BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Shamil Abdurakhimov vs.
Curtis Blaydes

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

5-6-0 Shamil Abdurakhimov · UFC
14-6-0 (1 NC) Curtis Blaydes · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

5-6-0
UFC record
14-6-0 (1 NC)
Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Heavyweight
44.9
AgeΔ 9.4 yrs
35.5
6'3"
HeightΔ 1"
6'4"
76"
ReachΔ 4"
80"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
42.5
Layoff (months)Δ 38.7 mo
3.8
LLLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLWL
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.

Curtis Blaydes hunts takedowns — 5.12 per 15 minutes, vs a 0.95 Heavyweight norm.
Curtis Blaydes owns the mat — in control 45% of cage time, vs a 17% Heavyweight norm.
Shamil Abdurakhimov's takedown defense leaks — 46% stopped, vs a 64% Heavyweight 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.

Shamil Abdurakhimov

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

In the UFC: 2-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.9 wins over .500

Curtis Blaydes

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 146
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 10
Tier 3 — regional circuit 40

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.44 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 26 documented bouts

In the UFC: 11-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.6 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

2512.41/min · norm 3.36
Sig. strikes landed
8094.18/min · norm 3.36
3143.02/min · norm 3.19
Sig. strikes absorbed
5342.76/min · norm 3.19
44.3%norm 47.8%
Striking accuracy
52.1%norm 47.8%
55.5%norm 52.5%
Striking defense
53.9%norm 52.5%
20.29/15 · norm 0.28
Knockdowns
20.16/15 · norm 0.28

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

Shamil Abdurakhimov

Distance 78.3% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 16.2% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 5.5% (norm 9.3%)

Curtis Blaydes

Distance 69.1% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 11.4% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 19.5% (norm 9.3%)

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

Shamil Abdurakhimov

Head 73.9% (norm 79.2%) · Body 13.1% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 13.1% (norm 7.6%)

Curtis Blaydes

Head 83.7% (norm 79.2%) · Body 6.6% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 9.7% (norm 7.6%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Abdurakhimov L/AAccHeavyweight med Blaydes L/AAccHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 169 / 444 38.1% 40.1% 421 / 1073 39.2% 40.1%
In the clinch 60 / 92 65.2% 70.6% 145 / 177 81.9% 70.6%
On the ground 22 / 31 71.0% 70.2% 243 / 302 80.5% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 149 / 419 35.6% 38.9% 585 / 1299 45.0% 38.9%
To the body 47 / 74 63.5% 76.8% 89 / 103 86.4% 76.8%
To the legs 55 / 74 74.3% 87.8% 135 / 150 90.0% 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 Abdurakhimov L/AOpp accHeavyweight med vs Blaydes L/AOpp accHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 118 / 408 28.9% 40.7% 427 / 1021 41.8% 40.7%
In the clinch 59 / 104 56.7% 70.6% 82 / 108 75.9% 70.6%
On the ground 137 / 193 71.0% 72.0% 25 / 30 83.3% 72.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 237 / 601 39.4% 38.8% 440 / 1037 42.4% 38.8%
To the body 44 / 65 67.7% 75.1% 64 / 87 73.6% 75.1%
To the legs 33 / 39 84.6% 84.4% 30 / 35 85.7% 84.4%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

723.3% acc · 1.01/15 · norm 0.95
Takedowns landed
6647.8% acc · 5.12/15 · norm 0.95
1045.5% def · norm 64.3%
Takedowns stopped
735.0% def · norm 64.3%
12:1411.8% of cage time · norm 17.2%
Control time
87:4245.3% of cage time · norm 17.2%
18:192:38 per 15 · norm 2:28
Time under control
8:550:41 per 15 · norm 2:28
10.14/15 · norm 0.16
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.16

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.