BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Roy Nelson vs.
Stefan Struve

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

9-10-0 Roy Nelson · UFC
13-11-0 Stefan Struve · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

9-10-0
UFC record
13-11-0
Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Heavyweight
50.1
AgeΔ 11.6 yrs
38.5
6'0"
HeightΔ 11"
6'11"
73"
ReachΔ 11"
84"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
111.7
Layoff (months)Δ 42.3 mo
69.4
LWLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWLL
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.

Stefan Struve is a submission threat — 1.68 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.16 Heavyweight norm.
Roy Nelson carries real power — 0.67 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Heavyweight norm.
Roy Nelson absorbs 4.86 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.19 Heavyweight 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.

Roy Nelson

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

In the UFC: 5-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.0 wins over .500

Stefan Struve

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

In the UFC: 7-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.1 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4392.17/min · norm 3.36
Sig. strikes landed
5853.12/min · norm 3.36
9854.86/min · norm 3.19
Sig. strikes absorbed
7574.04/min · norm 3.19
37.3%norm 47.8%
Striking accuracy
47.4%norm 47.8%
45.6%norm 52.5%
Striking defense
46.5%norm 52.5%
90.67/15 · norm 0.28
Knockdowns
30.24/15 · norm 0.28

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

Roy Nelson

Distance 82.5% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 13.0% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 4.5% (norm 9.3%)

Stefan Struve

Distance 88.0% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 4.6% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 7.4% (norm 9.3%)

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

Roy Nelson

Head 89.1% (norm 79.2%) · Body 6.3% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 4.6% (norm 7.6%)

Stefan Struve

Head 71.3% (norm 79.2%) · Body 15.8% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 12.9% (norm 7.6%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Nelson L/AAccHeavyweight med Struve L/AAccHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 315 / 970 32.5% 40.1% 489 / 1085 45.1% 40.1%
In the clinch 83 / 153 54.2% 70.6% 35 / 57 61.4% 70.6%
On the ground 41 / 53 77.4% 70.2% 61 / 91 67.0% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 341 / 1048 32.5% 38.9% 310 / 879 35.3% 38.9%
To the body 53 / 74 71.6% 76.8% 132 / 195 67.7% 76.8%
To the legs 45 / 54 83.3% 87.8% 143 / 159 89.9% 87.8%

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 (Heavyweight: 93 fighters · Heavyweight: 93 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 Nelson L/AOpp accHeavyweight med vs Struve L/AOpp accHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 710 / 1438 49.4% 40.7% 512 / 1016 50.4% 40.7%
In the clinch 259 / 354 73.2% 70.6% 75 / 118 63.6% 70.6%
On the ground 16 / 18 too few to rate 72.0% 170 / 281 60.5% 72.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 640 / 1402 45.6% 38.8% 451 / 1024 44.0% 38.8%
To the body 237 / 293 80.9% 75.1% 157 / 205 76.6% 75.1%
To the legs 108 / 115 93.9% 84.4% 149 / 186 80.1% 84.4%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

1629.6% acc · 1.18/15 · norm 0.95
Takedowns landed
746.7% acc · 0.56/15 · norm 0.95
2064.5% def · norm 64.3%
Takedowns stopped
2955.8% def · norm 64.3%
41:0420.3% of cage time · norm 17.2%
Control time
20:1410.8% of cage time · norm 17.2%
24:411:49 per 15 · norm 2:28
Time under control
63:395:05 per 15 · norm 2:28
10.07/15 · norm 0.16
Submission attempts
211.68/15 · norm 0.16

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.