BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Zak Cummings vs.
Santiago Ponzinibbio

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

10-4-0 Zak Cummings · UFC
12-9-0 Santiago Ponzinibbio · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

10-4-0
UFC record
12-9-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
42
AgeΔ 2.1 yrs
39.9
6'0"
HeightΔ 0"
6'0"
75"
ReachΔ 2"
73"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
39.7
Layoff (months)Δ 39.3 mo
0.4
WWLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWLL
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.

Zak Cummings carries real power — 0.74 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.38 Welterweight norm.
Santiago Ponzinibbio carries real power — 0.70 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.38 Welterweight norm.
Santiago Ponzinibbio absorbs 4.79 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.06 Welterweight norm — hittable.
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.

Zak Cummings

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

In the UFC: 4-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.3 wins over .500

Santiago Ponzinibbio

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 129
Tier 3 — regional circuit 161

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.12 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 21 finish wins over 38 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.9 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4943.06/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
10974.67/min · norm 3.17
4482.77/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
11244.79/min · norm 3.06
35.9%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
40.8%norm 44.9%
56.3%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
61.1%norm 55.25%
80.74/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
110.70/15 · norm 0.38

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

Zak Cummings

Distance 88.9% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 7.1% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 4.1% (norm 8.1%)

Santiago Ponzinibbio

Distance 96.6% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 1.4% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 2.0% (norm 8.1%)

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

Zak Cummings

Head 80.6% (norm 78.2%) · Body 10.6% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 8.8% (norm 8.4%)

Santiago Ponzinibbio

Head 83.4% (norm 78.2%) · Body 8.9% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 7.7% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Cummings L/AAccWelterweight med Ponzinibbio L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 398 / 1222 32.6% 38.6% 1043 / 2599 40.1% 38.6%
In the clinch 58 / 97 59.8% 67.8% 20 / 37 54.1% 67.8%
On the ground 38 / 56 67.9% 67.2% 34 / 55 61.8% 67.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 298 / 1108 26.9% 37.2% 775 / 2243 34.6% 37.2%
To the body 93 / 146 63.7% 70.7% 137 / 240 57.1% 70.7%
To the legs 103 / 121 85.1% 82.9% 185 / 208 88.9% 82.9%

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 (Welterweight: 182 fighters · Welterweight: 182 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 Cummings L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Ponzinibbio L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 387 / 934 41.4% 39.0% 1043 / 2764 37.7% 39.0%
In the clinch 26 / 46 56.5% 68.9% 22 / 38 57.9% 68.9%
On the ground 35 / 45 77.8% 68.0% 59 / 89 66.3% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 297 / 807 36.8% 35.6% 669 / 2248 29.8% 35.6%
To the body 77 / 125 61.6% 69.6% 232 / 378 61.4% 69.6%
To the legs 74 / 93 79.6% 82.1% 223 / 265 84.2% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

731.8% acc · 0.65/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
926.5% acc · 0.58/15 · norm 1.27
2069.0% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
2771.1% def · norm 63.9%
23:3314.6% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
11:374.9% of cage time · norm 18.5%
13:581:17 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
11:060:42 per 15 · norm 3:15
70.65/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.45

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.