BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Yoel Romero vs.
Tim Kennedy

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

9-4-0 Yoel Romero · UFC
3-2-0 Tim Kennedy · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

9-4-0
UFC record
3-2-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
49
AgeΔ 3 yrs
46
6'0"
HeightΔ 1"
5'11"
73"
ReachΔ 1"
74"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
77
Layoff (months)Δ 38.8 mo
115.8
LLLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWWW
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.

Yoel Romero carries real power — 0.78 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
Tim Kennedy owns the mat — in control 32% of cage time, vs a 20% Middleweight norm.
Tim Kennedy hunts takedowns — 2.19 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight 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.

Yoel Romero

Full career not yet synced for Yoel Romero — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).

In the UFC: 8-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.0 wins over .500

Tim Kennedy

Full career not yet synced for Tim Kennedy — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).

In the UFC: 2-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.2 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6673.49/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
1932.82/min · norm 3.25
5963.11/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
1662.43/min · norm 3.20
49.3%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
45.6%norm 47.4%
60.7%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
57.5%norm 53.8%
100.78/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
10.22/15 · norm 0.32

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

Yoel Romero

Distance 81.0% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 8.7% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 10.4% (norm 10.3%)

Tim Kennedy

Distance 76.1% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 14.7% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 9.2% (norm 10.3%)

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

Yoel Romero

Head 72.8% (norm 78.0%) · Body 13.3% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 13.9% (norm 8.4%)

Tim Kennedy

Head 63.8% (norm 78.0%) · Body 20.3% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 15.8% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Romero L/AAccMiddleweight med Kennedy L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 487 / 1095 44.5% 40.5% 119 / 322 37.0% 40.5%
In the clinch 80 / 117 68.4% 70.3% 49 / 62 79.0% 70.3%
On the ground 100 / 140 71.4% 69.1% 25 / 39 64.1% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 403 / 984 41.0% 38.9% 92 / 270 34.1% 38.9%
To the body 119 / 180 66.1% 71.7% 48 / 86 55.8% 71.7%
To the legs 145 / 188 77.1% 83.3% 53 / 67 79.1% 83.3%

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 (Middleweight: 174 fighters · Middleweight: 174 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 Romero L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Kennedy L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 537 / 1413 38.0% 39.5% 137 / 351 39.0% 39.5%
In the clinch 37 / 67 55.2% 70.9% 18 / 24 too few to rate 70.9%
On the ground 22 / 37 59.5% 69.0% 11 / 16 too few to rate 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 286 / 1037 27.6% 37.9% 125 / 324 38.6% 37.9%
To the body 158 / 282 56.0% 71.3% 24 / 42 57.1% 71.3%
To the legs 152 / 198 76.8% 82.1% 17 / 25 68.0% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

2133.3% acc · 1.65/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
1034.5% acc · 2.19/15 · norm 1.42
2980.6% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
444.4% def · norm 63.1%
24:3012.8% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
22:0732.3% of cage time · norm 19.75%
10:090:47 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
6:451:28 per 15 · norm 3:00
00.00/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
10.22/15 · norm 0.47

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.