BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

KJ Noons vs.
Donald Cerrone

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

2-3-0 (1 NC) KJ Noons · UFC
23-14-0 (1 NC) Donald Cerrone · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

2-3-0 (1 NC)
UFC record
23-14-0 (1 NC)
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
43
AgeΔ 0 yrs
43
5'10"
HeightΔ 3"
6'1"
70"
ReachΔ 3"
73"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
126
Layoff (months)Δ 76.9 mo
49.1
LLNCWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLNCLL
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.

Donald Cerrone carries real power — 0.84 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
KJ Noons rarely shoots — 0.00 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 Lightweight norm.
Donald Cerrone absorbs 5.11 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.37 Lightweight norm — hittable.
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.

KJ Noons

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

In the UFC: 2-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.5 wins over .500

Donald Cerrone

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

In the UFC: 20-13 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.8 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

1633.03/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
17484.90/min · norm 3.42
2164.02/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
18255.11/min · norm 3.37
38.7%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
47.4%norm 43.5%
59.9%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
51.6%norm 56.3%
10.28/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
200.84/15 · norm 0.25

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

KJ Noons

Distance 94.8% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 4.3% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 1.0% (norm 8.0%)

Donald Cerrone

Distance 89.1% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 6.2% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 4.7% (norm 8.0%)

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

KJ Noons

Head 65.3% (norm 78.2%) · Body 23.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 11.6% (norm 7.9%)

Donald Cerrone

Head 71.3% (norm 78.2%) · Body 16.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 12.8% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Noons L/AAccLightweight med Cerrone L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 145 / 399 36.3% 37.9% 1478 / 3290 44.9% 37.9%
In the clinch 16 / 18 too few to rate 67.3% 151 / 229 65.9% 67.3%
On the ground 2 / 4 too few to rate 69.1% 119 / 172 69.2% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 86 / 275 31.3% 35.0% 893 / 2630 34.0% 35.0%
To the body 50 / 97 51.5% 69.1% 442 / 589 75.0% 69.1%
To the legs 27 / 49 55.1% 81.9% 413 / 472 87.5% 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 Noons L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Cerrone L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 182 / 487 37.4% 38.9% 1558 / 3375 46.2% 38.9%
In the clinch 9 / 12 too few to rate 68.6% 211 / 305 69.2% 68.6%
On the ground 25 / 40 62.5% 68.0% 56 / 88 63.6% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 111 / 409 27.1% 35.1% 1069 / 2721 39.3% 35.1%
To the body 38 / 54 70.4% 68.1% 444 / 668 66.5% 68.1%
To the legs 67 / 76 88.2% 81.5% 312 / 379 82.3% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

0— acc · 0.00/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
2428.9% acc · 1.01/15 · norm 1.38
1959.4% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
6288.6% def · norm 64.0%
0:050.2% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
38:3610.8% of cage time · norm 19.5%
11:003:04 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
19:550:50 per 15 · norm 2:46
00.00/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
110.46/15 · norm 0.49

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.