Compare Robert Whittaker vs Sean Strickland — UFC matchup breakdown
Tale of the Tape
The biometric deltas where one side genuinely has an edge.
Activity & layoff
The recency dimension Tale of the Tape doesn't carry. How active each fighter has been, and how that compares to active peers in their division.
- Robert has 9 months more layoff
- Robert is speeding up while opponent slows
Division percentiles below rank both fighters against the Middleweight roster (410 fighters).
Recent form
Last five pro bouts (non-UFC fights dashed + tagged), current trajectory, and the level of opposition going into this matchup.
Common opponents
Every UFC opponent both fighters have faced — a direct comparison controlling for matchmaking.
Schedule Score
Who they've faced × what they've done. Composite + components compared head-to-head, percentile-ranked against every UFC fighter w/ ≥3 resolved bouts.
Per-tier records + bout-by-bout
| Tier | Robert Whittaker | Sean Strickland |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | 0-4 | 2-4 |
| Top-5 | 9-2 | 3-1 |
| Top-15 | 4-0 | 3-2 |
| Cross-div ranked | — | 2-0 |
| Title-fight challenger | 1-0 | — |
| Established | — | 3-0 |
| Building | 1-1 | 3-0 |
| Unproven | 2-0 | 2-0 |
- L vs Reinier de Ridder#1275Jul 26, 2025 · Top-5
- L vs Khamzat Chimaev#1288Oct 26, 2024 · Champion
- W vs Ikram Aliskerov42Jun 22, 2024 · Top-15
- W vs Paulo Costa#683Feb 17, 2024 · Top-5
- L vs Dricus Du Plessis#691Jul 8, 2023 · Champion
- W vs Marvin Vettori#287Sep 3, 2022 · Top-5
- L vs Israel AdesanyaCHAMP100Feb 12, 2022 · Champion
- W vs Kelvin Gastelum#880Apr 17, 2021 · Top-5
- W vs Jared Cannonier#386Oct 24, 2020 · Top-5
- W vs Darren Till#580Jul 25, 2020 · Top-5
- L vs Israel Adesanya#197Oct 5, 2019 · Champion
- W vs Yoel Romero#190Jun 9, 2018 · Top-5
- W vs Yoel Romero#190Jul 8, 2017 · Top-5
- W vs Jacare Souza#388Apr 15, 2017 · Top-5
- W vs Derek Brunson#878Nov 26, 2016 · Top-5
- W vs Rafael Natal#1364Apr 23, 2016 · Top-15
- W vs Uriah Hall#1071Nov 14, 2015 · Top-15
- W vs Brad Tavares#1468May 9, 2015 · Top-15
- W vs Clint Hester18Nov 7, 2014 · Building
- W vs Mike Rhodes8Jun 28, 2014 · Unproven
- L vs Stephen Thompson65Feb 22, 2014 · Top-5
- L vs Court McGee18Aug 28, 2013 · Building
- W vs Colton Smith8May 25, 2013 · Unproven
- W vs Brad Scott50Dec 14, 2012 · Title-fight challenger
- W vs Khamzat ChimaevCHAMP100May 9, 2026 · Champion
- W vs Anthony Hernandez#481Feb 21, 2026 · Top-5
- L vs Dricus Du PlessisCHAMP100Feb 8, 2025 · Champion
- W vs Paulo Costa#782Jun 1, 2024 · Top-5
- L vs Dricus Du Plessis#296Jan 20, 2024 · Champion
- W vs Israel AdesanyaCHAMP100Sep 9, 2023 · Champion
- W vs Abus Magomedov43Jul 1, 2023 · Top-15
- W vs Nassourdine Imavov45Jan 14, 2023 · Cross-div ranked
- L vs Jared Cannonier#386Dec 17, 2022 · Top-5
- L vs Alex Pereira68Jul 2, 2022 · Champion
- W vs Jack Hermansson#679Feb 5, 2022 · Top-5
- W vs Uriah Hall#872Jul 31, 2021 · Top-15
- W vs Krzysztof Jotko#1567May 1, 2021 · Top-15
- W vs Brendan Allen36Nov 14, 2020 · Cross-div ranked
- W vs Jack Marshman12Oct 31, 2020 · Unproven
- W vs Nordine Taleb30Oct 27, 2018 · Established
- L vs Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos45May 12, 2018 · Top-15
- W vs Court McGee22Nov 11, 2017 · Building
- L vs Kamaru Usman#1188Apr 8, 2017 · Champion
- W vs Tom Breese26Jun 4, 2016 · Established
- W vs Alex Garcia26Feb 21, 2016 · Established
- W vs Igor Araujo18Jul 15, 2015 · Building
- L vs Santiago Ponzinibbio51Feb 22, 2015 · Top-15
- W vs Luke Barnatt18May 31, 2014 · Building
- W vs Robert McDaniel8Mar 15, 2014 · Unproven
