BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Rory MacDonald vs.
Tarec Saffiedine

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

9-4-0 Rory MacDonald · UFC
2-4-0 Tarec Saffiedine · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

9-4-0
UFC record
2-4-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
37
AgeΔ 2.9 yrs
39.9
6'0"
HeightΔ 2"
5'10"
76"
ReachΔ 6"
70"
Orthodox
Stance
Switch
121.6
Layoff (months)Δ 12 mo
109.6
LLWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWL
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.

Tarec Saffiedine rarely shoots — 0.62 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.
Rory MacDonald hunts takedowns — 1.77 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.
Tarec Saffiedine absorbs 3.88 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.06 Welterweight norm — hittable.
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.

Rory MacDonald

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

In the UFC: 8-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.3 wins over .500

Tarec Saffiedine

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

In the UFC: 2-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.3 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6673.75/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
3603.73/min · norm 3.17
4992.80/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
3743.88/min · norm 3.06
42.5%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
45.9%norm 44.9%
62.5%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
56.7%norm 55.25%
10.08/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
30.47/15 · norm 0.38

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

Rory MacDonald

Distance 83.9% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 6.1% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 10.1% (norm 8.1%)

Tarec Saffiedine

Distance 89.2% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 9.9% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 0.9% (norm 8.1%)

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

Rory MacDonald

Head 82.9% (norm 78.2%) · Body 13.6% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 3.5% (norm 8.4%)

Tarec Saffiedine

Head 74.7% (norm 78.2%) · Body 9.8% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 15.4% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone MacDonald L/AAccWelterweight med Saffiedine L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 509 / 1317 38.6% 38.6% 301 / 699 43.1% 38.6%
In the clinch 55 / 95 57.9% 67.8% 53 / 78 67.9% 67.8%
On the ground 103 / 158 65.2% 67.2% 6 / 7 too few to rate 67.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 499 / 1302 38.3% 37.2% 196 / 586 33.4% 37.2%
To the body 125 / 213 58.7% 70.7% 62 / 77 80.5% 70.7%
To the legs 43 / 55 78.2% 82.9% 102 / 121 84.3% 82.9%

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 (Welterweight: 182 fighters · Welterweight: 182 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 MacDonald L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Saffiedine L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 370 / 1123 32.9% 39.0% 288 / 744 38.7% 39.0%
In the clinch 59 / 105 56.2% 68.9% 72 / 101 71.3% 68.9%
On the ground 70 / 101 69.3% 68.0% 14 / 18 too few to rate 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 323 / 1073 30.1% 35.6% 233 / 677 34.4% 35.6%
To the body 72 / 126 57.1% 69.6% 108 / 148 73.0% 69.6%
To the legs 104 / 130 80.0% 82.1% 33 / 38 86.8% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

2147.7% acc · 1.77/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
433.3% acc · 0.62/15 · norm 1.27
4088.9% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
2180.8% def · norm 63.9%
28:5216.2% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
13:0213.5% of cage time · norm 18.5%
20:471:45 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
17:172:41 per 15 · norm 3:15
50.42/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
10.16/15 · norm 0.45

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.