BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Kazuhiro Nakamura vs.
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

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

0-2-0 Kazuhiro Nakamura · UFC
1-2-0 Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

0-2-0
UFC record
1-2-0
Light Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Light Heavyweight
47.1
AgeΔ 4.8 yrs
42.3
5'11"
HeightΔ 1"
5'10"
70"
ReachΔ 8"
78"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
218.4
Layoff (months)Δ 4.8 mo
213.6
LL
Last 5 (newest first)
LWL
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.

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou is a submission threat — 1.27 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.27 Light Heavyweight norm.
Kazuhiro Nakamura hunts takedowns — 1.50 per 15 minutes, vs a 0.87 Light Heavyweight norm.
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou carries real power — 0.64 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.40 Light 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.

Kazuhiro Nakamura

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

In the UFC: 0-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.5 wins over .500

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

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

In the UFC: 0-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.7 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

211.05/min · norm 3.41
Sig. strikes landed
602.54/min · norm 3.41
964.80/min · norm 3.35
Sig. strikes absorbed
682.88/min · norm 3.35
38.9%norm 48.3%
Striking accuracy
39.5%norm 48.3%
28.9%norm 52.9%
Striking defense
54.4%norm 52.9%
00.00/15 · norm 0.40
Knockdowns
10.64/15 · norm 0.40

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

Kazuhiro Nakamura

Distance 66.7% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 31.5% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 1.9% (norm 10.4%)

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

Distance 90.8% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 6.6% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 2.6% (norm 10.4%)

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

Kazuhiro Nakamura

Head 72.2% (norm 79.2%) · Body 20.4% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 7.4% (norm 9.7%)

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

Head 73.7% (norm 79.2%) · Body 10.5% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 15.8% (norm 9.7%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Nakamura L/AAccLight Heavyweight med Sokoudjou L/AAccLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 9 / 36 25.0% 41.4% 51 / 138 37.0% 41.4%
In the clinch 12 / 17 too few to rate 70.9% 6 / 10 too few to rate 70.9%
On the ground 0 / 1 too few to rate 72.3% 3 / 4 too few to rate 72.3%
BY TARGET
To the head 7 / 39 17.9% 38.9% 27 / 112 24.1% 38.9%
To the body 10 / 11 too few to rate 71.9% 14 / 16 too few to rate 71.9%
To the legs 4 / 4 too few to rate 81.8% 19 / 24 too few to rate 81.8%

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 (Light Heavyweight: 93 fighters · Light 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 Nakamura L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med vs Sokoudjou L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 37 / 62 59.7% 40.4% 44 / 100 44.0% 40.4%
In the clinch 36 / 39 92.3% 68.7% 2 / 6 too few to rate 68.7%
On the ground 23 / 34 67.6% 70.4% 22 / 43 51.2% 70.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 43 / 80 53.8% 37.5% 50 / 126 39.7% 37.5%
To the body 32 / 33 97.0% 72.3% 11 / 15 too few to rate 72.3%
To the legs 21 / 22 too few to rate 83.0% 7 / 8 too few to rate 83.0%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

220.0% acc · 1.50/15 · norm 0.87
Takedowns landed
240.0% acc · 1.27/15 · norm 0.87
133.3% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
0— def · norm 66.7%
1:468.8% of cage time · norm 16.5%
Control time
0:251.8% of cage time · norm 16.5%
9:136:54 per 15 · norm 2:48
Time under control
5:463:40 per 15 · norm 2:48
00.00/15 · norm 0.27
Submission attempts
21.27/15 · norm 0.27

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.