Rafael Natal vs. Kevin Casey

UFC 9-7-1 vs. 1-3-1 (2 NC)

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
9-7-1
UFC record
1-3-1 (2 NC)
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
43
AgeΔ 2 yrs
45
6'0"
HeightΔ 1"
5'11"
77"
ReachΔ 0"
77"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
108.5
Layoff (months)Δ 10.8 mo
119.3
LLLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LDLNCW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Rafael Natal hunts takedowns — 2.55 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Kevin Casey owns the mat — in control 30% of cage time, vs a 20% Middleweight norm.
Kevin Casey rarely shoots — 0.73 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 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

Kevin Casey

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 14
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 30
Tier 3 — regional circuit 52

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.27 · 4 tier-1/2 wins · 6 finish wins over 19 documented bouts

In the UFC: 1-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.0 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6563.10/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
1702.74/min · norm 3.25
5242.48/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
2363.80/min · norm 3.20
47.9%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
54.7%norm 47.4%
57.6%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
48.5%norm 53.8%
50.35/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
10.24/15 · 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%)

Kevin Casey

Distance 69.1% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 7.1% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 23.8% (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%)

Kevin Casey

Head 72.3% (norm 78.0%) · Body 17.0% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 10.6% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Natal L/AAccMiddleweight med Casey L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 432 / 1049 41.2% 40.5% 89 / 215 41.4% 40.5%
In the clinch 79 / 111 71.2% 70.3% 20 / 22 too few to rate 70.3%
On the ground 145 / 210 69.0% 69.1% 61 / 74 82.4% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 379 / 976 38.8% 38.9% 103 / 225 45.8% 38.9%
To the body 93 / 171 54.4% 71.7% 38 / 53 71.7% 71.7%
To the legs 184 / 223 82.5% 83.3% 29 / 33 87.9% 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 Casey L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 369 / 1016 36.3% 39.5% 93 / 251 37.1% 39.5%
In the clinch 58 / 89 65.2% 70.9% 87 / 117 74.4% 70.9%
On the ground 97 / 131 74.0% 69.0% 56 / 90 62.2% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 315 / 950 33.2% 37.9% 133 / 337 39.5% 37.9%
To the body 73 / 117 62.4% 71.3% 76 / 93 81.7% 71.3%
To the legs 136 / 169 80.5% 82.1% 27 / 28 96.4% 82.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
3634.3% acc · 2.55/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
321.4% acc · 0.73/15 · norm 1.42
2777.1% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
342.9% def · norm 63.1%
53:3925.4% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
18:2629.7% of cage time · norm 19.75%
30:472:10 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
9:392:20 per 15 · norm 3:00
70.50/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
20.48/15 · 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.