Jacob Volkmann vs.
Paul Sass
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.
Jacob Volkmann
Full career not yet synced for Jacob Volkmann — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 3-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.8 wins over .500
Paul Sass
Full career not yet synced for Paul Sass — 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 +1.6 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)
Jacob Volkmann
Distance 61.4% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 5.4% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 33.2% (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)
Jacob Volkmann
Head 81.2% (norm 78.2%) · Body 8.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 10.8% (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 | Volkmann L/A | Acc | Lightweight med | Sass L/A | Acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 44 / 239 | 18.4% | 37.9% | 9 / 47 | 19.1% | 37.9% |
| In the clinch | 11 / 21 | too few to rate | 67.3% | 0 / 0 | too few to rate | 67.3% |
| On the ground | 79 / 129 | 61.2% | 69.1% | 6 / 10 | too few to rate | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 98 / 316 | 31.0% | 35.0% | 10 / 51 | 19.6% | 35.0% |
| To the body | 20 / 31 | 64.5% | 69.1% | 4 / 4 | too few to rate | 69.1% |
| To the legs | 16 / 42 | 38.1% | 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 Volkmann L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med | vs Sass L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 76 / 238 | 31.9% | 38.9% | 12 / 46 | 26.1% | 38.9% |
| In the clinch | 38 / 56 | 67.9% | 68.6% | 0 / 0 | too few to rate | 68.6% |
| On the ground | 87 / 132 | 65.9% | 68.0% | 42 / 66 | 63.6% | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 123 / 335 | 36.7% | 35.1% | 45 / 101 | 44.6% | 35.1% |
| To the body | 45 / 54 | 83.3% | 68.1% | 3 / 4 | too few to rate | 68.1% |
| To the legs | 33 / 37 | 89.2% | 81.5% | 6 / 7 | too few to rate | 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 — Volkmann has more cage time on record.