BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Tai Tuivasa vs.
Stefan Struve

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

8-10-0 Tai Tuivasa · UFC
13-11-0 Stefan Struve · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

8-10-0
UFC record
13-11-0
Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Heavyweight
33.4
AgeΔ 5.1 yrs
38.5
6'2"
HeightΔ 9"
6'11"
75"
ReachΔ 9"
84"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
3.2
Layoff (months)Δ 66.2 mo
69.4
LLLLL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWLL
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.

Stefan Struve is a submission threat — 1.68 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.16 Heavyweight norm.
Tai Tuivasa carries real power — 0.82 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Heavyweight norm.
Tai Tuivasa rarely shoots — 0.00 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.95 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.

Tai Tuivasa

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 810
Tier 3 — regional circuit 60

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

Stefan Struve

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

In the UFC: 7-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.1 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4913.37/min · norm 3.36
Sig. strikes landed
5853.12/min · norm 3.36
6714.61/min · norm 3.19
Sig. strikes absorbed
7574.04/min · norm 3.19
48.6%norm 47.8%
Striking accuracy
47.4%norm 47.8%
42.9%norm 52.5%
Striking defense
46.5%norm 52.5%
80.82/15 · norm 0.28
Knockdowns
30.24/15 · norm 0.28

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%)

Stefan Struve

Distance 88.0% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 4.6% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 7.4% (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%)

Stefan Struve

Head 71.3% (norm 79.2%) · Body 15.8% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 12.9% (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/AAccHeavyweight med Struve L/AAccHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 347 / 811 42.8% 40.1% 489 / 1085 45.1% 40.1%
In the clinch 120 / 165 72.7% 70.6% 35 / 57 61.4% 70.6%
On the ground 24 / 34 70.6% 70.2% 61 / 91 67.0% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 290 / 738 39.3% 38.9% 310 / 879 35.3% 38.9%
To the body 86 / 115 74.8% 76.8% 132 / 195 67.7% 76.8%
To the legs 115 / 157 73.2% 87.8% 143 / 159 89.9% 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/AOpp accHeavyweight med vs Struve L/AOpp accHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 495 / 948 52.2% 40.7% 512 / 1016 50.4% 40.7%
In the clinch 61 / 77 79.2% 70.6% 75 / 118 63.6% 70.6%
On the ground 115 / 151 76.2% 72.0% 170 / 281 60.5% 72.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 470 / 925 50.8% 38.8% 451 / 1024 44.0% 38.8%
To the body 120 / 155 77.4% 75.1% 157 / 205 76.6% 75.1%
To the legs 81 / 96 84.4% 84.4% 149 / 186 80.1% 84.4%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

00.0% acc · 0.00/15 · norm 0.95
Takedowns landed
746.7% acc · 0.56/15 · norm 0.95
2758.7% def · norm 64.3%
Takedowns stopped
2955.8% def · norm 64.3%
18:0712.4% of cage time · norm 17.2%
Control time
20:1410.8% of cage time · norm 17.2%
35:433:40 per 15 · norm 2:28
Time under control
63:395:05 per 15 · norm 2:28
00.00/15 · norm 0.16
Submission attempts
211.68/15 · norm 0.16

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.