Magomed Ankalaev vs.
Paul Craig
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.
Magomed Ankalaev
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 13 | 2 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 8 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.66 · 13 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 25 documented bouts
In the UFC: 10-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.8 wins over .500
Paul Craig
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 9 | 10 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 8 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.89 · 9 tier-1/2 wins · 17 finish wins over 29 documented bouts
In the UFC: 5-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.5 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)
Magomed Ankalaev
Distance 80.1% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 6.8% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 13.2% (norm 10.4%)
Paul Craig
Distance 78.4% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 8.6% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 12.9% (norm 10.4%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Magomed Ankalaev
Head 69.3% (norm 79.2%) · Body 20.8% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 9.9% (norm 9.7%)
Paul Craig
Head 68.3% (norm 79.2%) · Body 21.8% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 9.9% (norm 9.7%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Ankalaev L/A | Acc | Light Heavyweight med | Craig L/A | Acc | Light Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 534 / 1138 | 46.9% | 41.4% | 283 / 728 | 38.9% | 41.4% |
| In the clinch | 77 / 96 | 80.2% | 70.9% | 57 / 80 | 71.2% | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 133 / 187 | 71.1% | 72.3% | 81 / 120 | 67.5% | 72.3% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 402 / 985 | 40.8% | 38.9% | 211 / 634 | 33.3% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 215 / 295 | 72.9% | 71.9% | 133 / 202 | 65.8% | 71.9% |
| To the legs | 127 / 141 | 90.1% | 81.8% | 77 / 92 | 83.7% | 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 Ankalaev L/A | Opp acc | Light Heavyweight med | vs Craig L/A | Opp acc | Light Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 463 / 1089 | 42.5% | 40.4% | 281 / 584 | 48.1% | 40.4% |
| In the clinch | 39 / 52 | 75.0% | 68.7% | 49 / 60 | 81.7% | 68.7% |
| On the ground | 26 / 39 | 66.7% | 70.4% | 181 / 259 | 69.9% | 70.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 155 / 683 | 22.7% | 37.5% | 353 / 713 | 49.5% | 37.5% |
| To the body | 115 / 192 | 59.9% | 72.3% | 78 / 97 | 80.4% | 72.3% |
| To the legs | 258 / 305 | 84.6% | 83.0% | 80 / 93 | 86.0% | 83.0% |
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 — Craig has more cage time on record.