Rich Franklin vs. Vitor Belfort

UFC 14-6-0 vs. 15-10-0 (1 NC)

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
14-6-0
UFC record
15-10-0 (1 NC)
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
51
AgeΔ 2 yrs
49
6'1"
HeightΔ 1"
6'0"
76"
ReachΔ 2"
74"
Southpaw
Stance
Southpaw
164.9
Layoff (months)Δ 66 mo
98.9
LWLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LWNCLL

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Vitor Belfort carries real power — 1.14 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.
Vitor Belfort is a submission threat — 0.83 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.47 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

Vitor Belfort

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1410
Tier 3 — regional circuit 114

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.92 · 14 tier-1/2 wins · 20 finish wins over 40 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-10 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.1 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

8564.23/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
2871.99/min · norm 3.25
4152.05/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
5013.47/min · norm 3.20
43.5%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
47.3%norm 47.4%
63.4%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
46.4%norm 53.8%
100.74/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
111.14/15 · 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%)

Vitor Belfort

Distance 59.1% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 19.3% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 21.6% (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%)

Vitor Belfort

Head 88.0% (norm 78.0%) · Body 7.9% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 4.1% (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 Belfort L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 596 / 1575 37.8% 40.5% 127 / 359 35.4% 40.5%
In the clinch 151 / 226 66.8% 70.3% 68 / 117 58.1% 70.3%
On the ground 109 / 169 64.5% 69.1% 92 / 131 70.2% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 559 / 1608 34.8% 38.9% 231 / 534 43.3% 38.9%
To the body 198 / 253 78.3% 71.7% 34 / 48 70.8% 71.7%
To the legs 99 / 109 90.8% 83.3% 22 / 25 88.0% 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 Franklin L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Belfort L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 247 / 877 28.2% 39.5% 195 / 499 39.1% 39.5%
In the clinch 120 / 169 71.0% 70.9% 88 / 132 66.7% 70.9%
On the ground 48 / 88 54.5% 69.0% 218 / 304 71.7% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 231 / 879 26.3% 37.9% 335 / 719 46.6% 37.9%
To the body 109 / 162 67.3% 71.3% 52 / 80 65.0% 71.3%
To the legs 75 / 93 80.6% 82.1% 114 / 136 83.8% 82.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1463.6% acc · 1.04/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
675.0% acc · 0.62/15 · norm 1.42
3464.2% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
2665.0% def · norm 63.1%
37:3818.6% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
7:576.2% of cage time · norm 19.75%
25:391:54 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
46:244:49 per 15 · norm 3:00
20.15/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
80.83/15 · norm 0.47

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