By the Numbers: Darren Till vs. Kelvin Gastelum

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After having serious trouble making it to 175, Darren Till is moving up to middleweight and has a former title contender waiting to welcome him in his debut. On the opposite side of the cage will be Kelvin Gastelum, who is looking to bounce back from his loss to Israel Adesanya in their championship showdown at UFC 236. Expect the top-ranked middleweight to do everything in his power to rebound from that loss at the expense of the Liverpudlian when they throwdown at UFC 244. Find out how the two sluggers match up through the numbers below.

Pro experience

There isn’t much difference between Till and Gastelum in terms of pro experience, but the latter went pro much earlier than the former. Gastelum debuted on Dec. 11, 2010, at an event called LAF 1 - Border Wars held in Mexico. He went 5-0 before getting the call from the Ultimate Fighting Championship to be a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter 17.

A victory over the highly favored Uriah Hall in the finale was the start of a stellar UFC career for the Yuma, Arizona, native. He went on to fight for the interim middleweight title and currently sports a 15-4 record.

For Till, his formative years were spent in Brazil. It was there where he first fought professionally. He debuted on Feb. 23, 2013, at an event called Sparta MMA 3 - Class. The pride of Liverpool went undefeated in 20 fights, although he did fight Nicolas Dalby to a draw at UFC Fight Night 76. At UFC 228, he fought and lost to Tyron Woodley for the welterweight championship, after which he fell to defeat again at the hands of striking specialist Jorge Masvidal. Looking to bounce back himself, Till’s record now stands at 17-2-1.

Knockout rate

Till is a potent striker with solid knockout power. Of his 17 victories, 10 have come via KO or TKO, making for a 59 percent knockout rate. Gastelum packs some power of his own, with six of his 15 wins coming by KO or TKO, which makes for a 40 percent knockout rate.

Submission rate

Gastelum holds an impressive wrestling acumen, but perhaps not many fans know that he is also a 10th Planet jiu-jitsu black belt. He owns four victories by submission, registering a 27 percent submission rate. Till, on the other hand, carries two wins by tapout, which gives the luta livre purple belt a 12 percent submission rate.

Striking accuracy in the UFC

After 15 UFC fights, Gastelum has landed 637 out of 1458 significant strikes, which is equivalent to a 44 percent accuracy rate. Meanwhile, the lanky Till has been more calculated in his approach, landing 237 out of the 515 significant strikes he has thrown in his eight UFC appearances. That makes for a 46 percent striking accuracy rate.

Takedown accuracy in the UFC

Gastelum has been making good use of his wrestling since transitioning to MMA, although statistics show he doesn’t rely on his takedowns that much. He’s only scored nine out of 18 attempts, making for a 50 percent accuracy rate. The much less takedown-conscious Till sports a 40 percent accuracy rate, completing three of his 10 attempts inside the Octagon.