Mike Malott vs. Joaquin Buckley
Tale of the tape
The read
Level of competition
Mike Malott
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 8 | 1 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 6 | 1 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.61 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 12 finish wins over 17 documented bouts
In the UFC: 6-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.4 wins over .500
Joaquin Buckley
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 14 | 8 |
| Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) | 2 | 0 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 5 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.4 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 29 documented bouts
In the UFC: 9-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.4 wins over .500
Striking
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Mike Malott
Distance 87.7% (norm 80.7%) · Clinch 4.3% (norm 9.6%) · Ground 8.0% (norm 8.1%)
Joaquin Buckley
Distance 85.7% (norm 80.7%) · Clinch 3.6% (norm 9.6%) · Ground 10.7% (norm 8.1%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Mike Malott
Head 71.4% (norm 78.3%) · Body 17.3% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 11.3% (norm 8.0%)
Joaquin Buckley
Head 79.7% (norm 78.3%) · Body 15.8% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 4.5% (norm 8.0%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Malott L/A | Acc | Welterweight med | Buckley L/A | Acc | Welterweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 275 / 549 | 50.1% | 38.5% | 554 / 1750 | 31.7% | 38.5% |
| In the clinch | 20 / 27 | 74.1% | 67.8% | 46 / 73 | 63.0% | 67.8% |
| On the ground | 43 / 50 | 86.0% | 67.0% | 137 / 218 | 62.8% | 67.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 196 / 447 | 43.8% | 36.4% | 455 / 1626 | 28.0% | 36.4% |
| To the body | 80 / 108 | 74.1% | 70.7% | 206 / 323 | 63.8% | 70.7% |
| To the legs | 62 / 71 | 87.3% | 83.0% | 76 / 92 | 82.6% | 83.0% |
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: 180 fighters · Welterweight: 180 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 Malott L/A | Opp acc | Welterweight med | vs Buckley L/A | Opp acc | Welterweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 176 / 478 | 36.8% | 39.1% | 461 / 1216 | 37.9% | 39.1% |
| In the clinch | 10 / 22 | too few to rate | 68.9% | 57 / 74 | 77.0% | 68.9% |
| On the ground | 44 / 57 | 77.2% | 68.0% | 138 / 265 | 52.1% | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 145 / 440 | 33.0% | 35.6% | 440 / 1251 | 35.2% | 35.6% |
| To the body | 35 / 47 | 74.5% | 69.6% | 144 / 213 | 67.6% | 69.6% |
| To the legs | 50 / 70 | 71.4% | 82.2% | 72 / 91 | 79.1% | 82.2% |
Grappling
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Buckley has more cage time on record.