Nikita Krylov vs.
Cody Donovan
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.
Nikita Krylov
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 12 | 10 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 19 | 2 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.05 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 29 finish wins over 43 documented bouts
In the UFC: 9-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.6 wins over .500
Cody Donovan
Full career not yet synced for Cody Donovan — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record -0.5 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)
Nikita Krylov
Distance 72.1% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 15.7% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 12.3% (norm 10.4%)
Cody Donovan
Distance 64.9% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 29.2% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 5.8% (norm 10.4%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Nikita Krylov
Head 69.5% (norm 79.2%) · Body 20.1% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 10.5% (norm 9.7%)
Cody Donovan
Head 76.0% (norm 79.2%) · Body 22.2% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 1.8% (norm 9.7%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Krylov L/A | Acc | Light Heavyweight med | Donovan L/A | Acc | Light Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 408 / 916 | 44.5% | 41.4% | 59 / 111 | 53.2% | 41.4% |
| In the clinch | 156 / 199 | 78.4% | 70.9% | 36 / 50 | 72.0% | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 125 / 156 | 80.1% | 72.3% | 6 / 10 | too few to rate | 72.3% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 406 / 883 | 46.0% | 38.9% | 64 / 130 | 49.2% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 171 / 255 | 67.1% | 71.9% | 34 / 38 | 89.5% | 71.9% |
| To the legs | 112 / 133 | 84.2% | 81.8% | 3 / 3 | too few to rate | 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 Krylov L/A | Opp acc | Light Heavyweight med | vs Donovan L/A | Opp acc | Light Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 274 / 608 | 45.1% | 40.4% | 54 / 116 | 46.6% | 40.4% |
| In the clinch | 68 / 98 | 69.4% | 68.7% | 23 / 36 | 63.9% | 68.7% |
| On the ground | 91 / 129 | 70.5% | 70.4% | 21 / 29 | 72.4% | 70.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 374 / 761 | 49.1% | 37.5% | 74 / 149 | 49.7% | 37.5% |
| To the body | 37 / 50 | 74.0% | 72.3% | 15 / 22 | too few to rate | 72.3% |
| To the legs | 22 / 24 | too few to rate | 83.0% | 9 / 10 | too few to rate | 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 — Krylov has more cage time on record.