Steve Garcia vs. Kyle Nelson
Tale of the tape
The read
Level of competition
Steve Garcia
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 14 | 4 |
| Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) | 1 | 0 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 4 | 1 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.71 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 24 documented bouts
In the UFC: 3-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.8 wins over .500
Kyle Nelson
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 5 | 6 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 12 | 1 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.79 · 5 tier-1/2 wins · 10 finish wins over 25 documented bouts
In the UFC: 4-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.8 wins over .500
Striking
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Steve Garcia
Distance 78.5% (norm 85.9%) · Clinch 2.9% (norm 6.0%) · Ground 18.6% (norm 6.5%)
Kyle Nelson
Distance 88.3% (norm 85.9%) · Clinch 9.5% (norm 6.0%) · Ground 2.2% (norm 6.5%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Steve Garcia
Head 85.3% (norm 77.5%) · Body 9.4% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 5.3% (norm 7.9%)
Kyle Nelson
Head 74.0% (norm 77.5%) · Body 16.6% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 9.4% (norm 7.9%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Garcia L/A | Acc | Featherweight med | Nelson L/A | Acc | Featherweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 235 / 565 | 41.6% | 40.5% | 351 / 803 | 43.7% | 40.5% |
| In the clinch | 12 / 21 | too few to rate | 70.5% | 54 / 86 | 62.8% | 70.5% |
| On the ground | 92 / 134 | 68.7% | 69.3% | 13 / 20 | too few to rate | 69.3% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 254 / 614 | 41.4% | 37.1% | 235 / 673 | 34.9% | 37.1% |
| To the body | 50 / 68 | 73.5% | 68.0% | 109 / 151 | 72.2% | 68.0% |
| To the legs | 35 / 38 | 92.1% | 80.3% | 74 / 85 | 87.1% | 80.3% |
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 (Featherweight: 127 fighters · Featherweight: 127 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 Garcia L/A | Opp acc | Featherweight med | vs Nelson L/A | Opp acc | Featherweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 92 / 304 | 30.3% | 39.3% | 387 / 930 | 41.6% | 39.3% |
| In the clinch | 8 / 12 | too few to rate | 70.3% | 43 / 60 | 71.7% | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 37 / 56 | 66.1% | 69.4% | 105 / 168 | 62.5% | 69.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 110 / 330 | 33.3% | 35.9% | 308 / 881 | 35.0% | 35.9% |
| To the body | 14 / 29 | 48.3% | 68.0% | 126 / 158 | 79.7% | 68.0% |
| To the legs | 13 / 13 | too few to rate | 81.5% | 101 / 119 | 84.9% | 81.5% |
Grappling
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Nelson has more cage time on record.