Thiago Silva vs.
Rafael Cavalcante
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
Rafael Cavalcante
Full career not yet synced for Rafael Cavalcante — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.2 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%)
Rafael Cavalcante
Distance 80.1% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 12.9% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 7.0% (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%)
Rafael Cavalcante
Head 87.1% (norm 79.2%) · Body 5.9% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 7.0% (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 | Cavalcante L/A | Acc | Light Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 240 / 569 | 42.2% | 41.4% | 56 / 149 | 37.6% | 41.4% |
| In the clinch | 89 / 147 | 60.5% | 70.9% | 16 / 24 | too few to rate | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 83 / 133 | 62.4% | 72.3% | 11 / 13 | too few to rate | 72.3% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 229 / 604 | 37.9% | 38.9% | 68 / 162 | 42.0% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 79 / 114 | 69.3% | 71.9% | 7 / 11 | too few to rate | 71.9% |
| To the legs | 104 / 131 | 79.4% | 81.8% | 8 / 13 | too few to rate | 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 Cavalcante L/A | Opp acc | Light Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 227 / 784 | 29.0% | 40.4% | 92 / 233 | 39.5% | 40.4% |
| In the clinch | 54 / 98 | 55.1% | 68.7% | 27 / 38 | 71.1% | 68.7% |
| On the ground | 18 / 31 | 58.1% | 70.4% | 80 / 108 | 74.1% | 70.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 182 / 759 | 24.0% | 37.5% | 131 / 292 | 44.9% | 37.5% |
| To the body | 44 / 66 | 66.7% | 72.3% | 32 / 47 | 68.1% | 72.3% |
| To the legs | 73 / 88 | 83.0% | 83.0% | 36 / 40 | 90.0% | 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 — Silva has more cage time on record.