Chris Leben vs. Derek Brunson
Tale of the tape
The read
Level of competition
Chris Leben
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 16 | 10 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 6 | 2 |
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
Derek Brunson
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 15 | 7 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 9 | 2 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.21 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 16 finish wins over 33 documented bouts
In the UFC: 11-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.6 wins over .500
Striking
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Chris Leben
Distance 63.2% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 22.4% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 14.4% (norm 10.3%)
Derek Brunson
Distance 72.2% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 10.4% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 17.4% (norm 10.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Chris Leben
Head 74.0% (norm 78.0%) · Body 11.4% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 14.6% (norm 8.4%)
Derek Brunson
Head 79.9% (norm 78.0%) · Body 10.7% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 9.3% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Leben L/A | Acc | Middleweight med | Brunson L/A | Acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 284 / 842 | 33.7% | 40.5% | 405 / 1004 | 40.3% | 40.5% |
| In the clinch | 162 / 299 | 54.2% | 70.3% | 96 / 145 | 66.2% | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 126 / 192 | 65.6% | 69.1% | 147 / 242 | 60.7% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 345 / 987 | 35.0% | 38.9% | 457 / 1112 | 41.1% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 95 / 152 | 62.5% | 71.7% | 99 / 149 | 66.4% | 71.7% |
| To the legs | 132 / 194 | 68.0% | 83.3% | 92 / 130 | 70.8% | 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 Leben L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med | vs Brunson L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 326 / 791 | 41.2% | 39.5% | 423 / 973 | 43.5% | 39.5% |
| In the clinch | 142 / 239 | 59.4% | 70.9% | 91 / 123 | 74.0% | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 99 / 178 | 55.6% | 69.0% | 59 / 71 | 83.1% | 69.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 396 / 979 | 40.4% | 37.9% | 341 / 848 | 40.2% | 37.9% |
| To the body | 115 / 154 | 74.7% | 71.3% | 151 / 198 | 76.3% | 71.3% |
| To the legs | 56 / 75 | 74.7% | 82.1% | 81 / 121 | 66.9% | 82.1% |
Grappling
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Leben has more cage time on record.