Markus Perez vs.
Dricus Du Plessis
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.
Markus Perez
Full career not yet synced for Markus Perez — 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 -0.1 wins over .500
Dricus Du Plessis
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 10 | 1 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 14 | 2 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.56 · 10 tier-1/2 wins · 20 finish wins over 27 documented bouts
In the UFC: 9-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +7.5 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)
Markus Perez
Distance 77.1% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 19.7% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 3.2% (norm 10.3%)
Dricus Du Plessis
Distance 89.6% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 4.9% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 5.5% (norm 10.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Markus Perez
Head 68.7% (norm 78.0%) · Body 25.9% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 5.4% (norm 8.4%)
Dricus Du Plessis
Head 75.7% (norm 78.0%) · Body 11.2% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 13.0% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Perez L/A | Acc | Middleweight med | Plessis L/A | Acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 126 / 313 | 40.3% | 40.5% | 767 / 1658 | 46.3% | 40.5% |
| In the clinch | 57 / 80 | 71.2% | 70.3% | 65 / 91 | 71.4% | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 9 / 13 | too few to rate | 69.1% | 74 / 102 | 72.5% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 94 / 279 | 33.7% | 38.9% | 559 / 1402 | 39.9% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 80 / 105 | 76.2% | 71.7% | 161 / 208 | 77.4% | 71.7% |
| To the legs | 18 / 22 | too few to rate | 83.3% | 186 / 241 | 77.2% | 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 Perez L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med | vs Plessis L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 149 / 402 | 37.1% | 39.5% | 672 / 1525 | 44.1% | 39.5% |
| In the clinch | 68 / 101 | 67.3% | 70.9% | 28 / 34 | 82.4% | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 58 / 81 | 71.6% | 69.0% | 36 / 45 | 80.0% | 69.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 181 / 449 | 40.3% | 37.9% | 532 / 1332 | 39.9% | 37.9% |
| To the body | 63 / 87 | 72.4% | 71.3% | 149 / 213 | 70.0% | 71.3% |
| To the legs | 31 / 48 | 64.6% | 82.1% | 55 / 59 | 93.2% | 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 — Plessis has more cage time on record.