Tai Tuivasa vs.
Junior Dos Santos
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.
Tai Tuivasa
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 8 | 10 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 6 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.85 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 24 documented bouts
In the UFC: 5-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.8 wins over .500
Junior Dos Santos
Full career not yet synced for Junior Dos Santos — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 11-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.9 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)
Tai Tuivasa
Distance 80.3% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 16.3% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 3.4% (norm 9.3%)
Junior Dos Santos
Distance 87.9% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 7.0% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 5.1% (norm 9.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Tai Tuivasa
Head 73.1% (norm 79.2%) · Body 11.4% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 15.5% (norm 7.6%)
Junior Dos Santos
Head 73.2% (norm 79.2%) · Body 24.2% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 2.6% (norm 7.6%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Tuivasa L/A | Acc | Heavyweight med | Santos L/A | Acc | Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 347 / 811 | 42.8% | 40.1% | 942 / 2032 | 46.4% | 40.1% |
| In the clinch | 120 / 165 | 72.7% | 70.6% | 94 / 162 | 58.0% | 70.6% |
| On the ground | 24 / 34 | 70.6% | 70.2% | 73 / 119 | 61.3% | 70.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 290 / 738 | 39.3% | 38.9% | 682 / 1693 | 40.3% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 86 / 115 | 74.8% | 76.8% | 378 / 560 | 67.5% | 76.8% |
| To the legs | 115 / 157 | 73.2% | 87.8% | 49 / 60 | 81.7% | 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 Tuivasa L/A | Opp acc | Heavyweight med | vs Santos L/A | Opp acc | Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 495 / 948 | 52.2% | 40.7% | 583 / 1530 | 38.1% | 40.7% |
| In the clinch | 61 / 77 | 79.2% | 70.6% | 159 / 236 | 67.4% | 70.6% |
| On the ground | 115 / 151 | 76.2% | 72.0% | 81 / 114 | 71.1% | 72.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 470 / 925 | 50.8% | 38.8% | 552 / 1544 | 35.8% | 38.8% |
| To the body | 120 / 155 | 77.4% | 75.1% | 105 / 141 | 74.5% | 75.1% |
| To the legs | 81 / 96 | 84.4% | 84.4% | 166 / 195 | 85.1% | 84.4% |
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 — Santos has more cage time on record.