BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Tafon Nchukwi vs.
AJ Dobson

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

2-4-0 Tafon Nchukwi · UFC
1-3-0 AJ Dobson · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

2-4-0
UFC record
1-3-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
31.8
AgeΔ 2.7 yrs
34.5
6'0"
HeightΔ 1"
6'1"
77"
ReachΔ 1"
76"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
35.8
Layoff (months)Δ 7.4 mo
28.4
LLLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLL
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.

AJ Dobson absorbs 5.61 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.20 Middleweight norm — hittable.
Tafon Nchukwi outworks the Middleweight division — 5.46 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.25 norm.
Tafon Nchukwi rarely shoots — 0.83 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight 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.

Tafon Nchukwi

Full career not yet synced for Tafon Nchukwi — 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

AJ Dobson

Full career not yet synced for AJ Dobson — 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 +0.0 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

3935.46/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
1923.87/min · norm 3.25
2703.75/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
2785.61/min · norm 3.20
54.4%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
44.5%norm 47.4%
54.4%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
46.1%norm 53.8%
10.21/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · norm 0.32

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

Tafon Nchukwi

Distance 79.5% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 18.1% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 2.4% (norm 10.3%)

AJ Dobson

Distance 90.3% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 6.7% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 3.0% (norm 10.3%)

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

Tafon Nchukwi

Head 64.5% (norm 78.0%) · Body 23.8% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 11.8% (norm 8.4%)

AJ Dobson

Head 75.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 9.3% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 15.1% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Nchukwi L/AAccMiddleweight med Dobson L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 273 / 575 47.5% 40.5% 167 / 389 42.9% 40.5%
In the clinch 107 / 131 81.7% 70.3% 18 / 29 62.1% 70.3%
On the ground 13 / 17 too few to rate 69.1% 7 / 13 too few to rate 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 196 / 466 42.1% 38.9% 105 / 326 32.2% 38.9%
To the body 128 / 172 74.4% 71.7% 29 / 40 72.5% 71.7%
To the legs 69 / 85 81.2% 83.3% 58 / 65 89.2% 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 Nchukwi L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Dobson L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 231 / 532 43.4% 39.5% 200 / 406 49.3% 39.5%
In the clinch 12 / 21 too few to rate 70.9% 21 / 30 70.0% 70.9%
On the ground 27 / 39 69.2% 69.0% 57 / 80 71.2% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 161 / 455 35.4% 37.9% 131 / 350 37.4% 37.9%
To the body 47 / 65 72.3% 71.3% 58 / 66 87.9% 71.3%
To the legs 62 / 72 86.1% 82.1% 89 / 100 89.0% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

457.1% acc · 0.83/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
583.3% acc · 1.51/15 · norm 1.42
1164.7% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
1365.0% def · norm 63.1%
8:2411.7% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
7:0414.3% of cage time · norm 19.75%
9:412:01 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
10:063:03 per 15 · norm 3:00
00.00/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.47

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.