BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Rashad Evans vs.
Thiago Silva

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

14-8-1 Rashad Evans · UFC
7-3-0 (2 NC) Thiago Silva · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

14-8-1
UFC record
7-3-0 (2 NC)
Light Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Light Heavyweight
46.9
AgeΔ 3.2 yrs
43.7
6'0"
HeightΔ 2"
6'2"
75"
ReachΔ 1"
74"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
97.9
Layoff (months)Δ 56 mo
153.9
LLLLL
Last 5 (newest first)
WWNCLNC
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.

Rashad Evans hunts takedowns — 2.75 per 15 minutes, vs a 0.87 Light Heavyweight norm.
Thiago Silva is a submission threat — 0.61 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.27 Light Heavyweight norm.
Rashad Evans owns the mat — in control 28% of cage time, vs a 16% Light Heavyweight 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.

Rashad Evans

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

In the UFC: 12-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.2 wins over .500

Thiago Silva

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

In the UFC: 3-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.4 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6142.13/min · norm 3.41
Sig. strikes landed
4124.16/min · norm 3.41
7102.46/min · norm 3.35
Sig. strikes absorbed
2993.02/min · norm 3.35
37.6%norm 48.3%
Striking accuracy
48.5%norm 48.3%
64.2%norm 52.9%
Striking defense
67.3%norm 52.9%
40.21/15 · norm 0.40
Knockdowns
40.61/15 · norm 0.40

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

Rashad Evans

Distance 73.9% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 12.0% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 14.1% (norm 10.4%)

Thiago Silva

Distance 67.0% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 17.3% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 15.7% (norm 10.4%)

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

Rashad Evans

Head 88.4% (norm 79.2%) · Body 8.3% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 3.2% (norm 9.7%)

Thiago Silva

Head 71.1% (norm 79.2%) · Body 13.4% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 15.4% (norm 9.7%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Evans L/AAccLight Heavyweight med Silva L/AAccLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 359 / 1208 29.7% 41.4% 240 / 569 42.2% 41.4%
In the clinch 116 / 196 59.2% 70.9% 89 / 147 60.5% 70.9%
On the ground 139 / 231 60.2% 72.3% 83 / 133 62.4% 72.3%
BY TARGET
To the head 484 / 1446 33.5% 38.9% 229 / 604 37.9% 38.9%
To the body 87 / 136 64.0% 71.9% 79 / 114 69.3% 71.9%
To the legs 43 / 53 81.1% 81.8% 104 / 131 79.4% 81.8%

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: 93 fighters · Light Heavyweight: 93 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 Evans L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med vs Silva L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 500 / 1641 30.5% 40.4% 227 / 784 29.0% 40.4%
In the clinch 188 / 309 60.8% 68.7% 54 / 98 55.1% 68.7%
On the ground 22 / 31 71.0% 70.4% 18 / 31 58.1% 70.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 444 / 1591 27.9% 37.5% 182 / 759 24.0% 37.5%
To the body 168 / 260 64.6% 72.3% 44 / 66 66.7% 72.3%
To the legs 98 / 130 75.4% 83.0% 73 / 88 83.0% 83.0%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

5342.4% acc · 2.75/15 · norm 0.87
Takedowns landed
646.2% acc · 0.91/15 · norm 0.87
3973.6% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
2660.5% def · norm 66.7%
80:3527.9% of cage time · norm 16.5%
Control time
20:1020.3% of cage time · norm 16.5%
17:280:54 per 15 · norm 2:48
Time under control
20:283:05 per 15 · norm 2:48
00.00/15 · norm 0.27
Submission attempts
40.61/15 · norm 0.27

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.