Matt Bessette vs.
Steven Peterson
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.
Matt Bessette
Full career not yet synced for Matt Bessette — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.5 wins over .500
Steven Peterson
Full career not yet synced for Steven Peterson — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 1-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record -0.6 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)
Matt Bessette
Distance 93.4% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 5.9% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 0.7% (norm 6.5%)
Steven Peterson
Distance 90.0% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 5.8% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 4.1% (norm 6.5%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Matt Bessette
Head 81.5% (norm 77.4%) · Body 16.0% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 2.4% (norm 7.8%)
Steven Peterson
Head 81.2% (norm 77.4%) · Body 11.4% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 7.5% (norm 7.8%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Bessette L/A | Acc | Featherweight med | Peterson L/A | Acc | Featherweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 86 / 268 | 32.1% | 40.9% | 426 / 1157 | 36.8% | 40.9% |
| In the clinch | 12 / 17 | too few to rate | 70.8% | 51 / 75 | 68.0% | 70.8% |
| On the ground | 2 / 2 | too few to rate | 69.2% | 43 / 53 | 81.1% | 69.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 69 / 234 | 29.5% | 37.2% | 347 / 1043 | 33.3% | 37.2% |
| To the body | 27 / 46 | 58.7% | 68.2% | 97 / 146 | 66.4% | 68.2% |
| To the legs | 4 / 7 | too few to rate | 80.7% | 76 / 96 | 79.2% | 80.7% |
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 (Featherweight: 126 fighters · Featherweight: 126 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 Bessette L/A | Opp acc | Featherweight med | vs Peterson L/A | Opp acc | Featherweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 89 / 234 | 38.0% | 39.2% | 612 / 1345 | 45.5% | 39.2% |
| In the clinch | 16 / 25 | 64.0% | 70.3% | 42 / 65 | 64.6% | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 24 / 38 | 63.2% | 69.4% | 20 / 34 | 58.8% | 69.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 69 / 224 | 30.8% | 35.9% | 475 / 1178 | 40.3% | 35.9% |
| To the body | 32 / 40 | 80.0% | 67.9% | 139 / 195 | 71.3% | 67.9% |
| To the legs | 28 / 33 | 84.8% | 81.5% | 60 / 71 | 84.5% | 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 — Peterson has more cage time on record.