BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Joe Stevenson vs.
Danny Castillo

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

8-8-0 Joe Stevenson · UFC
7-7-0 Danny Castillo · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

8-8-0
UFC record
7-7-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
44.1
AgeΔ 2.8 yrs
46.9
5'7"
HeightΔ 2"
5'9"
70"
ReachΔ 1"
71"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
181.3
Layoff (months)Δ 53.7 mo
127.6
LLLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLW
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.

Joe Stevenson is a submission threat — 2.19 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.49 Lightweight norm.
Joe Stevenson hunts takedowns — 2.83 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 Lightweight norm.
Danny Castillo hunts takedowns — 2.68 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 Lightweight 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.

Joe Stevenson

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

In the UFC: 6-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.2 wins over .500

Danny Castillo

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

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

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

3071.87/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
4712.72/min · norm 3.42
4322.63/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
3692.13/min · norm 3.37
42.0%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
43.4%norm 43.5%
60.4%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
61.5%norm 56.3%
10.09/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
20.17/15 · norm 0.25

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

Joe Stevenson

Distance 65.9% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 7.4% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 26.7% (norm 8.0%)

Danny Castillo

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

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

Joe Stevenson

Head 84.7% (norm 78.2%) · Body 9.2% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 6.2% (norm 7.9%)

Danny Castillo

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

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Stevenson L/AAccLightweight med Castillo L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 142 / 482 29.5% 37.9% 267 / 788 33.9% 37.9%
In the clinch 35 / 54 64.8% 67.3% 72 / 84 85.7% 67.3%
On the ground 130 / 195 66.7% 69.1% 132 / 213 62.0% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 225 / 619 36.3% 35.0% 312 / 894 34.9% 35.0%
To the body 44 / 67 65.7% 69.1% 70 / 93 75.3% 69.1%
To the legs 38 / 45 84.4% 81.9% 89 / 98 90.8% 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 Stevenson L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Castillo L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 304 / 865 35.1% 38.9% 306 / 866 35.3% 38.9%
In the clinch 26 / 55 47.3% 68.6% 32 / 55 58.2% 68.6%
On the ground 102 / 170 60.0% 68.0% 31 / 38 81.6% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 348 / 981 35.5% 35.1% 185 / 716 25.8% 35.1%
To the body 63 / 83 75.9% 68.1% 90 / 138 65.2% 68.1%
To the legs 21 / 26 80.8% 81.5% 94 / 105 89.5% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

3146.3% acc · 2.83/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
3134.8% acc · 2.68/15 · norm 1.38
1641.0% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
2060.6% def · norm 64.0%
52:2231.8% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
65:0337.5% of cage time · norm 19.5%
46:334:14 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
20:211:45 per 15 · norm 2:46
242.19/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
30.26/15 · norm 0.49

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.