Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan

UFC 17-1-0 vs. 10-2-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
17-1-0
UFC record
10-2-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
34
AgeΔ 5 yrs
29
5'10"
HeightΔ 3"
5'7"
70"
ReachΔ 2"
72"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
8.7
Layoff (months)Δ 0.2 mo
8.5
WWWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
WWWWW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Islam Makhachev owns the mat — in control 51% of cage time, vs a 20% Lightweight norm.
Arman Tsarukyan hunts takedowns — 3.26 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 Lightweight norm.
Islam Makhachev hunts takedowns — 3.10 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 Lightweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Islam Makhachev

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 171
Tier 3 — regional circuit 110

Tier-weighted record quality: 2.04 · 17 tier-1/2 wins · 18 finish wins over 29 documented bouts

In the UFC: 15-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.8 wins over .500

Arman Tsarukyan

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 102
Tier 3 — regional circuit 131

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.54 · 10 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 26 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.4 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4852.45/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
5673.85/min · norm 3.42
2871.45/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
2651.80/min · norm 3.37
58.4%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
50.0%norm 43.5%
62.0%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
54.9%norm 56.3%
40.30/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
30.31/15 · norm 0.25

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

Islam Makhachev

Distance 68.3% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 12.7% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 19.0% (norm 8.0%)

Arman Tsarukyan

Distance 75.5% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 5.1% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 19.4% (norm 8.0%)

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

Islam Makhachev

Head 81.0% (norm 78.2%) · Body 15.4% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 3.6% (norm 7.9%)

Arman Tsarukyan

Head 78.4% (norm 78.2%) · Body 14.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 6.9% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Makhachev L/AAccLightweight med Tsarukyan L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 278 / 567 49.0% 37.9% 349 / 855 40.8% 37.9%
In the clinch 89 / 105 84.8% 67.3% 42 / 58 72.4% 67.3%
On the ground 118 / 158 74.7% 69.1% 176 / 220 80.0% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 344 / 672 51.2% 35.0% 376 / 888 42.3% 35.0%
To the body 114 / 128 89.1% 69.1% 124 / 167 74.3% 69.1%
To the legs 27 / 30 90.0% 81.9% 67 / 78 85.9% 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 Makhachev L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Tsarukyan L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 206 / 650 31.7% 38.9% 192 / 492 39.0% 38.9%
In the clinch 62 / 76 81.6% 68.6% 51 / 64 79.7% 68.6%
On the ground 19 / 29 65.5% 68.0% 22 / 31 71.0% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 143 / 526 27.2% 35.1% 165 / 442 37.3% 35.1%
To the body 94 / 161 58.4% 68.1% 77 / 114 67.5% 68.1%
To the legs 50 / 68 73.5% 81.5% 23 / 31 74.2% 81.5%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
4156.2% acc · 3.10/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
3237.6% acc · 3.26/15 · norm 1.38
2191.3% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
3075.0% def · norm 64.0%
101:2851.2% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
62:1942.3% of cage time · norm 19.5%
15:181:09 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
16:031:38 per 15 · norm 2:46
130.98/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
10.10/15 · norm 0.49

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