Rich Franklin vs. Anderson Silva

UFC 14-6-0 vs. 17-7-0 (1 NC)

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
14-6-0
UFC record
17-7-0 (1 NC)
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
51
AgeΔ 0 yrs
51
6'1"
HeightΔ 1"
6'2"
76"
ReachΔ 1"
77"
Southpaw
Stance
Southpaw
164.9
Layoff (months)Δ 95.7 mo
69.2
LWLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWL

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Anderson Silva carries real power — 1.00 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
Rich Franklin carries real power — 0.74 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
Anderson Silva rarely shoots — 0.17 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Rich Franklin

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 146
Tier 3 — regional circuit 151

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.39 · 14 tier-1/2 wins · 25 finish wins over 37 documented bouts

In the UFC: 9-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.5 wins over .500

Anderson Silva

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 177
Tier 3 — regional circuit 164

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.22 · 17 tier-1/2 wins · 25 finish wins over 45 documented bouts

In the UFC: 15-6 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

8564.23/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
8323.07/min · norm 3.25
4152.05/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
6982.58/min · norm 3.20
43.5%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
59.0%norm 47.4%
63.4%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
59.5%norm 53.8%
100.74/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
181.00/15 · norm 0.32

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

Rich Franklin

Distance 79.9% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 11.5% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 8.6% (norm 10.3%)

Anderson Silva

Distance 76.7% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 10.4% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 12.9% (norm 10.3%)

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

Rich Franklin

Head 81.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 12.8% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 5.5% (norm 8.4%)

Anderson Silva

Head 66.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 16.4% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 17.0% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Franklin L/AAccMiddleweight med Silva L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 596 / 1575 37.8% 40.5% 567 / 1081 52.5% 40.5%
In the clinch 151 / 226 66.8% 70.3% 123 / 147 83.7% 70.3%
On the ground 109 / 169 64.5% 69.1% 142 / 182 78.0% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 559 / 1608 34.8% 38.9% 449 / 939 47.8% 38.9%
To the body 198 / 253 78.3% 71.7% 181 / 231 78.4% 71.7%
To the legs 99 / 109 90.8% 83.3% 202 / 240 84.2% 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 Franklin L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Silva L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 247 / 877 28.2% 39.5% 456 / 1308 34.9% 39.5%
In the clinch 120 / 169 71.0% 70.9% 72 / 129 55.8% 70.9%
On the ground 48 / 88 54.5% 69.0% 170 / 287 59.2% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 231 / 879 26.3% 37.9% 423 / 1321 32.0% 37.9%
To the body 109 / 162 67.3% 71.3% 88 / 153 57.5% 71.3%
To the legs 75 / 93 80.6% 82.1% 187 / 250 74.8% 82.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1463.6% acc · 1.04/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
375.0% acc · 0.17/15 · norm 1.42
3464.2% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
5876.3% def · norm 63.1%
37:3818.6% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
13:495.1% of cage time · norm 19.75%
25:391:54 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
68:133:46 per 15 · norm 3:00
20.15/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
60.33/15 · norm 0.47

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