BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Kevin Casey vs.
Rafael Natal

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

1-3-1 (2 NC) Kevin Casey · UFC
9-7-1 Rafael Natal · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

1-3-1 (2 NC)
UFC record
9-7-1
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
45.1
AgeΔ 1.5 yrs
43.6
5'11"
HeightΔ 1"
6'0"
77"
ReachΔ 0"
77"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
119.3
Layoff (months)Δ 10.8 mo
108.5
LDLNCW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWW
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.

Rafael Natal hunts takedowns — 2.55 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Kevin Casey owns the mat — in control 30% of cage time, vs a 20% Middleweight norm.
Kevin Casey rarely shoots — 0.73 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 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.

Kevin Casey

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

In the UFC: 1-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.0 wins over .500

Rafael Natal

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

In the UFC: 3-6 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

1702.74/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
6563.10/min · norm 3.25
2363.80/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
5242.48/min · norm 3.20
54.7%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
47.9%norm 47.4%
48.5%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
57.6%norm 53.8%
10.24/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
50.35/15 · norm 0.32

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

Kevin Casey

Distance 69.1% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 7.1% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 23.8% (norm 10.3%)

Rafael Natal

Distance 76.6% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 8.1% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 15.3% (norm 10.3%)

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

Kevin Casey

Head 72.3% (norm 78.0%) · Body 17.0% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 10.6% (norm 8.4%)

Rafael Natal

Head 71.2% (norm 78.0%) · Body 12.5% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 16.3% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Casey L/AAccMiddleweight med Natal L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 89 / 215 41.4% 40.5% 432 / 1049 41.2% 40.5%
In the clinch 20 / 22 too few to rate 70.3% 79 / 111 71.2% 70.3%
On the ground 61 / 74 82.4% 69.1% 145 / 210 69.0% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 103 / 225 45.8% 38.9% 379 / 976 38.8% 38.9%
To the body 38 / 53 71.7% 71.7% 93 / 171 54.4% 71.7%
To the legs 29 / 33 87.9% 83.3% 184 / 223 82.5% 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 Casey L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Natal L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 93 / 251 37.1% 39.5% 369 / 1016 36.3% 39.5%
In the clinch 87 / 117 74.4% 70.9% 58 / 89 65.2% 70.9%
On the ground 56 / 90 62.2% 69.0% 97 / 131 74.0% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 133 / 337 39.5% 37.9% 315 / 950 33.2% 37.9%
To the body 76 / 93 81.7% 71.3% 73 / 117 62.4% 71.3%
To the legs 27 / 28 96.4% 82.1% 136 / 169 80.5% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

321.4% acc · 0.73/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
3634.3% acc · 2.55/15 · norm 1.42
342.9% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
2777.1% def · norm 63.1%
18:2629.7% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
53:3925.4% of cage time · norm 19.75%
9:392:20 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
30:472:10 per 15 · norm 3:00
20.48/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
70.50/15 · norm 0.47

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.