BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Tony Ferguson vs.
Charles Oliveira

Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.

15-9-0 Tony Ferguson · UFC
25-11-0 (1 NC) Charles Oliveira · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.

15-9-0
UFC record
25-11-0 (1 NC)
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
42.5
AgeΔ 5.7 yrs
36.8
5'11"
HeightΔ 1"
5'10"
76"
ReachΔ 2"
74"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
24.1
Layoff (months)Δ 19.1 mo
5
LLLLL
Last 5 (newest first)
WWLWL
The read

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.

Charles Oliveira is a submission threat — 2.59 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.49 Lightweight norm.
Tony Ferguson is a submission threat — 0.88 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.49 Lightweight norm.
Charles Oliveira owns the mat — in control 35% of cage time, vs a 20% Lightweight norm.
Level of competition

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.

Tony Ferguson

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 159
Tier 3 — regional circuit 102

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.17 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 20 finish wins over 36 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.8 wins over .500

Charles Oliveira

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 2511
Tier 3 — regional circuit 80

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.52 · 25 tier-1/2 wins · 28 finish wins over 45 documented bouts

In the UFC: 19-11 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.4 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

13324.91/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
9543.23/min · norm 3.42
11864.37/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
9003.05/min · norm 3.37
45.9%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
55.6%norm 43.5%
55.4%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
49.0%norm 56.3%
30.17/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
80.41/15 · norm 0.25

Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)

Tony Ferguson

Distance 94.3% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 1.7% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 4.1% (norm 8.0%)

Charles Oliveira

Distance 69.9% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 13.5% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 16.6% (norm 8.0%)

What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)

Tony Ferguson

Head 75.1% (norm 78.2%) · Body 13.5% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 11.4% (norm 7.9%)

Charles Oliveira

Head 68.9% (norm 78.2%) · Body 20.8% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 10.3% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.

Zone Ferguson L/AAccLightweight med Oliveira L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1210 / 2738 44.2% 37.9% 560 / 1199 46.7% 37.9%
In the clinch 31 / 49 63.3% 67.3% 173 / 231 74.9% 67.3%
On the ground 91 / 118 77.1% 69.1% 221 / 285 77.5% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 800 / 2182 36.7% 35.0% 565 / 1182 47.8% 35.0%
To the body 259 / 393 65.9% 69.1% 246 / 357 68.9% 69.1%
To the legs 273 / 330 82.7% 81.9% 143 / 176 81.2% 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 Ferguson L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Oliveira L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1028 / 2394 42.9% 38.9% 615 / 1341 45.9% 38.9%
In the clinch 15 / 48 31.2% 68.6% 72 / 105 68.6% 68.6%
On the ground 143 / 216 66.2% 68.0% 213 / 317 67.2% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 790 / 2103 37.6% 35.1% 658 / 1421 46.3% 35.1%
To the body 225 / 356 63.2% 68.1% 168 / 240 70.0% 68.1%
To the legs 171 / 199 85.9% 81.5% 74 / 102 72.5% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.

735.0% acc · 0.39/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
4539.8% acc · 2.29/15 · norm 1.38
3966.1% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
2854.9% def · norm 64.0%
8:002.9% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
102:0334.6% of cage time · norm 19.5%
63:463:31 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
83:194:14 per 15 · norm 2:46
160.88/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
512.59/15 · norm 0.49

Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Oliveira has more cage time on record.

Next move

Let the engine settle it.