BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Jon Fitch vs.
Paulo Thiago

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

14-3-1 Jon Fitch · UFC
5-8-0 Paulo Thiago · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

14-3-1
UFC record
5-8-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
48.4
AgeΔ 2.9 yrs
45.5
6'0"
HeightΔ 1"
5'11"
74"
ReachΔ 0"
74"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
162.1
Layoff (months)Δ 19.4 mo
142.7
LWLDW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWL
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.

Jon Fitch owns the mat — in control 54% of cage time, vs a 18% Welterweight norm.
Jon Fitch hunts takedowns — 3.64 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.
Paulo Thiago is a submission threat — 1.21 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.45 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.

Jon Fitch

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

In the UFC: 10-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.7 wins over .500

Paulo Thiago

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

In the UFC: 2-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.8 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6302.64/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
2541.71/min · norm 3.17
3711.55/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
2951.99/min · norm 3.06
51.4%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
39.1%norm 44.9%
53.7%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
63.5%norm 55.25%
20.13/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
40.40/15 · norm 0.38

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

Jon Fitch

Distance 44.1% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 18.9% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 37.1% (norm 8.1%)

Paulo Thiago

Distance 76.3% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 14.6% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 9.1% (norm 8.1%)

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

Jon Fitch

Head 77.1% (norm 78.2%) · Body 13.8% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 9.1% (norm 8.4%)

Paulo Thiago

Head 81.7% (norm 78.2%) · Body 13.1% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 5.2% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Fitch L/AAccWelterweight med Thiago L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 186 / 540 34.4% 38.6% 151 / 495 30.5% 38.6%
In the clinch 136 / 231 58.9% 67.8% 73 / 95 76.8% 67.8%
On the ground 308 / 454 67.8% 67.2% 30 / 59 50.8% 67.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 414 / 945 43.8% 37.2% 156 / 530 29.4% 37.2%
To the body 129 / 169 76.3% 70.7% 65 / 85 76.5% 70.7%
To the legs 87 / 111 78.4% 82.9% 33 / 34 97.1% 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 Fitch L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Thiago L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 171 / 517 33.1% 39.0% 168 / 611 27.5% 39.0%
In the clinch 125 / 177 70.6% 68.9% 29 / 52 55.8% 68.9%
On the ground 75 / 107 70.1% 68.0% 98 / 146 67.1% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 211 / 604 34.9% 35.6% 199 / 642 31.0% 35.6%
To the body 69 / 96 71.9% 69.6% 48 / 86 55.8% 69.6%
To the legs 91 / 101 90.1% 82.1% 48 / 81 59.3% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

5854.7% acc · 3.64/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
1431.8% acc · 1.42/15 · norm 1.27
3355.9% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
3063.8% def · norm 63.9%
128:2653.7% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
22:3815.3% of cage time · norm 18.5%
55:033:27 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
62:026:16 per 15 · norm 3:15
140.88/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
121.21/15 · norm 0.45

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.