BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Paul Varelans vs.
David Abbott

Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.

4-4-0 Paul Varelans · UFC
8-10-0 David Abbott · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.

4-4-0
UFC record
8-10-0
Open Weight
Division (benchmark)
Open Weight
Age
61.3
6'8"
HeightΔ 8"
6'0"
Reach
Orthodox
Stance
Switch
355.9
Layoff (months)Δ 83.4 mo
272.5
LWLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLW
The read

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.

David Abbott owns the mat — in control 41% of cage time, vs a 22% Open Weight norm.
Paul Varelans defends clinch strikes well — opponents land just 24%, vs a 67% Open Weight norm.
Opponents land 95% of their leg kicks on David Abbott, vs a 61% Open Weight norm — a hole in the guard.
Level of competition

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.

Paul Varelans

Full career not yet synced for Paul Varelans — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).

In the UFC: 0-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.6 wins over .500

David Abbott

Full career not yet synced for David Abbott — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).

In the UFC: 3-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.9 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

561.46/min · norm 1.46
Sig. strikes landed
1561.83/min · norm 1.46
792.05/min · norm 1.68
Sig. strikes absorbed
2092.45/min · norm 1.68
43.8%norm 45.8%
Striking accuracy
44.4%norm 45.8%
49.7%norm 49.0%
Striking defense
32.1%norm 49.0%
10.39/15 · norm 0.00
Knockdowns
40.70/15 · norm 0.00

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

Paul Varelans

Distance 54.7% (norm 50.2%) · Clinch 28.1% (norm 14.9%) · Ground 17.2% (norm 28.7%)

David Abbott

Distance 44.4% (norm 50.2%) · Clinch 26.2% (norm 14.9%) · Ground 29.3% (norm 28.7%)

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

Paul Varelans

Head 81.2% (norm 81.2%) · Body 6.2% (norm 8.0%) · Legs 12.5% (norm 5.2%)

David Abbott

Head 97.4% (norm 81.2%) · Body 2.6% (norm 8.0%) · Legs 0.0% (norm 5.2%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Varelans L/AAccOpen Weight med Abbott L/AAccOpen Weight med
BY POSITION
At distance 17 / 70 24.3% 27.8% 54 / 156 34.6% 27.8%
In the clinch 21 / 36 58.3% 63.8% 46 / 92 50.0% 63.8%
On the ground 18 / 22 too few to rate 65.8% 56 / 103 54.4% 65.8%
BY TARGET
To the head 40 / 104 38.5% 39.3% 148 / 342 43.3% 39.3%
To the body 6 / 8 too few to rate 90.5% 8 / 9 too few to rate 90.5%
To the legs 10 / 16 too few to rate 53.5% 0 / 0 too few to rate 53.5%

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 (Open Weight: 11 fighters · Open Weight: 11 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 Varelans L/AOpp accOpen Weight med vs Abbott L/AOpp accOpen Weight med
BY POSITION
At distance 44 / 83 53.0% 37.0% 62 / 121 51.2% 37.0%
In the clinch 9 / 37 24.3% 66.7% 75 / 98 76.5% 66.7%
On the ground 26 / 37 70.3% 67.1% 72 / 89 80.9% 67.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 46 / 101 45.5% 47.0% 114 / 207 55.1% 47.0%
To the body 3 / 7 too few to rate 87.9% 57 / 61 93.4% 87.9%
To the legs 30 / 49 61.2% 61.2% 38 / 40 95.0% 61.2%
Grappling

The ground war.

Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.

2100.0% acc · 0.78/15 · norm 1.15
Takedowns landed
1062.5% acc · 1.76/15 · norm 1.15
777.8% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
1071.4% def · norm 66.7%
— of cage time · norm 21.95%
Control time
2:0341.1% of cage time · norm 21.95%
— per 15 · norm 0:39
Time under control
1:590:20 per 15 · norm 0:39
31.17/15 · norm 1.34
Submission attempts
40.70/15 · norm 1.34

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.