Marlon Vera vs.
Dominick Cruz
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.
Marlon Vera
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 15 | 11 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 8 | 1 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.19 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 18 finish wins over 36 documented bouts
In the UFC: 10-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.7 wins over .500
Dominick Cruz
Full career not yet synced for Dominick Cruz — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 7-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.5 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)
Marlon Vera
Distance 86.6% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 6.1% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 7.3% (norm 6.5%)
Dominick Cruz
Distance 94.5% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 3.2% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 2.3% (norm 6.5%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Marlon Vera
Head 69.0% (norm 77.4%) · Body 16.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 14.3% (norm 8.4%)
Dominick Cruz
Head 82.1% (norm 77.4%) · Body 11.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 6.9% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Vera L/A | Acc | Bantamweight med | Cruz L/A | Acc | Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 1183 / 2694 | 43.9% | 39.0% | 693 / 1940 | 35.7% | 39.0% |
| In the clinch | 146 / 189 | 77.2% | 68.7% | 53 / 66 | 80.3% | 68.7% |
| On the ground | 151 / 227 | 66.5% | 70.2% | 34 / 47 | 72.3% | 70.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 801 / 2146 | 37.3% | 34.9% | 518 / 1686 | 30.7% | 34.9% |
| To the body | 319 / 520 | 61.3% | 66.8% | 141 / 226 | 62.4% | 66.8% |
| To the legs | 360 / 444 | 81.1% | 79.4% | 121 / 141 | 85.8% | 79.4% |
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 (Bantamweight: 117 fighters · Bantamweight: 117 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 Vera L/A | Opp acc | Bantamweight med | vs Cruz L/A | Opp acc | Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 1605 / 3379 | 47.5% | 39.3% | 519 / 1613 | 32.2% | 39.3% |
| In the clinch | 116 / 171 | 67.8% | 70.4% | 54 / 88 | 61.4% | 70.4% |
| On the ground | 169 / 238 | 71.0% | 72.4% | 15 / 20 | too few to rate | 72.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 1163 / 2842 | 40.9% | 34.9% | 343 / 1365 | 25.1% | 34.9% |
| To the body | 426 / 586 | 72.7% | 66.0% | 114 / 194 | 58.8% | 66.0% |
| To the legs | 301 / 360 | 83.6% | 79.1% | 131 / 162 | 80.9% | 79.1% |
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 — Vera has more cage time on record.