Steve Montgomery vs.
Daniel Kelly
Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.
The men, measured.
Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.
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.
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.
Steve Montgomery
Full career not yet synced for Steve Montgomery — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.5 wins over .500
Daniel Kelly
Full career not yet synced for Daniel Kelly — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 4-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.1 wins over .500
The stand-up battle.
Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Steve Montgomery
Distance 84.0% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 14.6% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 1.4% (norm 10.3%)
Daniel Kelly
Distance 81.6% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 9.0% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 9.4% (norm 10.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Steve Montgomery
Head 84.5% (norm 78.0%) · Body 13.7% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 1.8% (norm 8.4%)
Daniel Kelly
Head 93.2% (norm 78.0%) · Body 3.5% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 3.2% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Montgomery L/A | Acc | Middleweight med | Kelly L/A | Acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 58 / 184 | 31.5% | 40.5% | 242 / 736 | 32.9% | 40.5% |
| In the clinch | 26 / 32 | 81.2% | 70.3% | 53 / 81 | 65.4% | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 2 / 3 | too few to rate | 69.1% | 55 / 85 | 64.7% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 57 / 185 | 30.8% | 38.9% | 303 / 841 | 36.0% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 26 / 30 | 86.7% | 71.7% | 21 / 32 | 65.6% | 71.7% |
| To the legs | 3 / 4 | too few to rate | 83.3% | 26 / 29 | 89.7% | 83.3% |
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 (Middleweight: 174 fighters · Middleweight: 174 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 Montgomery L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med | vs Kelly L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 36 / 90 | 40.0% | 39.5% | 382 / 1090 | 35.0% | 39.5% |
| In the clinch | 11 / 15 | too few to rate | 70.9% | 53 / 65 | 81.5% | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 26 / 35 | 74.3% | 69.0% | 14 / 17 | too few to rate | 69.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 64 / 131 | 48.9% | 37.9% | 316 / 986 | 32.0% | 37.9% |
| To the body | 7 / 7 | too few to rate | 71.3% | 82 / 115 | 71.3% | 71.3% |
| To the legs | 2 / 2 | too few to rate | 82.1% | 51 / 71 | 71.8% | 82.1% |
The ground war.
Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Kelly has more cage time on record.