Din Thomas vs.
BJ Penn
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.
Din Thomas
Full career not yet synced for Din Thomas — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 1-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.3 wins over .500
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
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)
Din Thomas
Distance 74.7% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 18.6% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 6.6% (norm 8.0%)
BJ Penn
Distance 75.9% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 13.3% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 10.9% (norm 8.0%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Din Thomas
Head 90.7% (norm 78.2%) · Body 6.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 3.3% (norm 7.9%)
BJ Penn
Head 88.0% (norm 78.2%) · Body 9.1% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 3.0% (norm 7.9%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Thomas L/A | Acc | Lightweight med | Penn L/A | Acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 102 / 361 | 28.3% | 37.9% | 628 / 1594 | 39.4% | 37.9% |
| In the clinch | 60 / 90 | 66.7% | 67.3% | 210 / 279 | 75.3% | 67.3% |
| On the ground | 20 / 32 | 62.5% | 69.1% | 161 / 228 | 70.6% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 147 / 438 | 33.6% | 35.0% | 783 / 1848 | 42.4% | 35.0% |
| To the body | 20 / 29 | 69.0% | 69.1% | 162 / 191 | 84.8% | 69.1% |
| To the legs | 15 / 16 | too few to rate | 81.9% | 54 / 62 | 87.1% | 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 Thomas L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med | vs Penn L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 80 / 340 | 23.5% | 38.9% | 849 / 2259 | 37.6% | 38.9% |
| In the clinch | 61 / 92 | 66.3% | 68.6% | 170 / 280 | 60.7% | 68.6% |
| On the ground | 114 / 191 | 59.7% | 68.0% | 220 / 334 | 65.9% | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 169 / 518 | 32.6% | 35.1% | 793 / 2236 | 35.5% | 35.1% |
| To the body | 44 / 54 | 81.5% | 68.1% | 242 / 360 | 67.2% | 68.1% |
| To the legs | 42 / 51 | 82.4% | 81.5% | 204 / 277 | 73.6% | 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.