Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Tale of the tape
The read
Level of competition
Robert Whittaker
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 18 | 7 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 9 | 2 |
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
Khamzat Chimaev
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 9 | 1 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 6 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 2.03 · 9 tier-1/2 wins · 12 finish wins over 16 documented bouts
In the UFC: 7-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +6.4 wins over .500
Striking
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Robert Whittaker
Distance 90.5% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 4.9% (norm 9.0%) · Ground 4.6% (norm 10.0%)
Khamzat Chimaev
Distance 69.5% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 2.2% (norm 9.0%) · Ground 28.4% (norm 10.0%)
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%)
Khamzat Chimaev
Head 80.5% (norm 78.0%) · Body 14.2% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 5.2% (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/A | Acc | Middleweight med | Chimaev L/A | Acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 1288 / 3106 | 41.5% | 40.5% | 221 / 507 | 43.6% | 40.5% |
| In the clinch | 100 / 167 | 59.9% | 70.6% | 13 / 16 | too few to rate | 70.6% |
| On the ground | 101 / 159 | 63.5% | 69.4% | 162 / 207 | 78.3% | 69.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 1069 / 2869 | 37.3% | 38.8% | 301 / 588 | 51.2% | 38.8% |
| To the body | 153 / 250 | 61.2% | 71.6% | 58 / 104 | 55.8% | 71.6% |
| To the legs | 267 / 313 | 85.3% | 83.3% | 37 / 38 | 97.4% | 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: 178 fighters · Middleweight: 178 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/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med | vs Chimaev L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 965 / 2563 | 37.7% | 39.5% | 264 / 578 | 45.7% | 39.5% |
| In the clinch | 120 / 172 | 69.8% | 70.4% | 11 / 12 | too few to rate | 70.4% |
| On the ground | 63 / 77 | 81.8% | 69.0% | 19 / 23 | too few to rate | 69.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 645 / 2110 | 30.6% | 37.9% | 245 / 548 | 44.7% | 37.9% |
| To the body | 234 / 378 | 61.9% | 71.3% | 35 / 48 | 72.9% | 71.3% |
| To the legs | 269 / 324 | 83.0% | 82.1% | 14 / 17 | too few to rate | 82.1% |
Grappling
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Whittaker has more cage time on record.