BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Matt Schnell vs.
Steve Erceg

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

7-9-0 (1 NC) Matt Schnell · UFC
5-4-0 Steve Erceg · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

7-9-0 (1 NC)
UFC record
5-4-0
Flyweight
Division (benchmark)
Flyweight
36.6
AgeΔ 5.6 yrs
31
5'8"
HeightΔ 0"
5'8"
70"
ReachΔ 2"
68"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
2
Layoff (months)Δ 1.6 mo
0.4
LLWLL
Last 5 (newest first)
LWWLL
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 Schnell is a submission threat — 1.18 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.58 Flyweight norm.
Matt Schnell rarely shoots — 0.59 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.30 Flyweight norm.
Steve Erceg outworks the Flyweight division — 4.56 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.49 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 Schnell

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 79
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 62
Tier 3 — regional circuit 40

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.71 · 13 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 29 documented bouts

In the UFC: 5-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.1 wins over .500

Steve Erceg

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 54
Tier 3 — regional circuit 91

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.98 · 5 tier-1/2 wins · 8 finish wins over 19 documented bouts

In the UFC: 2-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.0 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

5144.05/min · norm 3.49
Sig. strikes landed
5654.56/min · norm 3.49
5304.18/min · norm 3.24
Sig. strikes absorbed
5134.14/min · norm 3.24
40.3%norm 44.6%
Striking accuracy
46.8%norm 44.6%
54.5%norm 56.4%
Striking defense
55.5%norm 56.4%
10.12/15 · norm 0.18
Knockdowns
10.12/15 · norm 0.18

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

Matt Schnell

Distance 90.3% (norm 85.1%) · Clinch 5.0% (norm 6.0%) · Ground 4.7% (norm 7.3%)

Steve Erceg

Distance 93.9% (norm 85.1%) · Clinch 5.3% (norm 6.0%) · Ground 0.8% (norm 7.3%)

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

Matt Schnell

Head 84.2% (norm 75.9%) · Body 8.2% (norm 13.3%) · Legs 7.7% (norm 9.3%)

Steve Erceg

Head 83.5% (norm 75.9%) · Body 12.4% (norm 13.3%) · Legs 4.1% (norm 9.3%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Schnell L/AAccFlyweight med Erceg L/AAccFlyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 426 / 1152 37.0% 40.0% 501 / 1132 44.3% 40.0%
In the clinch 43 / 64 67.2% 70.4% 55 / 64 85.9% 70.4%
On the ground 45 / 60 75.0% 69.7% 9 / 10 too few to rate 69.7%
BY TARGET
To the head 370 / 1074 34.5% 37.6% 419 / 1007 41.6% 37.6%
To the body 66 / 104 63.5% 68.5% 103 / 150 68.7% 68.5%
To the legs 78 / 98 79.6% 80.0% 43 / 49 87.8% 80.0%

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 (Flyweight: 73 fighters · Flyweight: 73 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 Schnell L/AOpp accFlyweight med vs Erceg L/AOpp accFlyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 398 / 1007 39.5% 40.1% 441 / 1059 41.6% 40.1%
In the clinch 48 / 65 73.8% 68.8% 44 / 57 77.2% 68.8%
On the ground 84 / 93 90.3% 71.1% 28 / 38 73.7% 71.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 379 / 962 39.4% 35.2% 309 / 874 35.4% 35.2%
To the body 67 / 92 72.8% 68.2% 97 / 156 62.2% 68.2%
To the legs 84 / 111 75.7% 80.3% 107 / 124 86.3% 80.3%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

545.5% acc · 0.59/15 · norm 1.30
Takedowns landed
927.3% acc · 1.09/15 · norm 1.30
1043.5% def · norm 62.5%
Takedowns stopped
3167.4% def · norm 62.5%
8:326.7% of cage time · norm 17.0%
Control time
13:5911.3% of cage time · norm 17.0%
22:202:38 per 15 · norm 2:44
Time under control
14:481:47 per 15 · norm 2:44
101.18/15 · norm 0.58
Submission attempts
30.36/15 · norm 0.58

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.