Donald Cerrone vs. Melvin Guillard

UFC 23-14-0 (1 NC) vs. 12-9-0 (1 NC)

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
23-14-0 (1 NC)
UFC record
12-9-0 (1 NC)
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
43
AgeΔ 0 yrs
43
6'1"
HeightΔ 4"
5'9"
73"
ReachΔ 2"
71"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
49.2
Layoff (months)Δ 99.8 mo
149
LLNCLL
Last 5 (newest first)
LNCWLL

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Melvin Guillard carries real power — 1.33 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
Donald Cerrone carries real power — 0.84 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
Donald Cerrone absorbs 5.11 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.37 Lightweight norm — hittable.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Donald Cerrone

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 2314
Tier 3 — regional circuit 133

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.09 · 23 tier-1/2 wins · 27 finish wins over 55 documented bouts

In the UFC: 20-13 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.8 wins over .500

Melvin Guillard

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1213
Tier 3 — regional circuit 2111

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.38 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 24 finish wins over 62 documented bouts

In the UFC: 4-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.3 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

17484.90/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
4483.06/min · norm 3.42
18255.11/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
2671.83/min · norm 3.37
47.4%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
39.7%norm 43.5%
51.6%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
68.1%norm 56.3%
200.84/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
131.33/15 · norm 0.25

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

Donald Cerrone

Distance 89.1% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 6.2% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 4.7% (norm 8.0%)

Melvin Guillard

Distance 79.4% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 8.5% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 12.1% (norm 8.0%)

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

Donald Cerrone

Head 71.3% (norm 78.2%) · Body 16.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 12.8% (norm 7.9%)

Melvin Guillard

Head 82.3% (norm 78.2%) · Body 11.9% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 5.9% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Cerrone L/AAccLightweight med Guillard L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1478 / 3290 44.9% 37.9% 312 / 896 34.8% 37.9%
In the clinch 151 / 229 65.9% 67.3% 58 / 96 60.4% 67.3%
On the ground 119 / 172 69.2% 69.1% 78 / 136 57.4% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 893 / 2630 34.0% 35.0% 300 / 928 32.3% 35.0%
To the body 442 / 589 75.0% 69.1% 90 / 134 67.2% 69.1%
To the legs 413 / 472 87.5% 81.9% 58 / 66 87.9% 81.9%

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 (Lightweight: 201 fighters · Lightweight: 201 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 Cerrone L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Guillard L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1558 / 3375 46.2% 38.9% 219 / 732 29.9% 38.9%
In the clinch 211 / 305 69.2% 68.6% 36 / 75 48.0% 68.6%
On the ground 56 / 88 63.6% 68.0% 12 / 31 38.7% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 1069 / 2721 39.3% 35.1% 123 / 604 20.4% 35.1%
To the body 444 / 668 66.5% 68.1% 59 / 111 53.2% 68.1%
To the legs 312 / 379 82.3% 81.5% 85 / 123 69.1% 81.5%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
2428.9% acc · 1.01/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
1466.7% acc · 1.44/15 · norm 1.38
6288.6% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
5865.2% def · norm 64.0%
38:3610.8% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
12:558.8% of cage time · norm 19.5%
19:550:50 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
34:063:29 per 15 · norm 2:46
110.46/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
20.21/15 · norm 0.49

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