Nik Lentz vs.
Islam Makhachev
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.
Nik Lentz
Full career not yet synced for Nik Lentz — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 9-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.9 wins over .500
Islam Makhachev
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 17 | 1 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 11 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 2.04 · 17 tier-1/2 wins · 18 finish wins over 29 documented bouts
In the UFC: 15-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.8 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)
Nik Lentz
Distance 74.4% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 13.9% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 11.7% (norm 8.0%)
Islam Makhachev
Distance 68.3% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 12.7% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 19.0% (norm 8.0%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Nik Lentz
Head 76.4% (norm 78.2%) · Body 15.1% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 8.6% (norm 7.9%)
Islam Makhachev
Head 81.0% (norm 78.2%) · Body 15.4% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 3.6% (norm 7.9%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Lentz L/A | Acc | Lightweight med | Makhachev L/A | Acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 655 / 1686 | 38.8% | 37.9% | 278 / 567 | 49.0% | 37.9% |
| In the clinch | 213 / 316 | 67.4% | 67.3% | 89 / 105 | 84.8% | 67.3% |
| On the ground | 211 / 265 | 79.6% | 69.1% | 118 / 158 | 74.7% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 650 / 1731 | 37.6% | 35.0% | 344 / 672 | 51.2% | 35.0% |
| To the body | 269 / 342 | 78.7% | 69.1% | 114 / 128 | 89.1% | 69.1% |
| To the legs | 160 / 194 | 82.5% | 81.9% | 27 / 30 | 90.0% | 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 (Lightweight: 201 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 Lentz L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med | vs Makhachev L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 701 / 1584 | 44.3% | 38.9% | 206 / 650 | 31.7% | 38.9% |
| In the clinch | 180 / 262 | 68.7% | 68.6% | 62 / 76 | 81.6% | 68.6% |
| On the ground | 141 / 202 | 69.8% | 68.0% | 19 / 29 | 65.5% | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 762 / 1717 | 44.4% | 35.1% | 143 / 526 | 27.2% | 35.1% |
| To the body | 160 / 215 | 74.4% | 68.1% | 94 / 161 | 58.4% | 68.1% |
| To the legs | 100 / 116 | 86.2% | 81.5% | 50 / 68 | 73.5% | 81.5% |
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 — Lentz has more cage time on record.