Skip to content

Matt Van Buren vs. Sean O'Connell

UFC 0-2-0 vs. 2-5-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
0-2-0
UFC record
2-5-0
Light Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Light Heavyweight
40
AgeΔ 3 yrs
43
6'5"
HeightΔ 4"
6'1"
—
Reach
74"
—
Stance
Orthodox
141
Layoff (months)Δ 22.7 mo
118.3
LL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Matt Van Buren outworks the Light Heavyweight division — 7.73 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.48 norm.
Sean O'Connell carries real power — 0.81 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.40 Light Heavyweight norm.
Matt Van Buren absorbs 6.82 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.37 Light Heavyweight norm — hittable.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Matt Van Buren

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 24
Tier 3 — regional circuit 52

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.23 · 2 tier-1/2 wins · 4 finish wins over 13 documented bouts

In the UFC: 0-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record -1.0 wins over .500

Sean O'Connell

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 56
Tier 3 — regional circuit 154

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.63 · 5 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 30 documented bouts

In the UFC: 0-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.3 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

1027.73/min · norm 3.48
Sig. strikes landed
3045.46/min · norm 3.48
906.82/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed lower is better
3776.77/min · norm 3.37
45.9%norm 48.45%
Striking accuracy
48.7%norm 48.45%
49.4%norm 52.75%
Striking defense
45.4%norm 52.75%
00.00/15 · norm 0.40
Knockdowns
30.81/15 · norm 0.40

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

Matt Van Buren

Distance 82.9% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 17.1% (norm 8.8%) · Ground 0.0% (norm 10.6%)

Sean O'Connell

Distance 80.9% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 14.7% (norm 8.8%) · Ground 4.3% (norm 10.6%)

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

Matt Van Buren

Head 73.4% (norm 78.5%) · Body 23.4% (norm 11.8%) · Legs 3.2% (norm 9.7%)

Sean O'Connell

Head 80.9% (norm 78.5%) · Body 12.8% (norm 11.8%) · Legs 6.2% (norm 9.7%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Van Buren L/AAccLight Heavyweight med O'Connell L/AAccLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 74 / 184 40.2% 41.5% 214 / 505 42.4% 41.5%
In the clinch 28 / 38 73.7% 70.8% 75 / 92 81.5% 70.8%
On the ground 0 / 0 too few to rate 72.9% 15 / 27 55.6% 72.9%
BY TARGET
To the head 55 / 163 33.7% 39.2% 207 / 505 41.0% 39.2%
To the body 42 / 52 80.8% 72.0% 65 / 80 81.2% 72.0%
To the legs 5 / 7 too few to rate 82.1% 32 / 39 82.1% 82.1%

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 (Light Heavyweight: 94 fighters · Light Heavyweight: 94 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 Van Buren L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med vs O'Connell L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 49 / 124 39.5% 40.6% 218 / 468 46.6% 40.6%
In the clinch 32 / 42 76.2% 68.8% 73 / 91 80.2% 68.8%
On the ground 9 / 12 too few to rate 70.4% 86 / 132 65.2% 70.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 66 / 146 45.2% 37.7% 264 / 556 47.5% 37.7%
To the body 21 / 25 84.0% 72.9% 86 / 102 84.3% 72.9%
To the legs 3 / 7 too few to rate 83.1% 27 / 33 81.8% 83.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
0— acc · 0.00/15 · norm 0.87
Takedowns landed
00.0% acc · 0.00/15 · norm 0.87
250.0% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
330.0% def · norm 66.7%
0:273.4% of cage time · norm 17.1%
Control time
13:3524.4% of cage time · norm 17.1%
3:474:17 per 15 · norm 2:50
Time under control lower is better
10:432:53 per 15 · norm 2:50
00.00/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
20.54/15 · norm 0.28

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