Tim Sylvia vs.
Ricco Rodriguez
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.
Tim Sylvia
Full career not yet synced for Tim Sylvia — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 6-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.5 wins over .500
Ricco Rodriguez
Full career not yet synced for Ricco Rodriguez — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 3-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.7 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)
Tim Sylvia
Distance 81.7% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 13.8% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 4.5% (norm 9.3%)
Ricco Rodriguez
Distance 36.0% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 10.8% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 53.2% (norm 9.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Tim Sylvia
Head 86.6% (norm 79.2%) · Body 6.6% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 6.9% (norm 7.6%)
Ricco Rodriguez
Head 85.4% (norm 79.2%) · Body 10.8% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 3.8% (norm 7.6%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Sylvia L/A | Acc | Heavyweight med | Rodriguez L/A | Acc | Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 396 / 1144 | 34.6% | 40.1% | 43 / 113 | 38.1% | 40.1% |
| In the clinch | 137 / 194 | 70.6% | 70.6% | 26 / 34 | 76.5% | 70.6% |
| On the ground | 52 / 63 | 82.5% | 70.2% | 109 / 167 | 65.3% | 70.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 422 / 1213 | 34.8% | 38.9% | 142 / 268 | 53.0% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 75 / 92 | 81.5% | 76.8% | 25 / 34 | 73.5% | 76.8% |
| To the legs | 88 / 96 | 91.7% | 87.8% | 11 / 12 | 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 Sylvia L/A | Opp acc | Heavyweight med | vs Rodriguez L/A | Opp acc | Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 253 / 782 | 32.4% | 40.7% | 38 / 135 | 28.1% | 40.7% |
| In the clinch | 51 / 63 | 81.0% | 70.6% | 17 / 31 | 54.8% | 70.6% |
| On the ground | 41 / 68 | 60.3% | 72.0% | 54 / 93 | 58.1% | 72.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 200 / 738 | 27.1% | 38.8% | 67 / 209 | 32.1% | 38.8% |
| To the body | 64 / 88 | 72.7% | 75.1% | 13 / 15 | too few to rate | 75.1% |
| To the legs | 81 / 87 | 93.1% | 84.4% | 29 / 35 | 82.9% | 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 — Sylvia has more cage time on record.