Kamaru Usman vs. Joaquin Buckley
Tale of the tape
The read
Level of competition
Kamaru Usman
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 16 | 4 |
| Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) | 4 | 0 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 1 | 1 |
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
Joaquin Buckley
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 14 | 8 |
| Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) | 2 | 0 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 5 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.4 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 29 documented bouts
In the UFC: 9-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.4 wins over .500
Striking
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Kamaru Usman
Distance 73.7% (norm 80.7%) · Clinch 10.1% (norm 9.6%) · Ground 16.3% (norm 8.1%)
Joaquin Buckley
Distance 85.7% (norm 80.7%) · Clinch 3.6% (norm 9.6%) · Ground 10.7% (norm 8.1%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Kamaru Usman
Head 76.3% (norm 78.3%) · Body 19.2% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 4.5% (norm 8.0%)
Joaquin Buckley
Head 79.7% (norm 78.3%) · Body 15.8% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 4.5% (norm 8.0%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Usman L/A | Acc | Welterweight med | Buckley L/A | Acc | Welterweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 897 / 2176 | 41.2% | 38.5% | 554 / 1750 | 31.7% | 38.5% |
| In the clinch | 242 / 297 | 81.5% | 67.8% | 46 / 73 | 63.0% | 67.8% |
| On the ground | 364 / 480 | 75.8% | 67.0% | 137 / 218 | 62.8% | 67.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 945 / 2252 | 42.0% | 36.4% | 455 / 1626 | 28.0% | 36.4% |
| To the body | 441 / 567 | 77.8% | 70.7% | 206 / 323 | 63.8% | 70.7% |
| To the legs | 117 / 134 | 87.3% | 83.0% | 76 / 92 | 82.6% | 83.0% |
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: 180 fighters · Welterweight: 180 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/A | Opp acc | Welterweight med | vs Buckley L/A | Opp acc | Welterweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 873 / 2090 | 41.8% | 39.1% | 461 / 1216 | 37.9% | 39.1% |
| In the clinch | 123 / 147 | 83.7% | 68.9% | 57 / 74 | 77.0% | 68.9% |
| On the ground | 44 / 54 | 81.5% | 68.0% | 138 / 265 | 52.1% | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 600 / 1762 | 34.1% | 35.6% | 440 / 1251 | 35.2% | 35.6% |
| To the body | 263 / 330 | 79.7% | 69.6% | 144 / 213 | 67.6% | 69.6% |
| To the legs | 177 / 199 | 88.9% | 82.2% | 72 / 91 | 79.1% | 82.2% |
Grappling
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Usman has more cage time on record.