BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Kelvin Gastelum vs.
Chris Weidman

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

14-11-0 (1 NC) Kelvin Gastelum · UFC
12-8-0 Chris Weidman · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

14-11-0 (1 NC)
UFC record
12-8-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
34.8
AgeΔ 7.3 yrs
42.1
5'9"
HeightΔ 5"
6'2"
71"
ReachΔ 7"
78"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
3.8
Layoff (months)Δ 16.1 mo
19.9
LWLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLLW
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.

Chris Weidman hunts takedowns — 3.27 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Chris Weidman is a submission threat — 0.82 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.47 Middleweight norm.
Kelvin Gastelum carries real power — 0.43 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight 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.

Kelvin Gastelum

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1411
Tier 3 — regional circuit 60

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.01 · 14 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 32 documented bouts

In the UFC: 12-11 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.0 wins over .500

Chris Weidman

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 128
Tier 3 — regional circuit 40

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.12 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 10 finish wins over 24 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.2 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

12693.65/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
6263.11/min · norm 3.25
12223.52/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
6793.37/min · norm 3.20
42.4%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
45.1%norm 47.4%
57.3%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
51.0%norm 53.8%
100.43/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
50.37/15 · norm 0.32

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

Kelvin Gastelum

Distance 90.0% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 5.7% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 4.3% (norm 10.3%)

Chris Weidman

Distance 77.4% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 6.4% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 16.2% (norm 10.3%)

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

Kelvin Gastelum

Head 80.8% (norm 78.0%) · Body 10.9% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 8.3% (norm 8.4%)

Chris Weidman

Head 82.3% (norm 78.0%) · Body 11.8% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 5.9% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Gastelum L/AAccMiddleweight med Weidman L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1082 / 2695 40.1% 40.5% 416 / 1073 38.8% 40.5%
In the clinch 109 / 171 63.7% 70.3% 58 / 89 65.2% 70.3%
On the ground 78 / 129 60.5% 69.1% 152 / 225 67.6% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 824 / 2419 34.1% 38.9% 460 / 1141 40.3% 38.9%
To the body 233 / 326 71.5% 71.7% 100 / 164 61.0% 71.7%
To the legs 212 / 250 84.8% 83.3% 66 / 82 80.5% 83.3%

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 (Middleweight: 174 fighters · Middleweight: 174 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 Gastelum L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Weidman L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1052 / 2613 40.3% 39.5% 423 / 1032 41.0% 39.5%
In the clinch 102 / 153 66.7% 70.9% 101 / 148 68.2% 70.9%
On the ground 68 / 97 70.1% 69.0% 155 / 206 75.2% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 768 / 2234 34.4% 37.9% 452 / 1094 41.3% 37.9%
To the body 274 / 406 67.5% 71.3% 127 / 169 75.1% 71.3%
To the legs 180 / 223 80.7% 82.1% 100 / 123 81.3% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

2435.3% acc · 1.04/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
4442.3% acc · 3.27/15 · norm 1.42
5560.4% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
2172.4% def · norm 63.1%
47:1513.6% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
64:5832.2% of cage time · norm 19.75%
51:252:13 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
14:431:05 per 15 · norm 3:00
20.09/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
110.82/15 · norm 0.47

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.