Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

UFC 16-8-0 vs. 5-6-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
16-8-0
UFC record
5-6-0
Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Heavyweight
63
AgeΔ 13 yrs
50
6'1"
HeightΔ 2"
6'3"
75"
ReachΔ 2"
77"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
183.3
Layoff (months)Δ 51.1 mo
132.2
LWWWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWL

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is a submission threat — 1.61 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.16 Heavyweight norm.
Randy Couture is a submission threat — 0.60 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.16 Heavyweight norm.
Randy Couture hunts takedowns — 2.85 per 15 minutes, vs a 0.95 Heavyweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Randy Couture

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 158
Tier 3 — regional circuit 13

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.9 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 10 finish wins over 27 documented bouts

In the UFC: 13-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.7 wins over .500

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 56
Tier 3 — regional circuit 234

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.81 · 5 tier-1/2 wins · 21 finish wins over 40 documented bouts

In the UFC: 3-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.7 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

7782.84/min · norm 3.36
Sig. strikes landed
2642.83/min · norm 3.36
3961.45/min · norm 3.19
Sig. strikes absorbed
3603.86/min · norm 3.19
59.2%norm 47.8%
Striking accuracy
40.8%norm 47.8%
59.1%norm 52.5%
Striking defense
56.1%norm 52.5%
10.05/15 · norm 0.28
Knockdowns
40.64/15 · norm 0.28

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

Randy Couture

Distance 39.7% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 23.2% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 37.1% (norm 9.3%)

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Distance 87.3% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 9.9% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 2.8% (norm 9.3%)

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

Randy Couture

Head 84.6% (norm 79.2%) · Body 7.7% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 7.7% (norm 7.6%)

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Head 90.6% (norm 79.2%) · Body 7.4% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 2.0% (norm 7.6%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Couture L/AAccHeavyweight med Nogueira L/AAccHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 208 / 522 39.8% 40.1% 204 / 565 36.1% 40.1%
In the clinch 235 / 305 77.0% 70.6% 49 / 64 76.6% 70.6%
On the ground 335 / 488 68.6% 70.2% 11 / 18 too few to rate 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 598 / 1113 53.7% 38.9% 212 / 586 36.2% 38.9%
To the body 87 / 101 86.1% 76.8% 39 / 48 81.2% 76.8%
To the legs 93 / 101 92.1% 87.8% 13 / 13 too few to rate 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 Couture L/AOpp accHeavyweight med vs Nogueira L/AOpp accHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 186 / 652 28.5% 40.7% 273 / 682 40.0% 40.7%
In the clinch 105 / 158 66.5% 70.6% 43 / 68 63.2% 70.6%
On the ground 105 / 158 66.5% 72.0% 44 / 70 62.9% 72.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 269 / 819 32.8% 38.8% 246 / 681 36.1% 38.8%
To the body 71 / 83 85.5% 75.1% 54 / 71 76.1% 75.1%
To the legs 56 / 66 84.8% 84.4% 60 / 68 88.2% 84.4%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
5250.0% acc · 2.85/15 · norm 0.95
Takedowns landed
821.6% acc · 1.29/15 · norm 0.95
1959.4% def · norm 64.3%
Takedowns stopped
337.5% def · norm 64.3%
126:4251.0% of cage time · norm 17.2%
Control time
23:2525.1% of cage time · norm 17.2%
43:412:23 per 15 · norm 2:28
Time under control
14:102:16 per 15 · norm 2:28
110.60/15 · norm 0.16
Submission attempts
101.61/15 · norm 0.16

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