Aljamain Sterling vs.
TJ Dillashaw
Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.
The men, measured.
Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.
What the numbers say.
Scouting notes, auto-generated — only stats deviating more than 25% from the division median make this list. No narratives, just deviations.
Who did they actually beat?
Full-career records re-graded by the tier of opposition — the same grading the Contender Series pick model uses. Records built on tier-4 competition are worth less than records built on killers.
Aljamain Sterling
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 18 | 5 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 8 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.61 · 18 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 31 documented bouts
In the UFC: 16-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.3 wins over .500
TJ Dillashaw
Full career not yet synced for TJ Dillashaw — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 9-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.8 wins over .500
The stand-up battle.
Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Aljamain Sterling
Distance 77.2% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 10.1% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 12.7% (norm 6.5%)
TJ Dillashaw
Distance 84.3% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 6.3% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 9.4% (norm 6.5%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Aljamain Sterling
Head 64.0% (norm 77.4%) · Body 23.3% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 12.7% (norm 8.4%)
TJ Dillashaw
Head 81.4% (norm 77.4%) · Body 8.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 9.9% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Sterling L/A | Acc | Bantamweight med | Dillashaw L/A | Acc | Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 941 / 2066 | 45.5% | 39.0% | 820 / 2303 | 35.6% | 39.0% |
| In the clinch | 209 / 270 | 77.4% | 68.7% | 113 / 172 | 65.7% | 68.7% |
| On the ground | 257 / 339 | 75.8% | 70.2% | 190 / 257 | 73.9% | 70.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 703 / 1712 | 41.1% | 34.9% | 748 / 2225 | 33.6% | 34.9% |
| To the body | 443 / 622 | 71.2% | 66.8% | 163 / 237 | 68.8% | 66.8% |
| To the legs | 261 / 341 | 76.5% | 79.4% | 212 / 270 | 78.5% | 79.4% |
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 (Bantamweight: 117 fighters · Bantamweight: 117 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 Sterling L/A | Opp acc | Bantamweight med | vs Dillashaw L/A | Opp acc | Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 567 / 1534 | 37.0% | 39.3% | 633 / 1824 | 34.7% | 39.3% |
| In the clinch | 92 / 134 | 68.7% | 70.4% | 52 / 96 | 54.2% | 70.4% |
| On the ground | 51 / 71 | 71.8% | 72.4% | 81 / 98 | 82.7% | 72.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 355 / 1230 | 28.9% | 34.9% | 545 / 1664 | 32.8% | 34.9% |
| To the body | 190 / 302 | 62.9% | 66.0% | 132 / 236 | 55.9% | 66.0% |
| To the legs | 165 / 207 | 79.7% | 79.1% | 89 / 118 | 75.4% | 79.1% |
The ground war.
Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Sterling has more cage time on record.