All figures are 0–100 ratings (shown as %), not percentages of anything literal. Schedule strength = the average quality of every UFC opponent faced (win or lose). Win quality = the average quality of the opponents actually beaten. The composite Schedule Score combines schedule strength (65%) with win quality (35%). Per-bout opponent quality is scored on rank-at-time-of-fight (champion 100, ranks 1–5 = 90→78, ranks 6–15 = 75→60), with cross-division and P4P signals layered on, falling back to opponent UFC record-at-time for unranked opponents. For fighters with limited UFC experience the headline is held toward a rookie baseline, so debut / low-sample fighters read lower than established names. UFC ranking data is sparse before December 2018, so legacy-era fighters score from record-at-time when ranks are missing.
Career splits
Striking matchup
Each fighter's offense mapped against the other's defense — where one attacks meets where the other gets hit, across head, body, and leg. Per 15 minutes of UFC fight time.
Evenly matched striking — no clear edge either way.
Where Whittaker attacks (green = high volume) vs where Strickland gets hit (red = vulnerable) — Whittaker’s green zones meeting Strickland’s red zones are the openings.
- Head71%86th1,015
- Body11%42nd153
- Leg19%82nd267
Color = division rank · green elite → red low · % = share of strikes
- Head42%54th769
- Body34%4th631
- Leg24%6th442
Color = division rank · green elite → red low · % = share absorbed · partly opponent-dependent
- Standing86%1,237
- Clinch7%97
- Ground7%101
- Standing94%1,738
- Clinch3%50
- Ground3%54
Each lane: the attacker’s strike rate (offense) vs the other’s rate absorbed (defense), graded on the division. The bar leans toward whoever wins the exchange — longer + greener = a bigger, higher-quality edge.
Full breakdown — all zones, both views
| Zone | Fighter | Landed / 15 | Accuracy | Absorbed / 15 | Career landed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Robert Whittaker | top 14% of division44.5 | 37% | around division average29.1 | 1,015 |
| Head | Sean Strickland | elite — top of division68.1 | 39% | around division average28.7 | 1,963 |
| Body | Robert Whittaker | below division average7.4 | 61% | below division average9.9 | 153 |
| Body | Sean Strickland | top 26% of division12.4 | 66% | bottom of the division21.9 | 343 |
| Leg | Robert Whittaker | top 18% of division11.7 | 85% | well below average11.2 | 267 |
| Leg | Sean Strickland | below division average4.9 | 78% | bottom of the division15.4 | 124 |
Per-15-minute rates are sourced from UFCStats fight totals across each fighter’s UFC career. Division percentile is computed against every UFC fighter who has competed in this weight class with at least two recorded bouts. Lower “absorbed” values are better — the percentile is inverted so “top of division” always means better outcome.
Grappling matchup
Takedowns, submission threat, and control. Per 15 minutes of UFC fight time, with takedown defense as a percentage of opponent attempts stopped.
Each metric graded on the division — the bar leans toward whoever wins that part of the grappling exchange (longer + greener = a bigger edge).
Evenly matched grappling — no clear edge either way.
Full breakdown — career grappling totals
| Metric | Robert Whittaker | Sean Strickland |
|---|---|---|
| Takedowns landed / 15career takedowns | 0.716 | 0.718 |
| Takedown accuracycareer landed / attempted | 38%16 / 42 | 62%18 / 29 |
| Takedown defensecareer stopped / faced | 82%73 / 89 | 69%53 / 77 |
| Submission attempts / 15career attempts | 0.00 | 0.14 |
| Control time / 15 (min)career total | 1.2 min26:39 | 1.2 min33:52 |
| Time controlled by opponent / 15 (min)career total | 1.6 min34:13 | 1.0 min26:29 |
All rates computed from UFCStats fight totals across each fighter’s UFC career. Takedown defense = opponent attempts stopped ÷ opponent total attempts. Control time figures are minutes the fighter spent in a dominant position per 15 minutes of fight time. Accuracy under 8 career attempts is shown raw and ungraded — too small a sample to rate against the division.
