Rafael Natal vs. Andrew Craig

UFC 9-7-1 vs. 3-4-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
9-7-1
UFC record
3-4-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
43
AgeΔ 3 yrs
40
6'0"
HeightΔ 1"
6'1"
77"
ReachΔ 1"
76"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
108.6
Layoff (months)Δ 24.2 mo
132.8
LLLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWL

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Rafael Natal hunts takedowns — 2.55 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Andrew Craig rarely shoots — 0.53 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Rafael Natal owns the mat — in control 25% of cage time, vs a 20% Middleweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Rafael Natal

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 97
Tier 3 — regional circuit 122

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.83 · 9 tier-1/2 wins · 12 finish wins over 31 documented bouts

In the UFC: 3-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.7 wins over .500

Andrew Craig

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 44
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 20
Tier 3 — regional circuit 30

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.04 · 6 tier-1/2 wins · 4 finish wins over 13 documented bouts

In the UFC: 3-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.7 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6563.10/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
2052.39/min · norm 3.25
5242.48/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
2583.01/min · norm 3.20
47.9%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
40.0%norm 47.4%
57.6%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
50.6%norm 53.8%
50.35/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
20.35/15 · norm 0.32

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

Rafael Natal

Distance 76.6% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 8.1% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 15.3% (norm 10.3%)

Andrew Craig

Distance 86.9% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 6.4% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 6.6% (norm 10.3%)

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

Rafael Natal

Head 71.2% (norm 78.0%) · Body 12.5% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 16.3% (norm 8.4%)

Andrew Craig

Head 84.2% (norm 78.0%) · Body 7.6% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 8.2% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Natal L/AAccMiddleweight med Craig L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 432 / 1049 41.2% 40.5% 150 / 445 33.7% 40.5%
In the clinch 79 / 111 71.2% 70.3% 26 / 33 78.8% 70.3%
On the ground 145 / 210 69.0% 69.1% 29 / 34 85.3% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 379 / 976 38.8% 38.9% 142 / 431 32.9% 38.9%
To the body 93 / 171 54.4% 71.7% 28 / 39 71.8% 71.7%
To the legs 184 / 223 82.5% 83.3% 35 / 42 83.3% 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 Natal L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Craig L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 369 / 1016 36.3% 39.5% 190 / 442 43.0% 39.5%
In the clinch 58 / 89 65.2% 70.9% 28 / 31 90.3% 70.9%
On the ground 97 / 131 74.0% 69.0% 40 / 49 81.6% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 315 / 950 33.2% 37.9% 164 / 390 42.1% 37.9%
To the body 73 / 117 62.4% 71.3% 51 / 77 66.2% 71.3%
To the legs 136 / 169 80.5% 82.1% 43 / 55 78.2% 82.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
3634.3% acc · 2.55/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
337.5% acc · 0.53/15 · norm 1.42
2777.1% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
2672.2% def · norm 63.1%
53:3925.4% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
12:1014.2% of cage time · norm 19.75%
30:472:10 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
25:254:26 per 15 · norm 3:00
70.50/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.47

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