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Nate Diaz vs. Anthony Pettis

UFC 16-11-0 vs. 11-9-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
16-11-0
UFC record
11-9-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
41
AgeΔ 2 yrs
39
6'0"
HeightΔ 2"
5'10"
76"
ReachΔ 4"
72"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
49.3
Layoff (months)Δ 20.7 mo
70
WLLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
WWLLW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Nate Diaz is a submission threat — 1.16 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.48 Lightweight norm.
Anthony Pettis rarely shoots — 0.52 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.34 Lightweight norm.
Anthony Pettis is a submission threat — 0.71 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.48 Lightweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Nate Diaz

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1611
Tier 3 — regional circuit 53

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.03 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 17 finish wins over 35 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-10 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.4 wins over .500

Anthony Pettis

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1213
Tier 3 — regional circuit 131

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.94 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 19 finish wins over 39 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.7 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

15444.58/min · norm 3.44
Sig. strikes landed
7693.32/min · norm 3.44
13484.00/min · norm 3.38
Sig. strikes absorbed lower is better
9243.99/min · norm 3.38
44.6%norm 43.65%
Striking accuracy
48.4%norm 43.65%
52.9%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
52.9%norm 56.3%
40.18/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
40.26/15 · norm 0.25

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

Nate Diaz

Distance 83.2% (norm 83.1%) · Clinch 13.8% (norm 7.3%) · Ground 3.0% (norm 8.0%)

Anthony Pettis

Distance 89.7% (norm 83.1%) · Clinch 5.0% (norm 7.3%) · Ground 5.3% (norm 8.0%)

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

Nate Diaz

Head 83.5% (norm 78.0%) · Body 11.5% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 5.1% (norm 8.0%)

Anthony Pettis

Head 76.0% (norm 78.0%) · Body 16.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 8.1% (norm 8.0%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Diaz L/AAccLightweight med Pettis L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1132 / 2883 39.3% 38.3% 657 / 1425 46.1% 38.3%
In the clinch 342 / 477 71.7% 67.5% 53 / 79 67.1% 67.5%
On the ground 70 / 104 67.3% 68.8% 59 / 85 69.4% 68.8%
BY TARGET
To the head 1146 / 2891 39.6% 35.1% 497 / 1207 41.2% 35.1%
To the body 263 / 397 66.2% 69.1% 162 / 254 63.8% 69.1%
To the legs 135 / 176 76.7% 81.8% 110 / 128 85.9% 81.8%

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: 204 fighters · Lightweight: 204 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 Diaz L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Pettis L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 874 / 2115 41.3% 38.8% 686 / 1607 42.7% 38.8%
In the clinch 217 / 324 67.0% 68.6% 136 / 190 71.6% 68.6%
On the ground 257 / 420 61.2% 68.0% 102 / 165 61.8% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 772 / 2096 36.8% 35.2% 519 / 1408 36.9% 35.2%
To the body 246 / 365 67.4% 68.2% 222 / 328 67.7% 68.2%
To the legs 330 / 398 82.9% 81.5% 183 / 226 81.0% 81.5%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1826.5% acc · 0.80/15 · norm 1.34
Takedowns landed
840.0% acc · 0.52/15 · norm 1.34
4343.9% def · norm 63.7%
Takedowns stopped
5755.9% def · norm 63.7%
47:1814.0% of cage time · norm 18.95%
Control time
26:5911.6% of cage time · norm 18.95%
97:414:20 per 15 · norm 2:50
Time under control lower is better
74:394:49 per 15 · norm 2:50
261.16/15 · norm 0.48
Submission attempts
110.71/15 · norm 0.48

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