Islam Makhachev vs. Nik Lentz

UFC 17-1-0 vs. 14-9-1 (1 NC)

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
17-1-0
UFC record
14-9-1 (1 NC)
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
34
AgeΔ 7 yrs
41
5'10"
HeightΔ 2"
5'8"
70"
ReachΔ 2"
68"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
8.7
Layoff (months)Δ 57.8 mo
66.5
WWWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Islam Makhachev owns the mat — in control 51% of cage time, vs a 20% Lightweight norm.
Nik Lentz is a submission threat — 1.24 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.49 Lightweight norm.
Nik Lentz hunts takedowns — 3.30 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

Nik Lentz

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 149
Tier 3 — regional circuit 163

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.95 · 14 tier-1/2 wins · 19 finish wins over 45 documented bouts

In the UFC: 9-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.9 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4852.45/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
10793.44/min · norm 3.42
2871.45/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
10223.25/min · norm 3.37
58.4%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
47.6%norm 43.5%
62.0%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
50.1%norm 56.3%
40.30/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
20.10/15 · 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%)

Nik Lentz

Distance 74.4% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 13.9% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 11.7% (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%)

Nik Lentz

Head 76.4% (norm 78.2%) · Body 15.1% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 8.6% (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 Lentz L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 278 / 567 49.0% 37.9% 655 / 1686 38.8% 37.9%
In the clinch 89 / 105 84.8% 67.3% 213 / 316 67.4% 67.3%
On the ground 118 / 158 74.7% 69.1% 211 / 265 79.6% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 344 / 672 51.2% 35.0% 650 / 1731 37.6% 35.0%
To the body 114 / 128 89.1% 69.1% 269 / 342 78.7% 69.1%
To the legs 27 / 30 90.0% 81.9% 160 / 194 82.5% 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 Lentz L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 206 / 650 31.7% 38.9% 701 / 1584 44.3% 38.9%
In the clinch 62 / 76 81.6% 68.6% 180 / 262 68.7% 68.6%
On the ground 19 / 29 65.5% 68.0% 141 / 202 69.8% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 143 / 526 27.2% 35.1% 762 / 1717 44.4% 35.1%
To the body 94 / 161 58.4% 68.1% 160 / 215 74.4% 68.1%
To the legs 50 / 68 73.5% 81.5% 100 / 116 86.2% 81.5%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
4156.2% acc · 3.10/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
6932.9% acc · 3.30/15 · norm 1.38
2191.3% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
3643.9% def · norm 64.0%
101:2851.2% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
98:4331.4% of cage time · norm 19.5%
15:181:09 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
75:453:37 per 15 · norm 2:46
130.98/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
261.24/15 · norm 0.49

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