Danny Castillo vs. Paul Sass

UFC 7-7-0 vs. 3-2-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
7-7-0
UFC record
3-2-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
46
AgeΔ 8 yrs
38
5'9"
HeightΔ 3"
6'0"
71"
ReachΔ 2"
73"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
127.6
Layoff (months)Δ 34 mo
161.6
LLLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWWW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Paul Sass is a submission threat — 7.38 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.49 Lightweight norm.
Danny Castillo hunts takedowns — 2.68 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 Lightweight norm.
Danny Castillo owns the mat — in control 38% of cage time, vs a 20% Lightweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Danny Castillo

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 77
Tier 3 — regional circuit 103

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.64 · 7 tier-1/2 wins · 10 finish wins over 27 documented bouts

In the UFC: 4-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.1 wins over .500

Paul Sass

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 42
Tier 3 — regional circuit 100

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.51 · 4 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 16 documented bouts

In the UFC: 1-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.6 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4712.72/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
150.53/min · norm 3.42
3692.13/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
541.90/min · norm 3.37
43.4%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
26.3%norm 43.5%
61.5%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
51.8%norm 56.3%
20.17/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · norm 0.25

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

Danny Castillo

Distance 72.6% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 7.7% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 19.6% (norm 8.0%)

Paul Sass

Distance 82.5% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 0.0% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 17.5% (norm 8.0%)

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

Danny Castillo

Head 82.4% (norm 78.2%) · Body 8.6% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 9.0% (norm 7.9%)

Paul Sass

Head 89.5% (norm 78.2%) · Body 7.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 3.5% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Castillo L/AAccLightweight med Sass L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 267 / 788 33.9% 37.9% 9 / 47 19.1% 37.9%
In the clinch 72 / 84 85.7% 67.3% 0 / 0 too few to rate 67.3%
On the ground 132 / 213 62.0% 69.1% 6 / 10 too few to rate 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 312 / 894 34.9% 35.0% 10 / 51 19.6% 35.0%
To the body 70 / 93 75.3% 69.1% 4 / 4 too few to rate 69.1%
To the legs 89 / 98 90.8% 81.9% 1 / 2 too few to rate 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 Castillo L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Sass L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 306 / 866 35.3% 38.9% 12 / 46 26.1% 38.9%
In the clinch 32 / 55 58.2% 68.6% 0 / 0 too few to rate 68.6%
On the ground 31 / 38 81.6% 68.0% 42 / 66 63.6% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 185 / 716 25.8% 35.1% 45 / 101 44.6% 35.1%
To the body 90 / 138 65.2% 68.1% 3 / 4 too few to rate 68.1%
To the legs 94 / 105 89.5% 81.5% 6 / 7 too few to rate 81.5%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
3134.8% acc · 2.68/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
116.7% acc · 0.53/15 · norm 1.38
2060.6% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
233.3% def · norm 64.0%
65:0337.5% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
3:0210.7% of cage time · norm 19.5%
20:211:45 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
18:229:41 per 15 · norm 2:46
30.26/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
147.38/15 · norm 0.49

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