Nikolay Veretennikov vs.
Austin Vanderford
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.
Nikolay Veretennikov
Full career not yet synced for Nikolay Veretennikov — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.2 wins over .500
Austin Vanderford
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 7 | 3 |
| Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) | 1 | 0 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 5 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.45 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 8 finish wins over 16 documented bouts
In the UFC: 0-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.0 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)
Nikolay Veretennikov
Distance 81.6% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 13.4% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 4.9% (norm 8.1%)
Austin Vanderford
Distance 33.8% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 0.0% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 66.2% (norm 8.1%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Nikolay Veretennikov
Head 67.8% (norm 78.2%) · Body 27.2% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 4.9% (norm 8.4%)
Austin Vanderford
Head 94.1% (norm 78.2%) · Body 2.9% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 2.9% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Veretennikov L/A | Acc | Welterweight med | Vanderford L/A | Acc | Welterweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 110 / 231 | 47.6% | 38.6% | 7 / 23 | too few to rate | 38.6% |
| In the clinch | 34 / 38 | 89.5% | 67.8% | 0 / 0 | too few to rate | 67.8% |
| On the ground | 8 / 14 | too few to rate | 67.2% | 37 / 45 | 82.2% | 67.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 77 / 192 | 40.1% | 37.2% | 41 / 64 | 64.1% | 37.2% |
| To the body | 61 / 77 | 79.2% | 70.7% | 1 / 2 | too few to rate | 70.7% |
| To the legs | 14 / 14 | too few to rate | 82.9% | 2 / 2 | too few to rate | 82.9% |
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 (Welterweight: 182 fighters · Welterweight: 182 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 Veretennikov L/A | Opp acc | Welterweight med | vs Vanderford L/A | Opp acc | Welterweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 113 / 246 | 45.9% | 39.0% | 14 / 42 | 33.3% | 39.0% |
| In the clinch | 8 / 12 | too few to rate | 68.9% | 8 / 8 | too few to rate | 68.9% |
| On the ground | 81 / 103 | 78.6% | 68.0% | 4 / 4 | too few to rate | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 150 / 276 | 54.3% | 35.6% | 18 / 41 | 43.9% | 35.6% |
| To the body | 22 / 38 | 57.9% | 69.6% | 3 / 7 | too few to rate | 69.6% |
| To the legs | 30 / 47 | 63.8% | 82.1% | 5 / 6 | too few to rate | 82.1% |
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 — Veretennikov has more cage time on record.