Rafael Alves vs.
Damir Ismagulov
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.
Rafael Alves
Full career not yet synced for Rafael Alves — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 1-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.8 wins over .500
Damir Ismagulov
Full career not yet synced for Damir Ismagulov — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 1-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.6 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)
Rafael Alves
Distance 92.5% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 1.9% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 5.7% (norm 8.0%)
Damir Ismagulov
Distance 89.7% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 3.0% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 7.3% (norm 8.0%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Rafael Alves
Head 78.0% (norm 78.2%) · Body 11.9% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 10.1% (norm 7.9%)
Damir Ismagulov
Head 72.5% (norm 78.2%) · Body 20.4% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 7.2% (norm 7.9%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Alves L/A | Acc | Lightweight med | Ismagulov L/A | Acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 71 / 147 | 48.3% | 37.9% | 294 / 740 | 39.7% | 37.9% |
| In the clinch | 3 / 3 | too few to rate | 67.3% | 18 / 25 | 72.0% | 67.3% |
| On the ground | 5 / 9 | too few to rate | 69.1% | 41 / 60 | 68.3% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 49 / 124 | 39.5% | 35.0% | 192 / 598 | 32.1% | 35.0% |
| To the body | 17 / 19 | too few to rate | 69.1% | 111 / 168 | 66.1% | 69.1% |
| To the legs | 13 / 16 | too few to rate | 81.9% | 50 / 59 | 84.7% | 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 Alves L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med | vs Ismagulov L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 101 / 276 | 36.6% | 38.9% | 206 / 602 | 34.2% | 38.9% |
| In the clinch | 0 / 0 | too few to rate | 68.6% | 28 / 33 | 84.8% | 68.6% |
| On the ground | 39 / 59 | 66.1% | 68.0% | 22 / 25 | 88.0% | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 87 / 261 | 33.3% | 35.1% | 138 / 500 | 27.6% | 35.1% |
| To the body | 37 / 52 | 71.2% | 68.1% | 62 / 89 | 69.7% | 68.1% |
| To the legs | 16 / 22 | too few to rate | 81.5% | 56 / 71 | 78.9% | 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 — Ismagulov has more cage time on record.