BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Marvin Vettori vs.
Israel Adesanya

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

9-8-1 Marvin Vettori · UFC
13-6-0 Israel Adesanya · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

9-8-1
UFC record
13-6-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
32
AgeΔ 5 yrs
37
6'0"
HeightΔ 4"
6'4"
74"
ReachΔ 6"
80"
Southpaw
Stance
Switch
8
Layoff (months)Δ 3.7 mo
4.3
LLLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLW
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.

Israel Adesanya rarely shoots — 0.05 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Israel Adesanya carries real power — 0.60 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
Marvin Vettori outworks the Middleweight division — 4.74 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.25 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.

Marvin Vettori

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 98
Tier 3 — regional circuit 102

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.89 · 9 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 30 documented bouts

In the UFC: 8-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.8 wins over .500

Israel Adesanya

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 136
Tier 3 — regional circuit 110

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.39 · 13 tier-1/2 wins · 16 finish wins over 30 documented bouts

In the UFC: 12-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.8 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

14644.74/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
13134.03/min · norm 3.25
14064.55/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
10493.22/min · norm 3.20
45.9%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
48.4%norm 47.4%
56.1%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
55.8%norm 53.8%
10.05/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
130.60/15 · norm 0.32

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

Marvin Vettori

Distance 91.5% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 4.0% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 4.4% (norm 10.3%)

Israel Adesanya

Distance 95.1% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 3.1% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 1.9% (norm 10.3%)

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

Marvin Vettori

Head 88.2% (norm 78.0%) · Body 5.8% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 6.0% (norm 8.4%)

Israel Adesanya

Head 67.9% (norm 78.0%) · Body 14.5% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 17.6% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Vettori L/AAccMiddleweight med Adesanya L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1277 / 2921 43.7% 40.5% 1212 / 2580 47.0% 40.5%
In the clinch 85 / 129 65.9% 70.3% 64 / 83 77.1% 70.3%
On the ground 102 / 141 72.3% 69.1% 37 / 51 72.5% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 1144 / 2814 40.7% 38.9% 645 / 1843 35.0% 38.9%
To the body 146 / 184 79.3% 71.7% 274 / 394 69.5% 71.7%
To the legs 174 / 193 90.2% 83.3% 394 / 477 82.6% 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 Vettori L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Adesanya L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1279 / 3016 42.4% 39.5% 914 / 2191 41.7% 39.5%
In the clinch 85 / 123 69.1% 70.9% 88 / 121 72.7% 70.9%
On the ground 42 / 62 67.7% 69.0% 47 / 60 78.3% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 881 / 2516 35.0% 37.9% 609 / 1767 34.5% 37.9%
To the body 252 / 350 72.0% 71.3% 224 / 309 72.5% 71.3%
To the legs 273 / 335 81.5% 82.1% 216 / 296 73.0% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

2943.9% acc · 1.41/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
19.1% acc · 0.05/15 · norm 1.42
3768.5% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
8176.4% def · norm 63.1%
57:0118.5% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
10:153.1% of cage time · norm 19.75%
18:320:54 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
42:141:56 per 15 · norm 3:00
80.39/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
30.14/15 · norm 0.47

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.