Thiago Tavares vs.
Justin Salas
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 Tavares
Full career not yet synced for Thiago Tavares — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 5-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.0 wins over .500
Justin Salas
Full career not yet synced for Justin Salas — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.1 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 Tavares
Distance 75.4% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 6.5% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 18.2% (norm 8.0%)
Justin Salas
Distance 81.6% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 11.8% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 6.6% (norm 8.0%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Thiago Tavares
Head 82.9% (norm 78.2%) · Body 12.9% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 4.1% (norm 7.9%)
Justin Salas
Head 74.2% (norm 78.2%) · Body 12.3% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 13.6% (norm 7.9%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Tavares L/A | Acc | Lightweight med | Salas L/A | Acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 209 / 618 | 33.8% | 37.9% | 113 / 319 | 35.4% | 37.9% |
| In the clinch | 30 / 53 | 56.6% | 67.3% | 35 / 46 | 76.1% | 67.3% |
| On the ground | 90 / 149 | 60.4% | 69.1% | 21 / 26 | 80.8% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 229 / 680 | 33.7% | 35.0% | 97 / 290 | 33.4% | 35.0% |
| To the body | 76 / 106 | 71.7% | 69.1% | 34 / 48 | 70.8% | 69.1% |
| To the legs | 24 / 34 | 70.6% | 81.9% | 38 / 53 | 71.7% | 81.9% |
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 (Lightweight: 201 fighters · Lightweight: 201 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 Tavares L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med | vs Salas L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 224 / 783 | 28.6% | 38.9% | 86 / 382 | 22.5% | 38.9% |
| In the clinch | 59 / 97 | 60.8% | 68.6% | 25 / 35 | 71.4% | 68.6% |
| On the ground | 96 / 139 | 69.1% | 68.0% | 35 / 53 | 66.0% | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 243 / 834 | 29.1% | 35.1% | 97 / 375 | 25.9% | 35.1% |
| To the body | 69 / 102 | 67.6% | 68.1% | 35 / 72 | 48.6% | 68.1% |
| To the legs | 67 / 83 | 80.7% | 81.5% | 14 / 23 | too few to rate | 81.5% |
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 — Tavares has more cage time on record.