BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Matt Hughes vs.
Renzo Gracie

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

18-7-0 Matt Hughes · UFC
0-1-0 Renzo Gracie · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

18-7-0
UFC record
0-1-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
52.8
AgeΔ 6.6 yrs
59.4
5'9"
HeightΔ 1"
5'10"
73"
Reach
Switch
Stance
Orthodox
178.4
Layoff (months)Δ 17.5 mo
195.9
LLWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
L
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.

Matt Hughes owns the mat — in control 57% of cage time, vs a 18% Welterweight norm.
Matt Hughes hunts takedowns — 3.16 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.
Renzo Gracie rarely shoots — 0.00 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight 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.

Matt Hughes

Full career not yet synced for Matt Hughes — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).

In the UFC: 10-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.1 wins over .500

Renzo Gracie

Full career not yet synced for Renzo Gracie — 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 +11.0 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

5312.38/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
342.32/min · norm 3.17
2861.28/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
704.77/min · norm 3.06
55.0%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
31.2%norm 44.9%
54.5%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
43.1%norm 55.25%
30.20/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · norm 0.38

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

Matt Hughes

Distance 44.0% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 6.3% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 49.6% (norm 8.1%)

Renzo Gracie

Distance 94.5% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 5.5% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 0.0% (norm 8.1%)

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

Matt Hughes

Head 81.3% (norm 78.2%) · Body 13.0% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 5.7% (norm 8.4%)

Renzo Gracie

Head 78.9% (norm 78.2%) · Body 16.5% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 4.6% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Hughes L/AAccWelterweight med Gracie L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 153 / 425 36.0% 38.6% 29 / 103 28.2% 38.6%
In the clinch 46 / 61 75.4% 67.8% 5 / 6 too few to rate 67.8%
On the ground 332 / 479 69.3% 67.2% 0 / 0 too few to rate 67.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 364 / 785 46.4% 37.2% 16 / 86 18.6% 37.2%
To the body 117 / 125 93.6% 70.7% 14 / 18 too few to rate 70.7%
To the legs 50 / 55 90.9% 82.9% 4 / 5 too few to rate 82.9%

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 (Welterweight: 182 fighters · Welterweight: 182 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 Hughes L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Gracie L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 138 / 430 32.1% 39.0% 50 / 100 50.0% 39.0%
In the clinch 49 / 62 79.0% 68.9% 19 / 22 too few to rate 68.9%
On the ground 99 / 136 72.8% 68.0% 1 / 1 too few to rate 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 196 / 503 39.0% 35.6% 32 / 81 39.5% 35.6%
To the body 63 / 87 72.4% 69.6% 6 / 6 too few to rate 69.6%
To the legs 27 / 38 71.1% 82.1% 32 / 36 88.9% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

4751.1% acc · 3.16/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
00.0% acc · 0.00/15 · norm 1.27
635.3% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
1100.0% def · norm 63.9%
117:5156.6% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
0:000.0% of cage time · norm 18.5%
29:371:59 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
1:451:47 per 15 · norm 3:15
161.08/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.45

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.