BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Santiago Ponzinibbio vs.
Geoff Neal

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

12-9-0 Santiago Ponzinibbio · UFC
8-6-0 Geoff Neal · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

12-9-0
UFC record
8-6-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
39.9
AgeΔ 4 yrs
35.9
6'0"
HeightΔ 1"
5'11"
73"
ReachΔ 2"
75"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
0.4
Layoff (months)Δ 5.1 mo
5.5
LLWLL
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.

Geoff Neal carries real power — 0.87 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.38 Welterweight norm.
Santiago Ponzinibbio carries real power — 0.70 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.38 Welterweight norm.
Geoff Neal absorbs 5.56 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.

Santiago Ponzinibbio

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 129
Tier 3 — regional circuit 161

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.12 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 21 finish wins over 38 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.9 wins over .500

Geoff Neal

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 96
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 30
Tier 3 — regional circuit 42

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.07 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 12 finish wins over 24 documented bouts

In the UFC: 6-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.3 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

10974.67/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
6875.00/min · norm 3.17
11244.79/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
7645.56/min · norm 3.06
40.8%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
50.7%norm 44.9%
61.1%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
57.0%norm 55.25%
110.70/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
80.87/15 · norm 0.38

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

Santiago Ponzinibbio

Distance 96.6% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 1.4% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 2.0% (norm 8.1%)

Geoff Neal

Distance 86.9% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 8.0% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 5.1% (norm 8.1%)

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

Santiago Ponzinibbio

Head 83.4% (norm 78.2%) · Body 8.9% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 7.7% (norm 8.4%)

Geoff Neal

Head 90.5% (norm 78.2%) · Body 6.1% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 3.5% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Ponzinibbio L/AAccWelterweight med Neal L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1043 / 2599 40.1% 38.6% 566 / 1177 48.1% 38.6%
In the clinch 20 / 37 54.1% 67.8% 72 / 108 66.7% 67.8%
On the ground 34 / 55 61.8% 67.2% 49 / 69 71.0% 67.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 775 / 2243 34.6% 37.2% 585 / 1225 47.8% 37.2%
To the body 137 / 240 57.1% 70.7% 58 / 82 70.7% 70.7%
To the legs 185 / 208 88.9% 82.9% 44 / 47 93.6% 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 Ponzinibbio L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Neal L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1043 / 2764 37.7% 39.0% 684 / 1658 41.3% 39.0%
In the clinch 22 / 38 57.9% 68.9% 73 / 104 70.2% 68.9%
On the ground 59 / 89 66.3% 68.0% 7 / 13 too few to rate 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 669 / 2248 29.8% 35.6% 477 / 1409 33.9% 35.6%
To the body 232 / 378 61.4% 69.6% 208 / 280 74.3% 69.6%
To the legs 223 / 265 84.2% 82.1% 79 / 86 91.9% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

926.5% acc · 0.58/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
545.5% acc · 0.55/15 · norm 1.27
2771.1% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
2689.7% def · norm 63.9%
11:374.9% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
19:5514.5% of cage time · norm 18.5%
11:060:42 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
7:280:48 per 15 · norm 3:15
00.00/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
10.11/15 · norm 0.45

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.