BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Volkan Oezdemir vs.
Magomed Ankalaev

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

9-7-0 Volkan Oezdemir · UFC
13-2-1 (1 NC) Magomed Ankalaev · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

9-7-0
UFC record
13-2-1 (1 NC)
Light Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Light Heavyweight
36.9
AgeΔ 2.7 yrs
34.2
6'2"
HeightΔ 1"
6'3"
75"
ReachΔ 0"
75"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
8.4
Layoff (months)Δ 8 mo
0.4
WLWWL
Last 5 (newest first)
WLWWW
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.

Volkan Oezdemir carries real power — 0.70 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.40 Light Heavyweight norm.
Magomed Ankalaev owns the mat — in control 28% of cage time, vs a 16% Light Heavyweight norm.
Volkan Oezdemir outworks the Light Heavyweight division — 4.99 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.41 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.

Volkan Oezdemir

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 108
Tier 3 — regional circuit 90

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.16 · 10 tier-1/2 wins · 14 finish wins over 27 documented bouts

In the UFC: 8-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.4 wins over .500

Magomed Ankalaev

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 132
Tier 3 — regional circuit 80

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.66 · 13 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 25 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.8 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

7514.99/min · norm 3.41
Sig. strikes landed
7443.52/min · norm 3.41
6314.19/min · norm 3.35
Sig. strikes absorbed
5282.49/min · norm 3.35
48.4%norm 48.3%
Striking accuracy
52.4%norm 48.3%
55.4%norm 52.9%
Striking defense
55.3%norm 52.9%
70.70/15 · norm 0.40
Knockdowns
70.50/15 · norm 0.40

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

Volkan Oezdemir

Distance 85.6% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 8.6% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 5.9% (norm 10.4%)

Magomed Ankalaev

Distance 80.1% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 6.8% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 13.2% (norm 10.4%)

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

Volkan Oezdemir

Head 77.6% (norm 79.2%) · Body 10.4% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 12.0% (norm 9.7%)

Magomed Ankalaev

Head 69.3% (norm 79.2%) · Body 20.8% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 9.9% (norm 9.7%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Oezdemir L/AAccLight Heavyweight med Ankalaev L/AAccLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 601 / 1329 45.2% 41.4% 534 / 1138 46.9% 41.4%
In the clinch 88 / 133 66.2% 70.9% 77 / 96 80.2% 70.9%
On the ground 62 / 91 68.1% 72.3% 133 / 187 71.1% 72.3%
BY TARGET
To the head 470 / 1205 39.0% 38.9% 402 / 985 40.8% 38.9%
To the body 114 / 162 70.4% 71.9% 215 / 295 72.9% 71.9%
To the legs 167 / 186 89.8% 81.8% 127 / 141 90.1% 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 Oezdemir L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med vs Ankalaev L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 550 / 1295 42.5% 40.4% 463 / 1089 42.5% 40.4%
In the clinch 67 / 97 69.1% 68.7% 39 / 52 75.0% 68.7%
On the ground 14 / 23 too few to rate 70.4% 26 / 39 66.7% 70.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 447 / 1162 38.5% 37.5% 155 / 683 22.7% 37.5%
To the body 128 / 189 67.7% 72.3% 115 / 192 59.9% 72.3%
To the legs 56 / 64 87.5% 83.0% 258 / 305 84.6% 83.0%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

529.4% acc · 0.50/15 · norm 0.87
Takedowns landed
1224.5% acc · 0.85/15 · norm 0.87
5280.0% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
2187.5% def · norm 66.7%
16:4511.1% of cage time · norm 16.5%
Control time
60:0728.4% of cage time · norm 16.5%
19:011:53 per 15 · norm 2:48
Time under control
6:440:28 per 15 · norm 2:48
10.10/15 · norm 0.27
Submission attempts
30.21/15 · norm 0.27

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.