Sean O'Connell vs. Matt Van Buren
Tale of the tape
The read
Level of competition
Sean O'Connell
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 5 | 6 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 15 | 4 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.63 · 5 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 30 documented bouts
In the UFC: 0-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.3 wins over .500
Matt Van Buren
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 2 | 4 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 5 | 2 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.23 · 2 tier-1/2 wins · 4 finish wins over 13 documented bouts
In the UFC: 0-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record -1.0 wins over .500
Striking
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Sean O'Connell
Distance 80.9% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 14.7% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 4.3% (norm 10.4%)
Matt Van Buren
Distance 82.9% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 17.1% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 0.0% (norm 10.4%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Sean O'Connell
Head 80.9% (norm 79.2%) · Body 12.8% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 6.2% (norm 9.7%)
Matt Van Buren
Head 73.4% (norm 79.2%) · Body 23.4% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 3.2% (norm 9.7%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | O'Connell L/A | Acc | Light Heavyweight med | Buren L/A | Acc | Light Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 214 / 505 | 42.4% | 41.4% | 74 / 184 | 40.2% | 41.4% |
| In the clinch | 75 / 92 | 81.5% | 70.9% | 28 / 38 | 73.7% | 70.9% |
| On the ground | 15 / 27 | 55.6% | 72.3% | 0 / 0 | too few to rate | 72.3% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 207 / 505 | 41.0% | 38.9% | 55 / 163 | 33.7% | 38.9% |
| To the body | 65 / 80 | 81.2% | 71.9% | 42 / 52 | 80.8% | 71.9% |
| To the legs | 32 / 39 | 82.1% | 81.8% | 5 / 7 | too few to rate | 81.8% |
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 (Light Heavyweight: 93 fighters · Light 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 O'Connell L/A | Opp acc | Light Heavyweight med | vs Buren L/A | Opp acc | Light Heavyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 218 / 468 | 46.6% | 40.4% | 49 / 124 | 39.5% | 40.4% |
| In the clinch | 73 / 91 | 80.2% | 68.7% | 32 / 42 | 76.2% | 68.7% |
| On the ground | 86 / 132 | 65.2% | 70.4% | 9 / 12 | too few to rate | 70.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 264 / 556 | 47.5% | 37.5% | 66 / 146 | 45.2% | 37.5% |
| To the body | 86 / 102 | 84.3% | 72.3% | 21 / 25 | 84.0% | 72.3% |
| To the legs | 27 / 33 | 81.8% | 83.0% | 3 / 7 | too few to rate | 83.0% |
Grappling
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — O'Connell has more cage time on record.