Alessio Sakara vs. Chris Leben

UFC 6-8-0 (1 NC) vs. 12-10-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
6-8-0 (1 NC)
UFC record
12-10-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
44
AgeΔ 2 yrs
46
6'0"
HeightΔ 1"
5'11"
72"
ReachΔ 1"
73"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
153.4
Layoff (months)Δ 2.1 mo
151.3
LLLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Alessio Sakara carries real power — 0.79 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
Chris Leben is a submission threat — 0.75 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.47 Middleweight norm.
Alessio Sakara hunts takedowns — 2.18 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Alessio Sakara

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1010
Tier 3 — regional circuit 123

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.75 · 10 tier-1/2 wins · 18 finish wins over 37 documented bouts

In the UFC: 1-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.1 wins over .500

Chris Leben

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1610
Tier 3 — regional circuit 62

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.15 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 17 finish wins over 34 documented bouts

In the UFC: 3-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.4 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

2993.96/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
5722.88/min · norm 3.25
2122.80/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
5672.85/min · norm 3.20
47.8%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
42.9%norm 47.4%
59.2%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
53.1%norm 53.8%
40.79/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
50.38/15 · norm 0.32

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

Alessio Sakara

Distance 54.8% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 13.9% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 31.3% (norm 10.3%)

Chris Leben

Distance 63.2% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 22.4% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 14.4% (norm 10.3%)

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

Alessio Sakara

Head 88.2% (norm 78.0%) · Body 10.2% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 1.6% (norm 8.4%)

Chris Leben

Head 74.0% (norm 78.0%) · Body 11.4% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 14.6% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Sakara L/AAccMiddleweight med Leben L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 133 / 343 38.8% 40.5% 284 / 842 33.7% 40.5%
In the clinch 56 / 87 64.4% 70.3% 162 / 299 54.2% 70.3%
On the ground 110 / 196 56.1% 69.1% 126 / 192 65.6% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 241 / 552 43.7% 38.9% 345 / 987 35.0% 38.9%
To the body 49 / 64 76.6% 71.7% 95 / 152 62.5% 71.7%
To the legs 9 / 10 too few to rate 83.3% 132 / 194 68.0% 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 Sakara L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Leben L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 107 / 354 30.2% 39.5% 326 / 791 41.2% 39.5%
In the clinch 43 / 69 62.3% 70.9% 142 / 239 59.4% 70.9%
On the ground 62 / 97 63.9% 69.0% 99 / 178 55.6% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 150 / 445 33.7% 37.9% 396 / 979 40.4% 37.9%
To the body 21 / 24 too few to rate 71.3% 115 / 154 74.7% 71.3%
To the legs 41 / 51 80.4% 82.1% 56 / 75 74.7% 82.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1178.6% acc · 2.18/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
1745.9% acc · 1.28/15 · norm 1.42
2262.9% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
3954.9% def · norm 63.1%
20:3327.2% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
52:3626.4% of cage time · norm 19.75%
16:223:14 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
58:414:25 per 15 · norm 3:00
00.00/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
100.75/15 · norm 0.47

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