BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Rafael Natal vs.
Eryk Anders

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

9-7-1 Rafael Natal · UFC
10-9-0 (1 NC) Eryk Anders · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

9-7-1
UFC record
10-9-0 (1 NC)
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
43
AgeΔ 4 yrs
39
6'0"
HeightΔ 1"
6'1"
77"
ReachΔ 2"
75"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
108.5
Layoff (months)Δ 103.7 mo
4.8
LLLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
WLWWL
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.

Rafael Natal hunts takedowns — 2.55 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Eryk Anders owns the mat — in control 31% of cage time, vs a 20% Middleweight norm.
Eryk Anders carries real power — 0.44 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
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.

Rafael Natal

Full career not yet synced for Rafael Natal — 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 +0.7 wins over .500

Eryk Anders

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 119
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 20
Tier 3 — regional circuit 50

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.1 · 13 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 28 documented bouts

In the UFC: 4-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.6 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6563.10/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
8193.44/min · norm 3.25
5242.48/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
9614.03/min · norm 3.20
47.9%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
47.9%norm 47.4%
57.6%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
50.5%norm 53.8%
50.35/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
70.44/15 · norm 0.32

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

Rafael Natal

Distance 76.6% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 8.1% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 15.3% (norm 10.3%)

Eryk Anders

Distance 68.6% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 17.8% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 13.6% (norm 10.3%)

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

Rafael Natal

Head 71.2% (norm 78.0%) · Body 12.5% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 16.3% (norm 8.4%)

Eryk Anders

Head 81.2% (norm 78.0%) · Body 15.5% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 3.3% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Natal L/AAccMiddleweight med Anders L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 432 / 1049 41.2% 40.5% 450 / 1174 38.3% 40.5%
In the clinch 79 / 111 71.2% 70.3% 208 / 305 68.2% 70.3%
On the ground 145 / 210 69.0% 69.1% 161 / 232 69.4% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 379 / 976 38.8% 38.9% 571 / 1390 41.1% 38.9%
To the body 93 / 171 54.4% 71.7% 206 / 265 77.7% 71.7%
To the legs 184 / 223 82.5% 83.3% 42 / 56 75.0% 83.3%

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 (Middleweight: 174 fighters · Middleweight: 174 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 Natal L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Anders L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 369 / 1016 36.3% 39.5% 721 / 1605 44.9% 39.5%
In the clinch 58 / 89 65.2% 70.9% 199 / 251 79.3% 70.9%
On the ground 97 / 131 74.0% 69.0% 41 / 84 48.8% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 315 / 950 33.2% 37.9% 523 / 1397 37.4% 37.9%
To the body 73 / 117 62.4% 71.3% 241 / 314 76.8% 71.3%
To the legs 136 / 169 80.5% 82.1% 197 / 229 86.0% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

3634.3% acc · 2.55/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
2925.4% acc · 1.83/15 · norm 1.42
2777.1% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
3780.4% def · norm 63.1%
53:3925.4% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
72:5930.6% of cage time · norm 19.75%
30:472:10 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
19:511:14 per 15 · norm 3:00
70.50/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
10.06/15 · norm 0.47

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.