Jared Vanderaa vs. Justin Tafa

UFC 1-6-0 vs. 4-5-0 (1 NC)

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
1-6-0
UFC record
4-5-0 (1 NC)
Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Heavyweight
34
AgeΔ 2 yrs
32
6'4"
HeightΔ 4"
6'0"
80"
ReachΔ 6"
74"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
45.3
Layoff (months)Δ 27.4 mo
17.9
LLLLL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWNCW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Justin Tafa carries real power — 1.10 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Heavyweight norm.
Justin Tafa rarely shoots — 0.00 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.95 Heavyweight norm.
Jared Vanderaa rarely shoots — 0.00 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.95 Heavyweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Jared Vanderaa

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 26
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 03
Tier 3 — regional circuit 164

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.26 · 2 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 31 documented bouts

In the UFC: 0-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.6 wins over .500

Justin Tafa

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 45
Tier 3 — regional circuit 30

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.86 · 4 tier-1/2 wins · 7 finish wins over 13 documented bouts

In the UFC: 1-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.0 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

3974.90/min · norm 3.36
Sig. strikes landed
2214.05/min · norm 3.36
4635.71/min · norm 3.19
Sig. strikes absorbed
2795.11/min · norm 3.19
44.4%norm 47.8%
Striking accuracy
54.4%norm 47.8%
45.2%norm 52.5%
Striking defense
47.1%norm 52.5%
00.00/15 · norm 0.28
Knockdowns
41.10/15 · norm 0.28

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

Jared Vanderaa

Distance 92.1% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 6.9% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 1.0% (norm 9.3%)

Justin Tafa

Distance 89.2% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 8.1% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 2.7% (norm 9.3%)

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

Jared Vanderaa

Head 75.4% (norm 79.2%) · Body 12.4% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 12.2% (norm 7.6%)

Justin Tafa

Head 73.6% (norm 79.2%) · Body 18.5% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 7.9% (norm 7.6%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Vanderaa L/AAccHeavyweight med Tafa L/AAccHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 347 / 824 42.1% 40.1% 187 / 362 51.7% 40.1%
In the clinch 43 / 62 69.4% 70.6% 26 / 33 78.8% 70.6%
On the ground 7 / 9 too few to rate 70.2% 8 / 11 too few to rate 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 207 / 675 30.7% 38.9% 129 / 299 43.1% 38.9%
To the body 88 / 111 79.3% 76.8% 62 / 75 82.7% 76.8%
To the legs 102 / 109 93.6% 87.8% 30 / 32 93.8% 87.8%

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 (Heavyweight: 93 fighters · 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 Vanderaa L/AOpp accHeavyweight med vs Tafa L/AOpp accHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 363 / 720 50.4% 40.7% 221 / 447 49.4% 40.7%
In the clinch 11 / 13 too few to rate 70.6% 36 / 48 75.0% 70.6%
On the ground 89 / 112 79.5% 72.0% 22 / 32 68.8% 72.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 304 / 648 46.9% 38.8% 157 / 381 41.2% 38.8%
To the body 117 / 148 79.1% 75.1% 80 / 101 79.2% 75.1%
To the legs 42 / 49 85.7% 84.4% 42 / 45 93.3% 84.4%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
00.0% acc · 0.00/15 · norm 0.95
Takedowns landed
00.0% acc · 0.00/15 · norm 0.95
220.0% def · norm 64.3%
Takedowns stopped
853.3% def · norm 64.3%
4:155.2% of cage time · norm 17.2%
Control time
4:258.1% of cage time · norm 17.2%
15:592:57 per 15 · norm 2:28
Time under control
11:593:17 per 15 · norm 2:28
00.00/15 · norm 0.16
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.16

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