Rory MacDonald vs. Nate Diaz

UFC 9-4-0 vs. 16-11-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
9-4-0
UFC record
16-11-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
37
AgeΔ 4 yrs
41
6'0"
HeightΔ 0"
6'0"
76"
ReachΔ 0"
76"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
121.6
Layoff (months)Δ 74.7 mo
46.9
LLWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
WLLWL

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Nate Diaz is a submission threat — 1.16 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.49 Lightweight norm.
Nate Diaz rarely shoots — 0.80 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 Lightweight norm.
Rory MacDonald hunts takedowns — 1.77 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Rory MacDonald

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1410
Tier 3 — regional circuit 90

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.15 · 14 tier-1/2 wins · 16 finish wins over 34 documented bouts

In the UFC: 8-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.3 wins over .500

Nate Diaz

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1611
Tier 3 — regional circuit 53

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.03 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 17 finish wins over 35 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-10 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.4 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6673.75/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
15444.58/min · norm 3.42
4992.80/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
13484.00/min · norm 3.37
42.5%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
44.6%norm 43.5%
62.5%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
52.9%norm 56.3%
10.08/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
40.18/15 · norm 0.25

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

Rory MacDonald

Distance 83.9% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 6.1% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 10.1% (norm 8.1%)

Nate Diaz

Distance 83.2% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 13.8% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 3.0% (norm 8.0%)

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

Rory MacDonald

Head 82.9% (norm 78.2%) · Body 13.6% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 3.5% (norm 8.4%)

Nate Diaz

Head 83.5% (norm 78.2%) · Body 11.5% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 5.1% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone MacDonald L/AAccWelterweight med Diaz L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 509 / 1317 38.6% 38.6% 1132 / 2883 39.3% 37.9%
In the clinch 55 / 95 57.9% 67.8% 342 / 477 71.7% 67.3%
On the ground 103 / 158 65.2% 67.2% 70 / 104 67.3% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 499 / 1302 38.3% 37.2% 1146 / 2891 39.6% 35.0%
To the body 125 / 213 58.7% 70.7% 263 / 397 66.2% 69.1%
To the legs 43 / 55 78.2% 82.9% 135 / 176 76.7% 81.9%

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 (Welterweight: 182 fighters · Lightweight: 201 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 MacDonald L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Diaz L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 370 / 1123 32.9% 39.0% 874 / 2115 41.3% 38.9%
In the clinch 59 / 105 56.2% 68.9% 217 / 324 67.0% 68.6%
On the ground 70 / 101 69.3% 68.0% 257 / 420 61.2% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 323 / 1073 30.1% 35.6% 772 / 2096 36.8% 35.1%
To the body 72 / 126 57.1% 69.6% 246 / 365 67.4% 68.1%
To the legs 104 / 130 80.0% 82.1% 330 / 398 82.9% 81.5%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
2147.7% acc · 1.77/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
1826.5% acc · 0.80/15 · norm 1.38
4088.9% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
4343.9% def · norm 64.0%
28:5216.2% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
47:1814.0% of cage time · norm 19.5%
20:471:45 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
97:414:20 per 15 · norm 2:46
50.42/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
261.16/15 · norm 0.49

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