Rich Franklin vs.
Jorge Rivera
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.
Rich Franklin
Full career not yet synced for Rich Franklin — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 9-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.5 wins over .500
Jorge Rivera
Full career not yet synced for Jorge Rivera — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 4-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.1 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)
Rich Franklin
Distance 79.9% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 11.5% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 8.6% (norm 10.3%)
Jorge Rivera
Distance 45.1% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 33.2% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 21.7% (norm 10.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Rich Franklin
Head 81.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 12.8% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 5.5% (norm 8.4%)
Jorge Rivera
Head 78.1% (norm 78.0%) · Body 13.7% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 8.3% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Franklin L/A | Acc | Middleweight med | Rivera L/A | Acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 596 / 1575 | 37.8% | 40.5% | 114 / 343 | 33.2% | 40.5% |
| In the clinch | 151 / 226 | 66.8% | 70.3% | 165 / 253 | 65.2% | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 109 / 169 | 64.5% | 69.1% | 99 / 165 | 60.0% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 559 / 1608 | 34.8% | 38.9% | 243 / 594 | 40.9% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 198 / 253 | 78.3% | 71.7% | 86 / 104 | 82.7% | 71.7% |
| To the legs | 99 / 109 | 90.8% | 83.3% | 49 / 63 | 77.8% | 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 Franklin L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med | vs Rivera L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 247 / 877 | 28.2% | 39.5% | 96 / 329 | 29.2% | 39.5% |
| In the clinch | 120 / 169 | 71.0% | 70.9% | 132 / 238 | 55.5% | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 48 / 88 | 54.5% | 69.0% | 52 / 86 | 60.5% | 69.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 231 / 879 | 26.3% | 37.9% | 175 / 519 | 33.7% | 37.9% |
| To the body | 109 / 162 | 67.3% | 71.3% | 60 / 82 | 73.2% | 71.3% |
| To the legs | 75 / 93 | 80.6% | 82.1% | 45 / 52 | 86.5% | 82.1% |
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 — Franklin has more cage time on record.