Thomas Petersen vs.
Shamil Gaziev
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.
Thomas Petersen
Full career not yet synced for Thomas Petersen — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 2-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.1 wins over .500
Shamil Gaziev
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 4 | 3 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 10 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.26 · 4 tier-1/2 wins · 12 finish wins over 17 documented bouts
In the UFC: 1-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.3 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)
Thomas Petersen
Distance 78.0% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 6.0% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 16.1% (norm 9.3%)
Shamil Gaziev
Distance 82.2% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 12.0% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 5.8% (norm 9.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Thomas Petersen
Head 76.4% (norm 79.2%) · Body 18.7% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 4.9% (norm 7.6%)
Shamil Gaziev
Head 84.4% (norm 79.2%) · Body 14.8% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 0.8% (norm 7.6%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Petersen L/A | Acc | Heavyweight med | Gaziev L/A | Acc | Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 168 / 301 | 55.8% | 40.1% | 117 / 295 | 39.7% | 40.1% |
| In the clinch | 16 / 23 | too few to rate | 70.6% | 32 / 43 | 74.4% | 70.6% |
| On the ground | 41 / 62 | 66.1% | 70.2% | 14 / 21 | too few to rate | 70.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 145 / 295 | 49.2% | 38.9% | 116 / 303 | 38.3% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 61 / 72 | 84.7% | 76.8% | 44 / 53 | 83.0% | 76.8% |
| To the legs | 19 / 19 | too few to rate | 87.8% | 3 / 3 | too few to rate | 87.8% |
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 (Heavyweight: 93 fighters · 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 Petersen L/A | Opp acc | Heavyweight med | vs Gaziev L/A | Opp acc | Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 163 / 392 | 41.6% | 40.7% | 264 / 478 | 55.2% | 40.7% |
| In the clinch | 22 / 33 | 66.7% | 70.6% | 15 / 31 | 48.4% | 70.6% |
| On the ground | 9 / 13 | too few to rate | 72.0% | 1 / 2 | too few to rate | 72.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 131 / 348 | 37.6% | 38.8% | 178 / 393 | 45.3% | 38.8% |
| To the body | 50 / 75 | 66.7% | 75.1% | 57 / 72 | 79.2% | 75.1% |
| To the legs | 13 / 15 | too few to rate | 84.4% | 45 / 46 | 97.8% | 84.4% |
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 — Petersen has more cage time on record.