Kalib Starnes vs. Chris Leben

UFC 2-3-0 vs. 12-10-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
2-3-0
UFC record
12-10-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
51
AgeΔ 5 yrs
46
6'3"
HeightΔ 4"
5'11"
74"
ReachΔ 1"
73"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
219.6
Layoff (months)Δ 68.3 mo
151.3
LLWLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Kalib Starnes's takedown defense leaks — 25% stopped, vs a 63% Middleweight norm.
Chris Leben is a submission threat — 0.75 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.47 Middleweight norm.
Kalib Starnes absorbs 4.43 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.20 Middleweight norm — hittable.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Kalib Starnes

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 23
Tier 3 — regional circuit 158

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.31 · 2 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 29 documented bouts

In the UFC: 1-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.6 wins over .500

Chris Leben

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1610
Tier 3 — regional circuit 62

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.15 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 17 finish wins over 34 documented bouts

In the UFC: 3-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.4 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

1392.71/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
5722.88/min · norm 3.25
2274.43/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
5672.85/min · norm 3.20
48.6%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
42.9%norm 47.4%
53.1%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
53.1%norm 53.8%
00.00/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
50.38/15 · norm 0.32

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

Kalib Starnes

Distance 67.1% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 17.1% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 15.7% (norm 10.3%)

Chris Leben

Distance 63.2% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 22.4% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 14.4% (norm 10.3%)

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

Kalib Starnes

Head 71.3% (norm 78.0%) · Body 20.3% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 8.4% (norm 8.4%)

Chris Leben

Head 74.0% (norm 78.0%) · Body 11.4% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 14.6% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Starnes L/AAccMiddleweight med Leben L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 69 / 192 35.9% 40.5% 284 / 842 33.7% 40.5%
In the clinch 43 / 49 87.8% 70.3% 162 / 299 54.2% 70.3%
On the ground 27 / 45 60.0% 69.1% 126 / 192 65.6% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 76 / 204 37.3% 38.9% 345 / 987 35.0% 38.9%
To the body 42 / 58 72.4% 71.7% 95 / 152 62.5% 71.7%
To the legs 21 / 24 too few to rate 83.3% 132 / 194 68.0% 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 Starnes L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Leben L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 147 / 354 41.5% 39.5% 326 / 791 41.2% 39.5%
In the clinch 64 / 106 60.4% 70.9% 142 / 239 59.4% 70.9%
On the ground 16 / 24 too few to rate 69.0% 99 / 178 55.6% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 120 / 352 34.1% 37.9% 396 / 979 40.4% 37.9%
To the body 43 / 61 70.5% 71.3% 115 / 154 74.7% 71.3%
To the legs 64 / 71 90.1% 82.1% 56 / 75 74.7% 82.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
533.3% acc · 1.46/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
1745.9% acc · 1.28/15 · norm 1.42
125.0% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
3954.9% def · norm 63.1%
9:5919.5% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
52:3626.4% of cage time · norm 19.75%
6:171:50 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
58:414:25 per 15 · norm 3:00
20.59/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
100.75/15 · norm 0.47

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