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Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Nordine Taleb

UFC 12-9-0 vs. 7-5-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
12-9-0
UFC record
7-5-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
40
AgeΔ 5 yrs
45
6'0"
HeightΔ 1"
6'1"
73"
ReachΔ 1"
74"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
2.9
Layoff (months)Δ 82.5 mo
85.4
LLWLL
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLLW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Santiago Ponzinibbio carries real power — 0.70 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.38 Welterweight norm.
Santiago Ponzinibbio rarely shoots — 0.58 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.31 Welterweight norm.
Nordine Taleb hunts takedowns — 1.94 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.31 Welterweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

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

Nordine Taleb

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 96
Tier 3 — regional circuit 61

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.95 · 9 tier-1/2 wins · 7 finish wins over 22 documented bouts

In the UFC: 4-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.2 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

10974.67/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
4533.66/min · norm 3.17
11244.79/min · norm 3.08
Sig. strikes absorbed lower is better
3252.62/min · norm 3.08
40.8%norm 44.75%
Striking accuracy
51.1%norm 44.75%
61.1%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
66.8%norm 55.25%
110.70/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
20.24/15 · norm 0.38

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

Santiago Ponzinibbio

Distance 96.6% (norm 80.7%) · Clinch 1.4% (norm 9.6%) · Ground 2.0% (norm 8.1%)

Nordine Taleb

Distance 84.9% (norm 80.7%) · Clinch 4.7% (norm 9.6%) · Ground 10.4% (norm 8.1%)

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

Santiago Ponzinibbio

Head 83.4% (norm 78.3%) · Body 8.9% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 7.7% (norm 8.0%)

Nordine Taleb

Head 64.7% (norm 78.3%) · Body 18.3% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 17.0% (norm 8.0%)

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 Taleb L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1043 / 2599 40.1% 38.5% 355 / 752 47.2% 38.5%
In the clinch 20 / 37 54.1% 67.8% 33 / 42 78.6% 67.8%
On the ground 34 / 55 61.8% 67.0% 65 / 92 70.7% 67.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 775 / 2243 34.6% 36.4% 220 / 573 38.4% 36.4%
To the body 137 / 240 57.1% 70.7% 106 / 162 65.4% 70.7%
To the legs 185 / 208 88.9% 83.0% 127 / 151 84.1% 83.0%

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: 180 fighters · Welterweight: 180 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 Taleb L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1043 / 2764 37.7% 39.1% 268 / 877 30.6% 39.1%
In the clinch 22 / 38 57.9% 68.9% 30 / 48 62.5% 68.9%
On the ground 59 / 89 66.3% 68.0% 27 / 54 50.0% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 669 / 2248 29.8% 35.6% 196 / 774 25.3% 35.6%
To the body 232 / 378 61.4% 69.6% 71 / 114 62.3% 69.6%
To the legs 223 / 265 84.2% 82.2% 58 / 91 63.7% 82.2%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
926.5% acc · 0.58/15 · norm 1.31
Takedowns landed
1676.2% acc · 1.94/15 · norm 1.31
2771.1% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
1773.9% def · norm 63.9%
11:374.9% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
29:0723.5% of cage time · norm 18.5%
11:060:42 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control lower is better
10:121:14 per 15 · norm 3:15
00.00/15 · norm 0.44
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.44

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