BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Michael Chiesa vs.
Mitch Clarke

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

15-7-0 Michael Chiesa · UFC
2-5-0 Mitch Clarke · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

15-7-0
UFC record
2-5-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
38.7
AgeΔ 2 yrs
40.7
6'1"
HeightΔ 3"
5'10"
75"
ReachΔ 2"
73"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
4.3
Layoff (months)Δ 102.5 mo
106.8
WWWWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWW
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.

Michael Chiesa hunts takedowns — 3.11 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.
Michael Chiesa is a submission threat — 1.04 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.45 Welterweight norm.
Mitch Clarke rarely shoots — 0.64 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 Lightweight 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.

Michael Chiesa

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 157
Tier 3 — regional circuit 50

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.4 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 27 documented bouts

In the UFC: 7-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.5 wins over .500

Mitch Clarke

Full career not yet synced for Mitch Clarke — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).

In the UFC: 1-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.4 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4092.02/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
1662.35/min · norm 3.42
3501.73/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
2313.27/min · norm 3.37
40.7%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
34.0%norm 43.5%
58.0%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
47.9%norm 56.3%
10.07/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · norm 0.25

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

Michael Chiesa

Distance 75.5% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 9.7% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 14.7% (norm 8.1%)

Mitch Clarke

Distance 86.3% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 10.9% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 2.9% (norm 8.0%)

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

Michael Chiesa

Head 85.4% (norm 78.2%) · Body 12.2% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 2.4% (norm 8.4%)

Mitch Clarke

Head 70.1% (norm 78.2%) · Body 11.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 18.2% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Chiesa L/AAccWelterweight med Clarke L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 249 / 760 32.8% 38.6% 124 / 421 29.5% 37.9%
In the clinch 65 / 98 66.3% 67.8% 38 / 53 71.7% 67.3%
On the ground 95 / 148 64.2% 67.2% 4 / 14 too few to rate 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 299 / 859 34.8% 37.2% 82 / 342 24.0% 35.0%
To the body 88 / 123 71.5% 70.7% 31 / 57 54.4% 69.1%
To the legs 22 / 24 too few to rate 82.9% 53 / 89 59.6% 81.9%

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 (Welterweight: 182 fighters · Lightweight: 201 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 Chiesa L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Clarke L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 262 / 712 36.8% 39.0% 129 / 305 42.3% 38.9%
In the clinch 48 / 68 70.6% 68.9% 45 / 59 76.3% 68.6%
On the ground 40 / 53 75.5% 68.0% 57 / 79 72.2% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 181 / 605 29.9% 35.6% 184 / 383 48.0% 35.1%
To the body 88 / 127 69.3% 69.6% 33 / 45 73.3% 68.1%
To the legs 81 / 101 80.2% 82.1% 14 / 15 too few to rate 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

4247.7% acc · 3.11/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
315.0% acc · 0.64/15 · norm 1.38
2765.9% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
1250.0% def · norm 64.0%
81:0340.0% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
10:2314.7% of cage time · norm 19.5%
37:002:44 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
27:315:50 per 15 · norm 2:46
141.04/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
20.43/15 · norm 0.49

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.