BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Matthew Riddle vs.
Sean Pierson

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

7-3-0 (2 NC) Matthew Riddle · UFC
4-2-0 Sean Pierson · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

7-3-0 (2 NC)
UFC record
4-2-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
40.6
AgeΔ 9.8 yrs
50.4
6'1"
HeightΔ 1"
6'0"
76"
ReachΔ 0"
76"
Southpaw
Stance
Southpaw
161.6
Layoff (months)Δ 3.9 mo
157.7
NCWNCWL
Last 5 (newest first)
WWWLL
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.

Matthew Riddle hunts takedowns — 3.51 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.
Matthew Riddle owns the mat — in control 49% of cage time, vs a 18% Welterweight norm.
Sean Pierson rarely shoots — 0.39 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 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.

Matthew Riddle

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

In the UFC: 3-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.5 wins over .500

Sean Pierson

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

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

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

5033.01/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
2983.84/min · norm 3.17
4582.74/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
2903.73/min · norm 3.06
42.4%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
39.8%norm 44.9%
55.0%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
64.6%norm 55.25%
00.00/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
10.19/15 · norm 0.38

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

Matthew Riddle

Distance 60.0% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 17.6% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 22.3% (norm 8.1%)

Sean Pierson

Distance 86.9% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 8.4% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 4.7% (norm 8.1%)

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

Matthew Riddle

Head 72.5% (norm 78.2%) · Body 16.5% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 11.0% (norm 8.4%)

Sean Pierson

Head 84.8% (norm 78.2%) · Body 9.5% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 5.7% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Riddle L/AAccWelterweight med Pierson L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 172 / 712 24.2% 38.6% 228 / 650 35.1% 38.6%
In the clinch 153 / 209 73.2% 67.8% 47 / 63 74.6% 67.8%
On the ground 178 / 265 67.2% 67.2% 23 / 35 65.7% 67.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 249 / 860 29.0% 37.2% 210 / 634 33.1% 37.2%
To the body 147 / 196 75.0% 70.7% 55 / 71 77.5% 70.7%
To the legs 107 / 130 82.3% 82.9% 33 / 43 76.7% 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 Riddle L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Pierson L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 287 / 751 38.2% 39.0% 227 / 721 31.5% 39.0%
In the clinch 93 / 143 65.0% 68.9% 35 / 51 68.6% 68.9%
On the ground 78 / 123 63.4% 68.0% 28 / 47 59.6% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 294 / 794 37.0% 35.6% 185 / 674 27.4% 35.6%
To the body 81 / 124 65.3% 69.6% 56 / 81 69.1% 69.6%
To the legs 83 / 99 83.8% 82.1% 49 / 64 76.6% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

3950.0% acc · 3.51/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
218.2% acc · 0.39/15 · norm 1.27
2589.3% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
1466.7% def · norm 63.9%
82:2849.4% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
14:1118.3% of cage time · norm 18.5%
20:221:49 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
13:192:34 per 15 · norm 3:15
60.54/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
20.39/15 · norm 0.45

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.