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Melvin Guillard vs. Donald Cerrone

UFC 12-9-0 (1 NC) vs. 23-14-0 (1 NC)

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
12-9-0 (1 NC)
UFC record
23-14-0 (1 NC)
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
43
AgeΔ 0 yrs
43
5'9"
HeightΔ 4"
6'1"
71"
ReachΔ 2"
73"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
151.4
Layoff (months)Δ 99.8 mo
51.6
LNCWLL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLNCLL

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Melvin Guillard carries real power — 1.33 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
Donald Cerrone carries real power — 0.84 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
Donald Cerrone absorbs 5.11 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.38 Lightweight norm — hittable.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Melvin Guillard

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1213
Tier 3 — regional circuit 2111

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.38 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 24 finish wins over 62 documented bouts

In the UFC: 4-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.3 wins over .500

Donald Cerrone

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 2314
Tier 3 — regional circuit 133

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.09 · 23 tier-1/2 wins · 27 finish wins over 55 documented bouts

In the UFC: 20-13 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.8 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4483.06/min · norm 3.44
Sig. strikes landed
17484.90/min · norm 3.44
2671.83/min · norm 3.38
Sig. strikes absorbed lower is better
18255.11/min · norm 3.38
39.7%norm 43.65%
Striking accuracy
47.4%norm 43.65%
68.1%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
51.6%norm 56.3%
131.33/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
200.84/15 · norm 0.25

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

Melvin Guillard

Distance 79.4% (norm 83.1%) · Clinch 8.5% (norm 7.3%) · Ground 12.1% (norm 8.0%)

Donald Cerrone

Distance 89.1% (norm 83.1%) · Clinch 6.2% (norm 7.3%) · Ground 4.7% (norm 8.0%)

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

Melvin Guillard

Head 82.3% (norm 78.0%) · Body 11.9% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 5.9% (norm 8.0%)

Donald Cerrone

Head 71.3% (norm 78.0%) · Body 16.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 12.8% (norm 8.0%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Guillard L/AAccLightweight med Cerrone L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 312 / 896 34.8% 38.3% 1478 / 3290 44.9% 38.3%
In the clinch 58 / 96 60.4% 67.5% 151 / 229 65.9% 67.5%
On the ground 78 / 136 57.4% 68.8% 119 / 172 69.2% 68.8%
BY TARGET
To the head 300 / 928 32.3% 35.1% 893 / 2630 34.0% 35.1%
To the body 90 / 134 67.2% 69.1% 442 / 589 75.0% 69.1%
To the legs 58 / 66 87.9% 81.8% 413 / 472 87.5% 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 (Lightweight: 204 fighters · Lightweight: 204 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 Guillard L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Cerrone L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 219 / 732 29.9% 38.8% 1558 / 3375 46.2% 38.8%
In the clinch 36 / 75 48.0% 68.6% 211 / 305 69.2% 68.6%
On the ground 12 / 31 38.7% 68.0% 56 / 88 63.6% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 123 / 604 20.4% 35.2% 1069 / 2721 39.3% 35.2%
To the body 59 / 111 53.2% 68.2% 444 / 668 66.5% 68.2%
To the legs 85 / 123 69.1% 81.5% 312 / 379 82.3% 81.5%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1466.7% acc · 1.44/15 · norm 1.34
Takedowns landed
2428.9% acc · 1.01/15 · norm 1.34
5865.2% def · norm 63.7%
Takedowns stopped
6288.6% def · norm 63.7%
12:558.8% of cage time · norm 18.95%
Control time
38:3610.8% of cage time · norm 18.95%
34:063:29 per 15 · norm 2:50
Time under control lower is better
19:550:50 per 15 · norm 2:50
20.21/15 · norm 0.48
Submission attempts
110.46/15 · norm 0.48

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