BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Jake Matthews vs.
Diego Sanchez

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

16-8-0 Jake Matthews · UFC
19-13-0 Diego Sanchez · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

16-8-0
UFC record
19-13-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
32
AgeΔ 12.6 yrs
44.6
5'11"
HeightΔ 1"
5'10"
73"
ReachΔ 1"
72"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
2.2
Layoff (months)Δ 68.1 mo
70.3
WLWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLWW
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.

Jake Matthews is a submission threat — 0.71 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.45 Welterweight norm.
Diego Sanchez is a submission threat — 0.68 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.45 Welterweight norm.
Jake Matthews owns the mat — in control 26% of cage time, vs a 18% Welterweight 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.

Jake Matthews

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 168
Tier 3 — regional circuit 70

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.36 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 14 finish wins over 31 documented bouts

In the UFC: 8-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.8 wins over .500

Diego Sanchez

Full career not yet synced for Diego Sanchez — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).

In the UFC: 10-12 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.6 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

9253.36/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
10582.66/min · norm 3.17
7102.58/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
12383.12/min · norm 3.06
44.5%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
37.3%norm 44.9%
60.6%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
56.5%norm 55.25%
60.33/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
60.23/15 · norm 0.38

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

Jake Matthews

Distance 82.1% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 4.8% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 13.1% (norm 8.1%)

Diego Sanchez

Distance 74.5% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 6.6% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 18.9% (norm 8.1%)

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

Jake Matthews

Head 82.6% (norm 78.2%) · Body 11.5% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 5.9% (norm 8.4%)

Diego Sanchez

Head 83.1% (norm 78.2%) · Body 13.3% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 3.5% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Matthews L/AAccWelterweight med Sanchez L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 664 / 1706 38.9% 38.6% 612 / 2110 29.0% 38.6%
In the clinch 67 / 100 67.0% 67.8% 112 / 188 59.6% 67.8%
On the ground 194 / 273 71.1% 67.2% 334 / 535 62.4% 67.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 665 / 1718 38.7% 37.2% 730 / 2355 31.0% 37.2%
To the body 161 / 239 67.4% 70.7% 250 / 378 66.1% 70.7%
To the legs 99 / 122 81.1% 82.9% 78 / 100 78.0% 82.9%

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 (Welterweight: 182 fighters · Welterweight: 182 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 Matthews L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Sanchez L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 517 / 1515 34.1% 39.0% 862 / 2235 38.6% 39.0%
In the clinch 98 / 140 70.0% 68.9% 198 / 303 65.3% 68.9%
On the ground 95 / 147 64.6% 68.0% 178 / 309 57.6% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 434 / 1402 31.0% 35.6% 954 / 2483 38.4% 35.6%
To the body 124 / 199 62.3% 69.6% 178 / 236 75.4% 69.6%
To the legs 152 / 201 75.6% 82.1% 106 / 128 82.8% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

2541.7% acc · 1.36/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
3621.7% acc · 1.36/15 · norm 1.27
2866.7% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
3347.1% def · norm 63.9%
72:5326.4% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
99:2225.0% of cage time · norm 18.5%
40:352:12 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
62:342:21 per 15 · norm 3:15
130.71/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
180.68/15 · norm 0.45

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.