Thiago Alves vs.
Tim Means
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.
Thiago Alves
Full career not yet synced for Thiago Alves — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 7-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.7 wins over .500
Tim Means
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 15 | 14 |
| Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) | 2 | 0 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 16 | 3 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.85 · 17 tier-1/2 wins · 25 finish wins over 52 documented bouts
In the UFC: 8-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.3 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)
Thiago Alves
Distance 84.1% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 7.9% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 8.0% (norm 8.1%)
Tim Means
Distance 84.1% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 9.1% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 6.8% (norm 8.1%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Thiago Alves
Head 73.8% (norm 78.2%) · Body 7.6% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 18.7% (norm 8.4%)
Tim Means
Head 74.0% (norm 78.2%) · Body 20.0% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 6.0% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Alves L/A | Acc | Welterweight med | Means L/A | Acc | Welterweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 867 / 2227 | 38.9% | 38.6% | 1116 / 2495 | 44.7% | 38.6% |
| In the clinch | 126 / 208 | 60.6% | 67.8% | 202 / 270 | 74.8% | 67.8% |
| On the ground | 113 / 213 | 53.1% | 67.2% | 139 / 203 | 68.5% | 67.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 569 / 1953 | 29.1% | 37.2% | 885 / 2197 | 40.3% | 37.2% |
| To the body | 150 / 200 | 75.0% | 70.7% | 409 / 594 | 68.9% | 70.7% |
| To the legs | 387 / 495 | 78.2% | 82.9% | 163 / 177 | 92.1% | 82.9% |
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 (Welterweight: 182 fighters · Welterweight: 182 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 Alves L/A | Opp acc | Welterweight med | vs Means L/A | Opp acc | Welterweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 731 / 2283 | 32.0% | 39.0% | 899 / 2384 | 37.7% | 39.0% |
| In the clinch | 159 / 251 | 63.3% | 68.9% | 102 / 162 | 63.0% | 68.9% |
| On the ground | 125 / 174 | 71.8% | 68.0% | 54 / 107 | 50.5% | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 649 / 2203 | 29.5% | 35.6% | 733 / 2171 | 33.8% | 35.6% |
| To the body | 218 / 312 | 69.9% | 69.6% | 191 / 323 | 59.1% | 69.6% |
| To the legs | 148 / 193 | 76.7% | 82.1% | 131 / 159 | 82.4% | 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 — Means has more cage time on record.