BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Robert Whittaker vs.
Marvin Vettori

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
9-8-1 Marvin Vettori · 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
9-8-1
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
35.6
AgeΔ 2.7 yrs
32.9
6'0"
HeightΔ 0"
6'0"
73"
ReachΔ 1"
74"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
0.8
Layoff (months)Δ 7.2 mo
8
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.
Robert Whittaker rarely shoots — 0.71 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Marvin Vettori outworks the Middleweight division — 4.74 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.25 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

Marvin Vettori

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 98
Tier 3 — regional circuit 102

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.89 · 9 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 30 documented bouts

In the UFC: 8-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.8 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
14644.74/min · norm 3.25
11483.40/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
14064.55/min · norm 3.20
43.4%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
45.9%norm 47.4%
59.2%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
56.1%norm 53.8%
120.53/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
10.05/15 · 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%)

Marvin Vettori

Distance 91.5% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 4.0% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 4.4% (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%)

Marvin Vettori

Head 88.2% (norm 78.0%) · Body 5.8% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 6.0% (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 Vettori L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1288 / 3106 41.5% 40.5% 1277 / 2921 43.7% 40.5%
In the clinch 100 / 167 59.9% 70.3% 85 / 129 65.9% 70.3%
On the ground 101 / 159 63.5% 69.1% 102 / 141 72.3% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 1069 / 2869 37.3% 38.9% 1144 / 2814 40.7% 38.9%
To the body 153 / 250 61.2% 71.7% 146 / 184 79.3% 71.7%
To the legs 267 / 313 85.3% 83.3% 174 / 193 90.2% 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 Vettori L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 965 / 2563 37.7% 39.5% 1279 / 3016 42.4% 39.5%
In the clinch 120 / 172 69.8% 70.9% 85 / 123 69.1% 70.9%
On the ground 63 / 77 81.8% 69.0% 42 / 62 67.7% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 645 / 2110 30.6% 37.9% 881 / 2516 35.0% 37.9%
To the body 234 / 378 61.9% 71.3% 252 / 350 72.0% 71.3%
To the legs 269 / 324 83.0% 82.1% 273 / 335 81.5% 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
2943.9% acc · 1.41/15 · norm 1.42
7680.0% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
3768.5% def · norm 63.1%
26:397.9% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
57:0118.5% of cage time · norm 19.75%
36:231:36 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
18:320:54 per 15 · norm 3:00
00.00/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
80.39/15 · 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.