Matt Hughes vs.
Thiago Alves
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.
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
Thiago Alves
Full career not yet synced for Thiago Alves — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 7-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.7 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)
Matt Hughes
Distance 44.0% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 6.3% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 49.6% (norm 8.1%)
Thiago Alves
Distance 84.1% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 7.9% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 8.0% (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%)
Thiago Alves
Head 73.8% (norm 78.2%) · Body 7.6% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 18.7% (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/A | Acc | Welterweight med | Alves L/A | Acc | Welterweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 153 / 425 | 36.0% | 38.6% | 867 / 2227 | 38.9% | 38.6% |
| In the clinch | 46 / 61 | 75.4% | 67.8% | 126 / 208 | 60.6% | 67.8% |
| On the ground | 332 / 479 | 69.3% | 67.2% | 113 / 213 | 53.1% | 67.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 364 / 785 | 46.4% | 37.2% | 569 / 1953 | 29.1% | 37.2% |
| To the body | 117 / 125 | 93.6% | 70.7% | 150 / 200 | 75.0% | 70.7% |
| To the legs | 50 / 55 | 90.9% | 82.9% | 387 / 495 | 78.2% | 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/A | Opp acc | Welterweight med | vs Alves L/A | Opp acc | Welterweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 138 / 430 | 32.1% | 39.0% | 731 / 2283 | 32.0% | 39.0% |
| In the clinch | 49 / 62 | 79.0% | 68.9% | 159 / 251 | 63.3% | 68.9% |
| On the ground | 99 / 136 | 72.8% | 68.0% | 125 / 174 | 71.8% | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 196 / 503 | 39.0% | 35.6% | 649 / 2203 | 29.5% | 35.6% |
| To the body | 63 / 87 | 72.4% | 69.6% | 218 / 312 | 69.9% | 69.6% |
| To the legs | 27 / 38 | 71.1% | 82.1% | 148 / 193 | 76.7% | 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 — Alves has more cage time on record.