Israel Adesanya vs. Derek Brunson

UFC 13-6-0 vs. 14-7-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
13-6-0
UFC record
14-7-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
37
AgeΔ 5 yrs
42
6'4"
HeightΔ 3"
6'1"
80"
ReachΔ 3"
77"
Switch
Stance
Southpaw
4.4
Layoff (months)Δ 36.8 mo
41.2
LLLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWWW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Derek Brunson hunts takedowns — 3.00 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Israel Adesanya rarely shoots — 0.05 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Derek Brunson owns the mat — in control 39% of cage time, vs a 20% Middleweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Israel Adesanya

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 136
Tier 3 — regional circuit 110

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.39 · 13 tier-1/2 wins · 16 finish wins over 30 documented bouts

In the UFC: 12-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.8 wins over .500

Derek Brunson

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 157
Tier 3 — regional circuit 92

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

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

13134.03/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
6483.60/min · norm 3.25
10493.22/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
5733.18/min · norm 3.20
48.4%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
46.6%norm 47.4%
55.8%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
50.9%norm 53.8%
130.60/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
60.50/15 · norm 0.32

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

Israel Adesanya

Distance 95.1% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 3.1% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 1.9% (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)

Israel Adesanya

Head 67.9% (norm 78.0%) · Body 14.5% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 17.6% (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 Adesanya L/AAccMiddleweight med Brunson L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1212 / 2580 47.0% 40.5% 405 / 1004 40.3% 40.5%
In the clinch 64 / 83 77.1% 70.3% 96 / 145 66.2% 70.3%
On the ground 37 / 51 72.5% 69.1% 147 / 242 60.7% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 645 / 1843 35.0% 38.9% 457 / 1112 41.1% 38.9%
To the body 274 / 394 69.5% 71.7% 99 / 149 66.4% 71.7%
To the legs 394 / 477 82.6% 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 Adesanya L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Brunson L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 914 / 2191 41.7% 39.5% 423 / 973 43.5% 39.5%
In the clinch 88 / 121 72.7% 70.9% 91 / 123 74.0% 70.9%
On the ground 47 / 60 78.3% 69.0% 59 / 71 83.1% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 609 / 1767 34.5% 37.9% 341 / 848 40.2% 37.9%
To the body 224 / 309 72.5% 71.3% 151 / 198 76.3% 71.3%
To the legs 216 / 296 73.0% 82.1% 81 / 121 66.9% 82.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
19.1% acc · 0.05/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
3631.6% acc · 3.00/15 · norm 1.42
8176.4% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
1684.2% def · norm 63.1%
10:153.1% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
69:3338.6% of cage time · norm 19.75%
42:141:56 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
4:470:23 per 15 · norm 3:00
30.14/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
70.58/15 · norm 0.47

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