BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Benoit Saint Denis vs.
Paddy Pimblett

Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.

9-4-0 Benoit Saint Denis · UFC
8-1-0 Paddy Pimblett · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.

9-4-0
UFC record
8-1-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
30.6
AgeΔ 1 yrs
31.6
5'11"
HeightΔ 1"
5'10"
73"
ReachΔ 0"
73"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
0.9
Layoff (months)Δ 0 mo
0.9
LWWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
WLWWW
The read

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.

Benoit Saint Denis is a submission threat — 1.73 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.49 Lightweight norm.
Benoit Saint Denis carries real power — 0.86 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
Paddy Pimblett is a submission threat — 1.36 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.49 Lightweight norm.
Level of competition

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.

Benoit Saint Denis

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 94
Tier 3 — regional circuit 80

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.53 · 9 tier-1/2 wins · 17 finish wins over 22 documented bouts

In the UFC: 6-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.9 wins over .500

Paddy Pimblett

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 81
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 113
Tier 3 — regional circuit 50

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.68 · 19 tier-1/2 wins · 18 finish wins over 28 documented bouts

In the UFC: 5-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.4 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4845.58/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
4845.48/min · norm 3.42
3554.09/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
3413.86/min · norm 3.37
58.5%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
52.7%norm 43.5%
42.0%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
42.8%norm 56.3%
50.86/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
20.34/15 · norm 0.25

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

Benoit Saint Denis

Distance 59.2% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 12.7% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 28.1% (norm 8.0%)

Paddy Pimblett

Distance 81.9% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 6.3% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 11.8% (norm 8.0%)

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

Benoit Saint Denis

Head 74.2% (norm 78.2%) · Body 19.3% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 6.5% (norm 7.9%)

Paddy Pimblett

Head 75.8% (norm 78.2%) · Body 12.3% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 11.9% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Denis L/AAccLightweight med Pimblett L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 245 / 490 50.0% 37.9% 367 / 752 48.8% 37.9%
In the clinch 87 / 105 82.9% 67.3% 37 / 58 63.8% 67.3%
On the ground 152 / 233 65.2% 69.1% 80 / 108 74.1% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 304 / 614 49.5% 35.0% 298 / 696 42.8% 35.0%
To the body 128 / 160 80.0% 69.1% 87 / 113 77.0% 69.1%
To the legs 52 / 54 96.3% 81.9% 99 / 109 90.8% 81.9%

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 (Lightweight: 201 fighters · Lightweight: 201 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 Denis L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Pimblett L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 259 / 489 53.0% 38.9% 264 / 492 53.7% 38.9%
In the clinch 55 / 79 69.6% 68.6% 37 / 50 74.0% 68.6%
On the ground 41 / 44 93.2% 68.0% 40 / 54 74.1% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 241 / 479 50.3% 35.1% 220 / 432 50.9% 35.1%
To the body 78 / 94 83.0% 68.1% 73 / 113 64.6% 68.1%
To the legs 36 / 39 92.3% 81.5% 48 / 51 94.1% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.

2435.3% acc · 4.15/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
421.1% acc · 0.68/15 · norm 1.38
1372.2% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
1346.4% def · norm 64.0%
40:5847.2% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
18:2120.8% of cage time · norm 19.5%
10:191:46 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
23:454:01 per 15 · norm 2:46
101.73/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
81.36/15 · norm 0.49

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.