Vitor Belfort vs. Gegard Mousasi

UFC 15-10-0 (1 NC) vs. 9-3-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
15-10-0 (1 NC)
UFC record
9-3-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
49
AgeΔ 8 yrs
41
6'0"
HeightΔ 2"
6'2"
74"
ReachΔ 2"
76"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
98.9
Layoff (months)Δ 13.1 mo
112
LWNCLL
Last 5 (newest first)
WWWWW

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.
Vitor Belfort is a submission threat — 0.83 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.47 Middleweight norm.
Gegard Mousasi is hard to hit — absorbs 1.39 sig. strikes per minute, vs a 3.20 Middleweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

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

Gegard Mousasi

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 166
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 10
Tier 3 — regional circuit 313

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.32 · 17 tier-1/2 wins · 39 finish wins over 59 documented bouts

In the UFC: 7-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.5 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

2871.99/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
4653.87/min · norm 3.25
5013.47/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
1671.39/min · norm 3.20
47.3%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
50.3%norm 47.4%
46.4%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
68.0%norm 53.8%
111.14/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
20.25/15 · norm 0.32

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

Vitor Belfort

Distance 59.1% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 19.3% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 21.6% (norm 10.3%)

Gegard Mousasi

Distance 74.1% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 9.1% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 16.8% (norm 10.3%)

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

Vitor Belfort

Head 88.0% (norm 78.0%) · Body 7.9% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 4.1% (norm 8.4%)

Gegard Mousasi

Head 82.1% (norm 78.0%) · Body 7.5% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 10.4% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Belfort L/AAccMiddleweight med Mousasi L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 127 / 359 35.4% 40.5% 303 / 685 44.2% 40.5%
In the clinch 68 / 117 58.1% 70.3% 53 / 84 63.1% 70.3%
On the ground 92 / 131 70.2% 69.1% 109 / 155 70.3% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 231 / 534 43.3% 38.9% 332 / 759 43.7% 38.9%
To the body 34 / 48 70.8% 71.7% 48 / 69 69.6% 71.7%
To the legs 22 / 25 88.0% 83.3% 85 / 96 88.5% 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 Belfort L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Mousasi L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 195 / 499 39.1% 39.5% 129 / 468 27.6% 39.5%
In the clinch 88 / 132 66.7% 70.9% 7 / 12 too few to rate 70.9%
On the ground 218 / 304 71.7% 69.0% 31 / 42 73.8% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 335 / 719 46.6% 37.9% 96 / 403 23.8% 37.9%
To the body 52 / 80 65.0% 71.3% 27 / 58 46.6% 71.3%
To the legs 114 / 136 83.8% 82.1% 44 / 61 72.1% 82.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
675.0% acc · 0.62/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
952.9% acc · 1.12/15 · norm 1.42
2665.0% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
2873.7% def · norm 63.1%
7:576.2% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
28:0123.3% of cage time · norm 19.75%
46:244:49 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
19:462:28 per 15 · norm 3:00
80.83/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
30.37/15 · 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.