Khamzat Chimaev vs.
John Phillips
Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.
The men, measured.
Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.
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.
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.
Khamzat Chimaev
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 9 | 1 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 6 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 2.03 · 9 tier-1/2 wins · 12 finish wins over 16 documented bouts
In the UFC: 7-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +6.4 wins over .500
John Phillips
Full career not yet synced for John Phillips — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record -0.5 wins over .500
The stand-up battle.
Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Khamzat Chimaev
Distance 69.5% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 2.2% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 28.4% (norm 10.3%)
John Phillips
Distance 89.4% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 7.7% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 2.9% (norm 10.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Khamzat Chimaev
Head 80.5% (norm 78.0%) · Body 14.2% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 5.2% (norm 8.4%)
John Phillips
Head 72.3% (norm 78.0%) · Body 17.2% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 10.6% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Chimaev L/A | Acc | Middleweight med | Phillips L/A | Acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 221 / 507 | 43.6% | 40.5% | 81 / 245 | 33.1% | 40.5% |
| In the clinch | 13 / 16 | too few to rate | 70.3% | 10 / 21 | too few to rate | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 162 / 207 | 78.3% | 69.1% | 3 / 8 | too few to rate | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 301 / 588 | 51.2% | 38.9% | 42 / 198 | 21.2% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 58 / 104 | 55.8% | 71.7% | 27 / 47 | 57.4% | 71.7% |
| To the legs | 37 / 38 | 97.4% | 83.3% | 25 / 29 | 86.2% | 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 Chimaev L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med | vs Phillips L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 264 / 578 | 45.7% | 39.5% | 131 / 317 | 41.3% | 39.5% |
| In the clinch | 11 / 12 | too few to rate | 70.9% | 11 / 12 | too few to rate | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 19 / 23 | too few to rate | 69.0% | 78 / 105 | 74.3% | 69.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 245 / 548 | 44.7% | 37.9% | 156 / 357 | 43.7% | 37.9% |
| To the body | 35 / 48 | 72.9% | 71.3% | 44 / 54 | 81.5% | 71.3% |
| To the legs | 14 / 17 | too few to rate | 82.1% | 20 / 23 | too few to rate | 82.1% |
The ground war.
Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Chimaev has more cage time on record.