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Paul Craig vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu

UFC 9-10-1 (1 NC) vs. 8-7-1

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
9-10-1 (1 NC)
UFC record
8-7-1
Light Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Light Heavyweight
38
AgeΔ 4 yrs
34
6'3"
HeightΔ 2"
6'5"
76"
ReachΔ 7"
83"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
13.4
Layoff (months)Δ 11.5 mo
1.9
LNCLLL
Last 5 (newest first)
LDLWW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Paul Craig is a submission threat — 1.34 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Light Heavyweight norm.
Paul Craig hunts takedowns — 1.43 per 15 minutes, vs a 0.87 Light Heavyweight norm.
Kennedy Nzechukwu rarely shoots — 0.56 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.87 Light Heavyweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Paul Craig

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 910
Tier 3 — regional circuit 80

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.89 · 9 tier-1/2 wins · 17 finish wins over 29 documented bouts

In the UFC: 5-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.5 wins over .500

Kennedy Nzechukwu

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 106
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 10
Tier 3 — regional circuit 30

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.3 · 11 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 21 documented bouts

In the UFC: 2-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.2 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4212.50/min · norm 3.48
Sig. strikes landed
6274.65/min · norm 3.48
5113.04/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed lower is better
6054.49/min · norm 3.37
45.4%norm 48.45%
Striking accuracy
49.6%norm 48.45%
43.4%norm 52.75%
Striking defense
51.2%norm 52.75%
10.09/15 · norm 0.40
Knockdowns
30.33/15 · norm 0.40

Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)

Paul Craig

Distance 78.4% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 8.6% (norm 8.8%) · Ground 12.9% (norm 10.6%)

Kennedy Nzechukwu

Distance 85.1% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 7.8% (norm 8.8%) · Ground 7.0% (norm 10.6%)

What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)

Paul Craig

Head 68.3% (norm 78.5%) · Body 21.8% (norm 11.8%) · Legs 9.9% (norm 9.7%)

Kennedy Nzechukwu

Head 87.3% (norm 78.5%) · Body 12.0% (norm 11.8%) · Legs 0.7% (norm 9.7%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.

Zone Craig L/AAccLight Heavyweight med Nzechukwu L/AAccLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 283 / 728 38.9% 41.5% 475 / 1076 44.1% 41.5%
In the clinch 57 / 80 71.2% 70.8% 81 / 99 81.8% 70.8%
On the ground 81 / 120 67.5% 72.9% 71 / 89 79.8% 72.9%
BY TARGET
To the head 211 / 634 33.3% 39.2% 513 / 1103 46.5% 39.2%
To the body 133 / 202 65.8% 72.0% 108 / 152 71.1% 72.0%
To the legs 77 / 92 83.7% 82.1% 6 / 9 too few to rate 82.1%

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: 94 fighters · Light Heavyweight: 94 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 Craig L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med vs Nzechukwu L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 281 / 584 48.1% 40.6% 498 / 1085 45.9% 40.6%
In the clinch 49 / 60 81.7% 68.8% 79 / 114 69.3% 68.8%
On the ground 181 / 259 69.9% 70.4% 28 / 41 68.3% 70.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 353 / 713 49.5% 37.7% 372 / 950 39.2% 37.7%
To the body 78 / 97 80.4% 72.9% 118 / 155 76.1% 72.9%
To the legs 80 / 93 86.0% 83.1% 115 / 135 85.2% 83.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1618.8% acc · 1.43/15 · norm 0.87
Takedowns landed
545.5% acc · 0.56/15 · norm 0.87
635.3% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
6380.8% def · norm 66.7%
22:4913.6% of cage time · norm 17.1%
Control time
24:0117.8% of cage time · norm 17.1%
62:195:33 per 15 · norm 2:50
Time under control lower is better
26:572:59 per 15 · norm 2:50
151.34/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
20.22/15 · norm 0.28

Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Craig has more cage time on record.