Matt Van Buren vs.
Sean O'Connell
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 Van Buren
Full career not yet synced for Matt Van Buren — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
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
Full career not yet synced for Sean O'Connell — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.3 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 Van Buren
Distance 82.9% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 17.1% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 0.0% (norm 10.4%)
Sean O'Connell
Distance 80.9% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 14.7% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 4.3% (norm 10.4%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Matt Van Buren
Head 73.4% (norm 79.2%) · Body 23.4% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 3.2% (norm 9.7%)
Sean O'Connell
Head 80.9% (norm 79.2%) · Body 12.8% (norm 11.7%) · 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 | Buren L/A | Acc | Light Heavyweight med | O'Connell L/A | Acc | Light Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 74 / 184 | 40.2% | 41.4% | 214 / 505 | 42.4% | 41.4% |
| In the clinch | 28 / 38 | 73.7% | 70.9% | 75 / 92 | 81.5% | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 0 / 0 | too few to rate | 72.3% | 15 / 27 | 55.6% | 72.3% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 55 / 163 | 33.7% | 38.9% | 207 / 505 | 41.0% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 42 / 52 | 80.8% | 71.9% | 65 / 80 | 81.2% | 71.9% |
| To the legs | 5 / 7 | too few to rate | 81.8% | 32 / 39 | 82.1% | 81.8% |
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: 93 fighters · Light Heavyweight: 93 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 Buren L/A | Opp acc | Light Heavyweight med | vs O'Connell L/A | Opp acc | Light Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 49 / 124 | 39.5% | 40.4% | 218 / 468 | 46.6% | 40.4% |
| In the clinch | 32 / 42 | 76.2% | 68.7% | 73 / 91 | 80.2% | 68.7% |
| 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% | 37.5% | 264 / 556 | 47.5% | 37.5% |
| To the body | 21 / 25 | 84.0% | 72.3% | 86 / 102 | 84.3% | 72.3% |
| To the legs | 3 / 7 | too few to rate | 83.0% | 27 / 33 | 81.8% | 83.0% |
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 — O'Connell has more cage time on record.