΔ 2"
5'10"
76"
ReachΔ 5"
71"
Switch
Stance
Orthodox
0.6
Layoff (months)Δ 3 mo
3.6
LWLLL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLL
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.

Kamaru Usman owns the mat — in control 40% of cage time, vs a 18% Welterweight norm.
Kamaru Usman hunts takedowns — 2.60 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.
Gilbert Burns hunts takedowns — 2.04 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight 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.

Kamaru Usman

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 164
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 40
Tier 3 — regional circuit 11

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.67 · 20 tier-1/2 wins · 10 finish wins over 26 documented bouts

In the UFC: 14-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +6.0 wins over .500

Gilbert Burns

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1510
Tier 3 — regional circuit 70

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.21 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 32 documented bouts

In the UFC: 9-10 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.2 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

15034.13/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
9743.16/min · norm 3.17
10402.86/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
11353.68/min · norm 3.06
50.9%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
48.1%norm 44.9%
54.6%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
52.5%norm 55.25%
100.41/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
40.19/15 · norm 0.38

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

Kamaru Usman

Distance 73.7% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 10.1% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 16.3% (norm 8.1%)

Gilbert Burns

Distance 84.3% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 7.1% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 8.5% (norm 8.1%)

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

Kamaru Usman

Head 76.3% (norm 78.2%) · Body 19.2% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 4.5% (norm 8.4%)

Gilbert Burns

Head 74.4% (norm 78.2%) · Body 13.8% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 11.9% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Usman L/AAccWelterweight med Burns L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 897 / 2176 41.2% 38.6% 737 / 1708 43.1% 38.6%
In the clinch 242 / 297 81.5% 67.8% 99 / 144 68.8% 67.8%
On the ground 364 / 480 75.8% 67.2% 138 / 173 79.8% 67.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 945 / 2252 42.0% 37.2% 571 / 1506 37.9% 37.2%
To the body 441 / 567 77.8% 70.7% 216 / 279 77.4% 70.7%
To the legs 117 / 134 87.3% 82.9% 187 / 240 77.9% 82.9%

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 (Welterweight: 182 fighters · Welterweight: 182 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 Usman L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Burns L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 873 / 2090 41.8% 39.0% 957 / 2144 44.6% 39.0%
In the clinch 123 / 147 83.7% 68.9% 89 / 121 73.6% 68.9%
On the ground 44 / 54 81.5% 68.0% 89 / 126 70.6% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 600 / 1762 34.1% 35.6% 766 / 1896 40.4% 35.6%
To the body 263 / 330 79.7% 69.6% 196 / 298 65.8% 69.6%
To the legs 177 / 199 88.9% 82.1% 173 / 197 87.8% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

6342.0% acc · 2.60/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
4235.6% acc · 2.04/15 · norm 1.27
4690.2% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
2253.7% def · norm 63.9%
147:1440.5% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
70:2122.8% of cage time · norm 18.5%
15:140:37 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
36:521:47 per 15 · norm 3:15
20.08/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
90.44/15 · norm 0.45

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.