Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio Rua

UFC 16-7-0 vs. 11-12-1

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
16-7-0
UFC record
11-12-1
Light Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Light Heavyweight
56
AgeΔ 12 yrs
44
6'2"
HeightΔ 1"
6'1"
76"
ReachΔ 0"
76"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
193.9
Layoff (months)Δ 151.4 mo
42.5
LLLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWD

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Chuck Liddell carries real power — 1.03 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.40 Light Heavyweight norm.
Mauricio Rua carries real power — 0.79 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.40 Light Heavyweight norm.
Mauricio Rua hunts takedowns — 1.53 per 15 minutes, vs a 0.87 Light Heavyweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Chuck Liddell

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 167
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 10
Tier 3 — regional circuit 42

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.23 · 17 tier-1/2 wins · 14 finish wins over 30 documented bouts

In the UFC: 12-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.7 wins over .500

Mauricio Rua

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1112
Tier 3 — regional circuit 142

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.79 · 11 tier-1/2 wins · 20 finish wins over 40 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-10 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.0 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6112.99/min · norm 3.41
Sig. strikes landed
8883.35/min · norm 3.41
4342.12/min · norm 3.35
Sig. strikes absorbed
9173.46/min · norm 3.35
37.3%norm 48.3%
Striking accuracy
51.5%norm 48.3%
60.2%norm 52.9%
Striking defense
52.2%norm 52.9%
141.03/15 · norm 0.40
Knockdowns
140.79/15 · norm 0.40

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

Chuck Liddell

Distance 81.2% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 8.2% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 10.6% (norm 10.4%)

Mauricio Rua

Distance 76.7% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 10.7% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 12.6% (norm 10.4%)

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

Chuck Liddell

Head 84.5% (norm 79.2%) · Body 4.0% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 11.6% (norm 9.7%)

Mauricio Rua

Head 72.8% (norm 79.2%) · Body 11.3% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 16.0% (norm 9.7%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Liddell L/AAccLight Heavyweight med Rua L/AAccLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 430 / 1329 32.4% 41.4% 621 / 1322 47.0% 41.4%
In the clinch 83 / 134 61.9% 70.9% 130 / 184 70.7% 70.9%
On the ground 98 / 173 56.6% 72.3% 137 / 217 63.1% 72.3%
BY TARGET
To the head 417 / 1382 30.2% 38.9% 527 / 1254 42.0% 38.9%
To the body 45 / 65 69.2% 71.9% 140 / 194 72.2% 71.9%
To the legs 149 / 189 78.8% 81.8% 221 / 275 80.4% 81.8%

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 (Light Heavyweight: 93 fighters · Light Heavyweight: 93 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 Liddell L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med vs Rua L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 367 / 977 37.6% 40.4% 605 / 1462 41.4% 40.4%
In the clinch 41 / 72 56.9% 68.7% 148 / 225 65.8% 68.7%
On the ground 26 / 42 61.9% 70.4% 164 / 233 70.4% 70.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 262 / 886 29.6% 37.5% 616 / 1529 40.3% 37.5%
To the body 51 / 63 81.0% 72.3% 206 / 263 78.3% 72.3%
To the legs 121 / 142 85.2% 83.0% 95 / 128 74.2% 83.0%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
787.5% acc · 0.51/15 · norm 0.87
Takedowns landed
2742.9% acc · 1.53/15 · norm 0.87
7081.4% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
3147.7% def · norm 66.7%
17:399.8% of cage time · norm 16.5%
Control time
61:3423.2% of cage time · norm 16.5%
10:450:47 per 15 · norm 2:48
Time under control
49:342:48 per 15 · norm 2:48
00.00/15 · norm 0.27
Submission attempts
40.23/15 · norm 0.27

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