Thiago Silva vs.
Alexander Gustafsson
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 Silva
Full career not yet synced for Thiago Silva — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 3-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.4 wins over .500
Alexander Gustafsson
Full career not yet synced for Alexander Gustafsson — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 8-8 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)
Thiago Silva
Distance 67.0% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 17.3% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 15.7% (norm 10.4%)
Alexander Gustafsson
Distance 85.8% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 5.7% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 8.5% (norm 10.4%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Thiago Silva
Head 71.1% (norm 79.2%) · Body 13.4% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 15.4% (norm 9.7%)
Alexander Gustafsson
Head 80.4% (norm 79.2%) · Body 11.1% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 8.5% (norm 9.7%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Silva L/A | Acc | Light Heavyweight med | Gustafsson L/A | Acc | Light Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 240 / 569 | 42.2% | 41.4% | 575 / 1583 | 36.3% | 41.4% |
| In the clinch | 89 / 147 | 60.5% | 70.9% | 59 / 106 | 55.7% | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 83 / 133 | 62.4% | 72.3% | 117 / 156 | 75.0% | 72.3% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 229 / 604 | 37.9% | 38.9% | 523 / 1484 | 35.2% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 79 / 114 | 69.3% | 71.9% | 110 / 205 | 53.7% | 71.9% |
| To the legs | 104 / 131 | 79.4% | 81.8% | 118 / 156 | 75.6% | 81.8% |
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 (Light Heavyweight: 93 fighters · Light 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 Silva L/A | Opp acc | Light Heavyweight med | vs Gustafsson L/A | Opp acc | Light Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 227 / 784 | 29.0% | 40.4% | 496 / 1131 | 43.9% | 40.4% |
| In the clinch | 54 / 98 | 55.1% | 68.7% | 101 / 148 | 68.2% | 68.7% |
| On the ground | 18 / 31 | 58.1% | 70.4% | 62 / 78 | 79.5% | 70.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 182 / 759 | 24.0% | 37.5% | 398 / 992 | 40.1% | 37.5% |
| To the body | 44 / 66 | 66.7% | 72.3% | 102 / 162 | 63.0% | 72.3% |
| To the legs | 73 / 88 | 83.0% | 83.0% | 159 / 203 | 78.3% | 83.0% |
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 — Gustafsson has more cage time on record.