BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Robert Whittaker vs.
Jacare Souza

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

18-7-0 Robert Whittaker · UFC
9-7-0 Jacare Souza · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

18-7-0
UFC record
9-7-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
35.6
AgeΔ 11.1 yrs
46.7
6'0"
HeightΔ 1"
6'1"
73"
ReachΔ 1"
72"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
0.9
Layoff (months)Δ 61.8 mo
62.7
WLLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLW
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.

Robert Whittaker carries real power — 0.53 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
Jacare Souza is a submission threat — 0.76 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.47 Middleweight norm.
Robert Whittaker rarely shoots — 0.71 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 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.

Robert Whittaker

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 187
Tier 3 — regional circuit 92

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.3 · 18 tier-1/2 wins · 16 finish wins over 36 documented bouts

In the UFC: 16-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.1 wins over .500

Jacare Souza

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

In the UFC: 8-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.6 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

14894.41/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
4452.82/min · norm 3.25
11483.40/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
5383.41/min · norm 3.20
43.4%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
52.4%norm 47.4%
59.2%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
59.5%norm 53.8%
120.53/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
30.29/15 · norm 0.32

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

Robert Whittaker

Distance 90.5% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 4.9% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 4.6% (norm 10.3%)

Jacare Souza

Distance 73.3% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 12.0% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 14.7% (norm 10.3%)

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

Robert Whittaker

Head 83.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 7.3% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 9.1% (norm 8.4%)

Jacare Souza

Head 74.9% (norm 78.0%) · Body 20.4% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 4.7% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Whittaker L/AAccMiddleweight med Souza L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1288 / 3106 41.5% 40.5% 275 / 622 44.2% 40.5%
In the clinch 100 / 167 59.9% 70.3% 66 / 102 64.7% 70.3%
On the ground 101 / 159 63.5% 69.1% 104 / 125 83.2% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 1069 / 2869 37.3% 38.9% 296 / 636 46.5% 38.9%
To the body 153 / 250 61.2% 71.7% 114 / 173 65.9% 71.7%
To the legs 267 / 313 85.3% 83.3% 35 / 40 87.5% 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 Whittaker L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Souza L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 965 / 2563 37.7% 39.5% 415 / 1143 36.3% 39.5%
In the clinch 120 / 172 69.8% 70.9% 65 / 91 71.4% 70.9%
On the ground 63 / 77 81.8% 69.0% 58 / 93 62.4% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 645 / 2110 30.6% 37.9% 384 / 1121 34.3% 37.9%
To the body 234 / 378 61.9% 71.3% 86 / 121 71.1% 71.3%
To the legs 269 / 324 83.0% 82.1% 68 / 85 80.0% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

1638.1% acc · 0.71/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
1628.1% acc · 1.52/15 · norm 1.42
7680.0% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
1062.5% def · norm 63.1%
26:397.9% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
46:3729.6% of cage time · norm 19.75%
36:231:36 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
12:271:11 per 15 · norm 3:00
00.00/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
80.76/15 · norm 0.47

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.