Rousimar Palhares vs. David Branch
Tale of the tape
The read
Level of competition
Rousimar Palhares
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 8 | 4 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 11 | 9 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.47 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 16 finish wins over 33 documented bouts
In the UFC: 4-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.4 wins over .500
David Branch
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 6 | 5 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 16 | 2 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.91 · 6 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 29 documented bouts
In the UFC: 4-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.4 wins over .500
Striking
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Rousimar Palhares
Distance 70.7% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 5.9% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 23.4% (norm 10.3%)
David Branch
Distance 73.0% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 17.2% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 9.9% (norm 10.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Rousimar Palhares
Head 82.0% (norm 78.0%) · Body 6.6% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 11.3% (norm 8.4%)
David Branch
Head 73.0% (norm 78.0%) · Body 16.0% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 11.0% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Palhares L/A | Acc | Middleweight med | Branch L/A | Acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 88 / 181 | 48.6% | 40.5% | 68 / 251 | 27.1% | 40.5% |
| In the clinch | 9 / 15 | too few to rate | 70.3% | 48 / 59 | 81.4% | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 34 / 60 | 56.7% | 69.1% | 21 / 34 | 61.8% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 93 / 210 | 44.3% | 38.9% | 65 / 251 | 25.9% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 13 / 17 | too few to rate | 71.7% | 41 / 55 | 74.5% | 71.7% |
| To the legs | 25 / 29 | 86.2% | 83.3% | 31 / 38 | 81.6% | 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 Palhares L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med | vs Branch L/A | Opp acc | Middleweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 97 / 272 | 35.7% | 39.5% | 74 / 241 | 30.7% | 39.5% |
| In the clinch | 6 / 15 | too few to rate | 70.9% | 36 / 54 | 66.7% | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 62 / 110 | 56.4% | 69.0% | 47 / 68 | 69.1% | 69.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 150 / 374 | 40.1% | 37.9% | 105 / 292 | 36.0% | 37.9% |
| To the body | 9 / 14 | too few to rate | 71.3% | 29 / 43 | 67.4% | 71.3% |
| To the legs | 6 / 9 | too few to rate | 82.1% | 23 / 28 | 82.1% | 82.1% |
Grappling
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Palhares has more cage time on record.