Thiago Santos vs.
David Branch
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 Santos
Full career not yet synced for Thiago Santos — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 11-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.6 wins over .500
David Branch
Full career not yet synced for David Branch — 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 +2.4 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 Santos
Distance 69.7% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 9.8% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 20.5% (norm 10.3%)
David Branch
Distance 73.0% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 17.2% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 9.9% (norm 10.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Thiago Santos
Head 65.9% (norm 78.0%) · Body 16.8% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 17.3% (norm 8.4%)
David Branch
Head 73.0% (norm 78.0%) · Body 16.0% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 11.0% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Santos L/A | Acc | Middleweight med | Branch L/A | Acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 512 / 1285 | 39.8% | 40.5% | 68 / 251 | 27.1% | 40.5% |
| In the clinch | 150 / 181 | 82.9% | 70.3% | 48 / 59 | 81.4% | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 226 / 378 | 59.8% | 69.1% | 21 / 34 | 61.8% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 455 / 1216 | 37.4% | 38.9% | 65 / 251 | 25.9% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 204 / 309 | 66.0% | 71.7% | 41 / 55 | 74.5% | 71.7% |
| To the legs | 229 / 319 | 71.8% | 83.3% | 31 / 38 | 81.6% | 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 Santos L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med | vs Branch L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 417 / 1085 | 38.4% | 39.5% | 74 / 241 | 30.7% | 39.5% |
| In the clinch | 87 / 110 | 79.1% | 70.9% | 36 / 54 | 66.7% | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 110 / 138 | 79.7% | 69.0% | 47 / 68 | 69.1% | 69.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 330 / 914 | 36.1% | 37.9% | 105 / 292 | 36.0% | 37.9% |
| To the body | 141 / 215 | 65.6% | 71.3% | 29 / 43 | 67.4% | 71.3% |
| To the legs | 143 / 204 | 70.1% | 82.1% | 23 / 28 | 82.1% | 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 — Santos has more cage time on record.