Brad Tavares vs. Robert Whittaker
Tale of the tape
The read
Level of competition
Brad Tavares
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 16 | 12 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 5 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.94 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 7 finish wins over 33 documented bouts
In the UFC: 10-10 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.0 wins over .500
Robert Whittaker
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 18 | 7 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 9 | 2 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.3 · 18 tier-1/2 wins · 16 finish wins over 36 documented bouts
In the UFC: 16-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.1 wins over .500
Striking
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Brad Tavares
Distance 89.6% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 8.1% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 2.3% (norm 10.3%)
Robert Whittaker
Distance 90.5% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 4.9% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 4.6% (norm 10.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Brad Tavares
Head 76.3% (norm 78.0%) · Body 11.5% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 12.2% (norm 8.4%)
Robert Whittaker
Head 83.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 7.3% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 9.1% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Tavares L/A | Acc | Middleweight med | Whittaker L/A | Acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 1049 / 2548 | 41.2% | 40.5% | 1288 / 3106 | 41.5% | 40.5% |
| In the clinch | 150 / 231 | 64.9% | 70.3% | 100 / 167 | 59.9% | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 44 / 65 | 67.7% | 69.1% | 101 / 159 | 63.5% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 738 / 2171 | 34.0% | 38.9% | 1069 / 2869 | 37.3% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 213 / 327 | 65.1% | 71.7% | 153 / 250 | 61.2% | 71.7% |
| To the legs | 292 / 346 | 84.4% | 83.3% | 267 / 313 | 85.3% | 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 Tavares L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med | vs Whittaker L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 940 / 2281 | 41.2% | 39.5% | 965 / 2563 | 37.7% | 39.5% |
| In the clinch | 201 / 317 | 63.4% | 70.9% | 120 / 172 | 69.8% | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 68 / 84 | 81.0% | 69.0% | 63 / 77 | 81.8% | 69.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 769 / 2047 | 37.6% | 37.9% | 645 / 2110 | 30.6% | 37.9% |
| To the body | 190 / 305 | 62.3% | 71.3% | 234 / 378 | 61.9% | 71.3% |
| To the legs | 250 / 330 | 75.8% | 82.1% | 269 / 324 | 83.0% | 82.1% |
Grappling
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Tavares has more cage time on record.