BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Nick Catone vs.
Tom Watson

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

4-4-0 Nick Catone · UFC
2-5-0 Tom Watson · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

4-4-0
UFC record
2-5-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
44.9
AgeΔ 0.8 yrs
44.1
6'0"
HeightΔ 1"
6'1"
72"
ReachΔ 1"
73"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
150.1
Layoff (months)Δ 18.2 mo
131.9
WLLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWLL
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.

Nick Catone hunts takedowns — 3.71 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Tom Watson rarely shoots — 0.15 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.42 Middleweight norm.
Nick Catone owns the mat — in control 36% of cage time, vs a 20% Middleweight 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.

Nick Catone

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

In the UFC: 0-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.1 wins over .500

Tom Watson

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

In the UFC: 1-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.7 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

1962.11/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
4004.01/min · norm 3.25
2162.32/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
4404.41/min · norm 3.20
44.6%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
44.3%norm 47.4%
63.2%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
50.2%norm 53.8%
00.00/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
10.15/15 · norm 0.32

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

Nick Catone

Distance 64.0% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 17.1% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 18.9% (norm 10.3%)

Tom Watson

Distance 80.3% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 18.6% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 1.1% (norm 10.3%)

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

Nick Catone

Head 79.5% (norm 78.0%) · Body 11.6% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 8.9% (norm 8.4%)

Tom Watson

Head 65.9% (norm 78.0%) · Body 16.9% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 17.3% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Catone L/AAccMiddleweight med Watson L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 82 / 281 29.2% 40.5% 288 / 724 39.8% 40.5%
In the clinch 47 / 75 62.7% 70.3% 105 / 168 62.5% 70.3%
On the ground 67 / 83 80.7% 69.1% 7 / 10 too few to rate 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 125 / 349 35.8% 38.9% 180 / 594 30.3% 38.9%
To the body 35 / 51 68.6% 71.7% 88 / 152 57.9% 71.7%
To the legs 36 / 39 92.3% 83.3% 132 / 156 84.6% 83.3%

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 (Middleweight: 174 fighters · Middleweight: 174 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 Catone L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Watson L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 126 / 461 27.3% 39.5% 294 / 667 44.1% 39.5%
In the clinch 66 / 92 71.7% 70.9% 101 / 148 68.2% 70.9%
On the ground 24 / 34 70.6% 69.0% 45 / 68 66.2% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 120 / 467 25.7% 37.9% 330 / 745 44.3% 37.9%
To the body 48 / 67 71.6% 71.3% 58 / 82 70.7% 71.3%
To the legs 48 / 53 90.6% 82.1% 52 / 56 92.9% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

2344.2% acc · 3.71/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
17.1% acc · 0.15/15 · norm 1.42
2083.3% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
2443.6% def · norm 63.1%
33:4236.3% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
10:0310.1% of cage time · norm 19.75%
8:501:25 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
30:384:36 per 15 · norm 3:00
30.48/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.47

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.