BJ Penn vs.
Sean Sherk
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.
BJ Penn
Full career not yet synced for BJ Penn — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 8-13 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.6 wins over .500
Sean Sherk
Full career not yet synced for Sean Sherk — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 7-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.6 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)
BJ Penn
Distance 75.9% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 13.3% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 10.9% (norm 8.0%)
Sean Sherk
Distance 73.0% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 11.3% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 15.7% (norm 8.0%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
BJ Penn
Head 88.0% (norm 78.2%) · Body 9.1% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 3.0% (norm 7.9%)
Sean Sherk
Head 90.6% (norm 78.2%) · Body 3.8% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 5.5% (norm 7.9%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Penn L/A | Acc | Lightweight med | Sherk L/A | Acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 628 / 1594 | 39.4% | 37.9% | 220 / 873 | 25.2% | 37.9% |
| In the clinch | 210 / 279 | 75.3% | 67.3% | 65 / 135 | 48.1% | 67.3% |
| On the ground | 161 / 228 | 70.6% | 69.1% | 130 / 188 | 69.1% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 783 / 1848 | 42.4% | 35.0% | 311 / 1084 | 28.7% | 35.0% |
| To the body | 162 / 191 | 84.8% | 69.1% | 43 / 46 | 93.5% | 69.1% |
| To the legs | 54 / 62 | 87.1% | 81.9% | 61 / 66 | 92.4% | 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 Penn L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med | vs Sherk L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 849 / 2259 | 37.6% | 38.9% | 425 / 1030 | 41.3% | 38.9% |
| In the clinch | 170 / 280 | 60.7% | 68.6% | 52 / 79 | 65.8% | 68.6% |
| On the ground | 220 / 334 | 65.9% | 68.0% | 68 / 104 | 65.4% | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 793 / 2236 | 35.5% | 35.1% | 426 / 1062 | 40.1% | 35.1% |
| To the body | 242 / 360 | 67.2% | 68.1% | 93 / 115 | 80.9% | 68.1% |
| To the legs | 204 / 277 | 73.6% | 81.5% | 26 / 36 | 72.2% | 81.5% |
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 — Penn has more cage time on record.