BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Dustin Jacoby vs.
Kennedy Nzechukwu

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

10-7-1 Dustin Jacoby · UFC
8-6-1 Kennedy Nzechukwu · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

10-7-1
UFC record
8-6-1
Light Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Light Heavyweight
38
AgeΔ 4 yrs
34
6'3"
HeightΔ 2"
6'5"
76"
ReachΔ 7"
83"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
0.4
Layoff (months)Δ 7.4 mo
7.8
LWWWL
Last 5 (newest first)
DLWWL
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.

Dustin Jacoby rarely shoots — 0.26 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.87 Light Heavyweight norm.
Dustin Jacoby outworks the Light Heavyweight division — 5.33 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.41 norm.
Kennedy Nzechukwu outworks the Light Heavyweight division — 4.68 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.41 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.

Dustin Jacoby

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 119
Tier 3 — regional circuit 111

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.02 · 11 tier-1/2 wins · 16 finish wins over 33 documented bouts

In the UFC: 5-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.1 wins over .500

Kennedy Nzechukwu

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 106
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 10
Tier 3 — regional circuit 30

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.3 · 11 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 21 documented bouts

In the UFC: 2-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.3 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

9355.33/min · norm 3.41
Sig. strikes landed
6244.68/min · norm 3.41
7494.27/min · norm 3.35
Sig. strikes absorbed
6034.52/min · norm 3.35
45.8%norm 48.3%
Striking accuracy
49.6%norm 48.3%
57.8%norm 52.9%
Striking defense
51.2%norm 52.9%
70.60/15 · norm 0.40
Knockdowns
30.34/15 · norm 0.40

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

Dustin Jacoby

Distance 93.0% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 5.0% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 2.1% (norm 10.4%)

Kennedy Nzechukwu

Distance 85.0% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 7.9% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 7.1% (norm 10.4%)

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

Dustin Jacoby

Head 79.2% (norm 79.2%) · Body 9.4% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 11.4% (norm 9.7%)

Kennedy Nzechukwu

Head 87.2% (norm 79.2%) · Body 12.1% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 0.7% (norm 9.7%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Jacoby L/AAccLight Heavyweight med Nzechukwu L/AAccLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 840 / 1899 44.2% 41.4% 472 / 1069 44.2% 41.4%
In the clinch 75 / 102 73.5% 70.9% 81 / 99 81.8% 70.9%
On the ground 20 / 42 47.6% 72.3% 71 / 89 79.8% 72.3%
BY TARGET
To the head 617 / 1618 38.1% 38.9% 510 / 1096 46.5% 38.9%
To the body 129 / 192 67.2% 71.9% 108 / 152 71.1% 71.9%
To the legs 189 / 233 81.1% 81.8% 6 / 9 too few to rate 81.8%

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 (Light Heavyweight: 93 fighters · Light Heavyweight: 93 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 Jacoby L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med vs Nzechukwu L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 656 / 1630 40.2% 40.4% 496 / 1080 45.9% 40.4%
In the clinch 52 / 83 62.7% 68.7% 79 / 114 69.3% 68.7%
On the ground 41 / 61 67.2% 70.4% 28 / 41 68.3% 70.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 515 / 1470 35.0% 37.5% 370 / 946 39.1% 37.5%
To the body 98 / 147 66.7% 72.3% 118 / 154 76.6% 72.3%
To the legs 136 / 157 86.6% 83.0% 115 / 135 85.2% 83.0%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

320.0% acc · 0.26/15 · norm 0.87
Takedowns landed
545.5% acc · 0.56/15 · norm 0.87
2757.4% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
6380.8% def · norm 66.7%
13:197.6% of cage time · norm 16.5%
Control time
24:0118.0% of cage time · norm 16.5%
18:321:35 per 15 · norm 2:48
Time under control
26:573:01 per 15 · norm 2:48
00.00/15 · norm 0.27
Submission attempts
20.22/15 · norm 0.27

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.