Michael McDonald vs.
Renan Barao
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.
Michael McDonald
Full career not yet synced for Michael McDonald — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 3-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.8 wins over .500
Renan Barao
Full career not yet synced for Renan Barao — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 5-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.3 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)
Michael McDonald
Distance 88.3% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 6.9% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 4.7% (norm 6.5%)
Renan Barao
Distance 90.9% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 6.4% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 2.8% (norm 6.5%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Michael McDonald
Head 89.3% (norm 77.4%) · Body 5.9% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 4.7% (norm 8.4%)
Renan Barao
Head 75.5% (norm 77.4%) · Body 15.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 9.5% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | McDonald L/A | Acc | Bantamweight med | Barao L/A | Acc | Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 180 / 447 | 40.3% | 39.0% | 772 / 2279 | 33.9% | 39.0% |
| In the clinch | 19 / 35 | 54.3% | 68.7% | 107 / 160 | 66.9% | 68.7% |
| On the ground | 17 / 24 | too few to rate | 70.2% | 43 / 69 | 62.3% | 70.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 171 / 452 | 37.8% | 34.9% | 538 / 1893 | 28.4% | 34.9% |
| To the body | 23 / 30 | 76.7% | 66.8% | 211 / 376 | 56.1% | 66.8% |
| To the legs | 22 / 24 | too few to rate | 79.4% | 173 / 239 | 72.4% | 79.4% |
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 (Bantamweight: 117 fighters · Bantamweight: 117 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 McDonald L/A | Opp acc | Bantamweight med | vs Barao L/A | Opp acc | Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 174 / 442 | 39.4% | 39.3% | 816 / 2086 | 39.1% | 39.3% |
| In the clinch | 13 / 35 | 37.1% | 70.4% | 84 / 119 | 70.6% | 70.4% |
| On the ground | 39 / 51 | 76.5% | 72.4% | 57 / 74 | 77.0% | 72.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 131 / 407 | 32.2% | 34.9% | 654 / 1854 | 35.3% | 34.9% |
| To the body | 60 / 80 | 75.0% | 66.0% | 178 / 270 | 65.9% | 66.0% |
| To the legs | 35 / 41 | 85.4% | 79.1% | 125 / 155 | 80.6% | 79.1% |
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 — Barao has more cage time on record.