Rafa Garcia vs.
Grant Dawson
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.
Rafa Garcia
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 7 | 4 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 11 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.29 · 7 tier-1/2 wins · 10 finish wins over 22 documented bouts
In the UFC: 5-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.0 wins over .500
Grant Dawson
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 13 | 2 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 10 | 1 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.65 · 13 tier-1/2 wins · 18 finish wins over 27 documented bouts
In the UFC: 10-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.4 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)
Rafa Garcia
Distance 90.8% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 5.3% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 3.9% (norm 8.0%)
Grant Dawson
Distance 64.1% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 6.3% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 29.6% (norm 8.0%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Rafa Garcia
Head 87.8% (norm 78.2%) · Body 7.8% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 4.4% (norm 7.9%)
Grant Dawson
Head 77.2% (norm 78.2%) · Body 15.2% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 7.6% (norm 7.9%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Garcia L/A | Acc | Lightweight med | Dawson L/A | Acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 542 / 1307 | 41.5% | 37.9% | 265 / 662 | 40.0% | 37.9% |
| In the clinch | 61 / 76 | 80.3% | 67.3% | 52 / 65 | 80.0% | 67.3% |
| On the ground | 34 / 56 | 60.7% | 69.1% | 211 / 305 | 69.2% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 503 / 1264 | 39.8% | 35.0% | 362 / 797 | 45.4% | 35.0% |
| To the body | 80 / 112 | 71.4% | 69.1% | 100 / 157 | 63.7% | 69.1% |
| To the legs | 54 / 63 | 85.7% | 81.9% | 66 / 78 | 84.6% | 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 Garcia L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med | vs Dawson L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 557 / 1563 | 35.6% | 38.9% | 272 / 549 | 49.5% | 38.9% |
| In the clinch | 55 / 68 | 80.9% | 68.6% | 44 / 50 | 88.0% | 68.6% |
| On the ground | 46 / 75 | 61.3% | 68.0% | 58 / 79 | 73.4% | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 408 / 1360 | 30.0% | 35.1% | 247 / 509 | 48.5% | 35.1% |
| To the body | 181 / 262 | 69.1% | 68.1% | 85 / 119 | 71.4% | 68.1% |
| To the legs | 69 / 84 | 82.1% | 81.5% | 42 / 50 | 84.0% | 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 — Dawson has more cage time on record.