Finishing & durability
How often each fighter ends fights early — and how often they get put away. Outcomes view, not per-minute output.
When their fights end
every pro finish on the fight clockFinish & durability rates
Full professional career
Full method breakdown
| Outcome | Robert Whittaker | Sean Strickland |
|---|---|---|
| Wins | ||
| by KO / TKO | 10(38%) | 12(39%) |
| by submission | 5(19%) | 4(13%) |
| by decision | 11(42%) | 15(48%) |
| Losses | ||
| by KO / TKO | 3(33%) | 2(29%) |
| by submission | 2(22%) | 0(0%) |
| by decision | 4(44%) | 5(71%) |
Full professional career method splits, graded against the full-pro division distribution. Career KO losses are the total — clean knockouts and cut/injury stoppages can’t be separated outside the UFC corpus. Finish-time pace is UFC-only.
KO history
UFC fights only — knockout power and chin durability, head-to-head, then when the last finish landed, and on whom.
- Last time KO'dvs Dricus Du Plessis2y 11mo agoUFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez · Jul 8, 2023 · R2 · 2:23
- Last time submittedvs Khamzat Chimaev1y 7mo agoUFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway · Oct 26, 2024 · R1 · 3:34
- Last time KO'dvs Alex Pereira3y 11mo agoUFC 276: Adesanya vs. Cannonier · Jul 2, 2022 · R1 · 2:36
- Last time submittedNever submitted in the UFC
Pace & fade
How each fighter's work rate holds up as a fight wears on — round-by-round output (striking, takedown attempts, and control time combined), and whether they fade. The fade % compares round-3 output to round 1 over bouts that reached the third round.
Cardio edge to Strickland: Strickland builds (+11% per round through round 5) while Whittaker holds steady (+2% per round through round 5). Within fights that reached round 3, Whittaker lifts to 116% of round-1 output by round 3, Strickland 131%.
Rounds backed by fewer than 2 bouts are drawn smaller and dimmed with an n= count — a deep round seen in one or two fights is a thin sample, not a settled rate. Per-round bout counts are in the breakdown below.
Full per-round breakdown — both fighters
What drives the pace · per round
The composite output line above blends these three inputs. Splitting them out shows whether a fighter’s work rate is built on striking volume, takedown pressure, or top control — and which input fades.
| Round | Fighter | Output / min | Sig landed / min | Sig absorbed / min | TD att / min | Control | Bouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Robert Whittaker | 4.9 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 0.08 | 8% | 24 |
| R1 | Sean Strickland | 5.4 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 0.08 | 9% | 25 |
| R2 | Robert Whittaker | 5.1 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 0.05 | 4% | 19 |
| R2 | Sean Strickland | 6.4 | 5.9 | 4.2 | 0.06 | 10% | 22 |
| R3 | Robert Whittaker | 5.5 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 0.14 | 12% | 15 |
| R3 | Sean Strickland | 6.7 | 6.0 | 4.4 | 0.11 | 8% | 19 |
| R4 | Robert Whittaker | 4.5 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 0.13 | 3% | 6 |
| R4 | Sean Strickland | 7.5 | 7.3 | 5.3 | 0.02 | 3% | 9 |
| R5 | Robert Whittaker | 5.6 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 0.50 | 18% | 6 |
| R5 | Sean Strickland | 8.6 | 8.1 | 6.1 | 0.04 | 8% | 9 |
Output / minis the headline work rate — significant strikes landed, plus 3 per takedown attempt, plus one per 15 seconds of control — so a takedown-and-grind round isn’t scored as idle the way bare striking volume would. The remaining columns are its components. Per-round rates use UFCStats per-round data (available for ~95% of bouts since 2008). Each round’s rates are averaged only over bouts that reached that round, so the bout count shrinks as rounds deepen. The final round of a finished fight is pro-rated by its actual length — a 2:30 stoppage counts as 2.5 minutes, not five — so an early finish doesn’t distort the per-minute pace.