Yoel Romero vs. Brad Tavares

UFC 9-4-0 vs. 16-12-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
9-4-0
UFC record
16-12-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
49
AgeΔ 11 yrs
38
6'0"
HeightΔ 1"
6'1"
73"
ReachΔ 1"
74"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
77
Layoff (months)Δ 72.2 mo
4.8
LLLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWLL

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Yoel Romero carries real power — 0.78 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
Brad Tavares rarely shoots — 0.70 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Yoel Romero defends head shots well — opponents land just 28%, vs a 38% Middleweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Yoel Romero

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 126
Tier 3 — regional circuit 51

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.4 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 14 finish wins over 24 documented bouts

In the UFC: 8-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.0 wins over .500

Brad Tavares

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1612
Tier 3 — regional circuit 50

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.94 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 7 finish wins over 33 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-10 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.0 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6673.49/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
12433.41/min · norm 3.25
5963.11/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
12093.32/min · norm 3.20
49.3%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
43.7%norm 47.4%
60.7%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
54.9%norm 53.8%
100.78/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
50.21/15 · norm 0.32

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

Yoel Romero

Distance 81.0% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 8.7% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 10.4% (norm 10.3%)

Brad Tavares

Distance 89.6% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 8.1% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 2.3% (norm 10.3%)

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

Yoel Romero

Head 72.8% (norm 78.0%) · Body 13.3% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 13.9% (norm 8.4%)

Brad Tavares

Head 76.3% (norm 78.0%) · Body 11.5% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 12.2% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Romero L/AAccMiddleweight med Tavares L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 487 / 1095 44.5% 40.5% 1049 / 2548 41.2% 40.5%
In the clinch 80 / 117 68.4% 70.3% 150 / 231 64.9% 70.3%
On the ground 100 / 140 71.4% 69.1% 44 / 65 67.7% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 403 / 984 41.0% 38.9% 738 / 2171 34.0% 38.9%
To the body 119 / 180 66.1% 71.7% 213 / 327 65.1% 71.7%
To the legs 145 / 188 77.1% 83.3% 292 / 346 84.4% 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 Romero L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Tavares L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 537 / 1413 38.0% 39.5% 940 / 2281 41.2% 39.5%
In the clinch 37 / 67 55.2% 70.9% 201 / 317 63.4% 70.9%
On the ground 22 / 37 59.5% 69.0% 68 / 84 81.0% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 286 / 1037 27.6% 37.9% 769 / 2047 37.6% 37.9%
To the body 158 / 282 56.0% 71.3% 190 / 305 62.3% 71.3%
To the legs 152 / 198 76.8% 82.1% 250 / 330 75.8% 82.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
2133.3% acc · 1.65/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
1726.6% acc · 0.70/15 · norm 1.42
2980.6% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
11480.3% def · norm 63.1%
24:3012.8% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
46:3812.8% of cage time · norm 19.75%
10:090:47 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
80:143:18 per 15 · norm 3:00
00.00/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.47

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