Melquizael Costa vs.
Shayilan Nuerdanbieke
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.
Melquizael Costa
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 7 | 3 |
| Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) | 1 | 1 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 18 | 4 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.98 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 17 finish wins over 34 documented bouts
In the UFC: 6-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.1 wins over .500
Shayilan Nuerdanbieke
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 3 | 3 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 36 | 9 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.67 · 3 tier-1/2 wins · 29 finish wins over 51 documented bouts
In the UFC: 0-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record -1.2 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)
Melquizael Costa
Distance 87.9% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 6.6% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 5.5% (norm 6.5%)
Shayilan Nuerdanbieke
Distance 71.5% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 5.2% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 23.3% (norm 6.5%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Melquizael Costa
Head 64.7% (norm 77.4%) · Body 21.9% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 13.4% (norm 7.8%)
Shayilan Nuerdanbieke
Head 88.5% (norm 77.4%) · Body 5.6% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 5.9% (norm 7.8%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Costa L/A | Acc | Featherweight med | Nuerdanbieke L/A | Acc | Featherweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 382 / 864 | 44.2% | 40.9% | 75 / 193 | 38.9% | 40.9% |
| In the clinch | 42 / 65 | 64.6% | 70.8% | 9 / 14 | too few to rate | 70.8% |
| On the ground | 38 / 54 | 70.4% | 69.2% | 40 / 63 | 63.5% | 69.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 216 / 636 | 34.0% | 37.2% | 103 / 239 | 43.1% | 37.2% |
| To the body | 138 / 215 | 64.2% | 68.2% | 10 / 15 | too few to rate | 68.2% |
| To the legs | 108 / 132 | 81.8% | 80.7% | 11 / 16 | too few to rate | 80.7% |
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 (Featherweight: 126 fighters · Featherweight: 126 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 Costa L/A | Opp acc | Featherweight med | vs Nuerdanbieke L/A | Opp acc | Featherweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 237 / 549 | 43.2% | 39.2% | 142 / 304 | 46.7% | 39.2% |
| In the clinch | 45 / 66 | 68.2% | 70.3% | 11 / 14 | too few to rate | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 61 / 76 | 80.3% | 69.4% | 15 / 21 | too few to rate | 69.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 233 / 560 | 41.6% | 35.9% | 102 / 259 | 39.4% | 35.9% |
| To the body | 73 / 90 | 81.1% | 67.9% | 29 / 37 | 78.4% | 67.9% |
| To the legs | 37 / 41 | 90.2% | 81.5% | 37 / 43 | 86.0% | 81.5% |
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 — Costa has more cage time on record.