Mike Nickels vs.
Stephan Bonnar
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.
Mike Nickels
Full career not yet synced for Mike Nickels — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.0 wins over .500
Stephan Bonnar
Full career not yet synced for Stephan Bonnar — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 5-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.2 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)
Mike Nickels
Distance 26.1% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 30.4% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 43.5% (norm 10.4%)
Stephan Bonnar
Distance 62.8% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 21.2% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 16.0% (norm 10.4%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Mike Nickels
Head 67.4% (norm 79.2%) · Body 30.4% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 2.2% (norm 9.7%)
Stephan Bonnar
Head 83.2% (norm 79.2%) · Body 10.8% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 6.0% (norm 9.7%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Nickels L/A | Acc | Light Heavyweight med | Bonnar L/A | Acc | Light Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 3 / 12 | too few to rate | 41.4% | 199 / 725 | 27.4% | 41.4% |
| In the clinch | 8 / 14 | too few to rate | 70.9% | 147 / 245 | 60.0% | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 13 / 20 | too few to rate | 72.3% | 113 / 185 | 61.1% | 72.3% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 13 / 31 | 41.9% | 38.9% | 324 / 961 | 33.7% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 10 / 14 | too few to rate | 71.9% | 89 / 125 | 71.2% | 71.9% |
| To the legs | 1 / 1 | too few to rate | 81.8% | 46 / 69 | 66.7% | 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 (Light Heavyweight: 93 fighters · Light Heavyweight: 93 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 Nickels L/A | Opp acc | Light Heavyweight med | vs Bonnar L/A | Opp acc | Light Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 4 / 12 | too few to rate | 40.4% | 297 / 735 | 40.4% | 40.4% |
| In the clinch | 2 / 5 | too few to rate | 68.7% | 148 / 233 | 63.5% | 68.7% |
| On the ground | 0 / 0 | too few to rate | 70.4% | 56 / 85 | 65.9% | 70.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 4 / 13 | too few to rate | 37.5% | 324 / 819 | 39.6% | 37.5% |
| To the body | 0 / 2 | too few to rate | 72.3% | 90 / 113 | 79.6% | 72.3% |
| To the legs | 2 / 2 | too few to rate | 83.0% | 87 / 121 | 71.9% | 83.0% |
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 — Bonnar has more cage time on record.