BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Rafael Dos Anjos vs.
Jeremy Stephens

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

21-15-0 Rafael Dos Anjos · UFC
15-20-0 (1 NC) Jeremy Stephens · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

21-15-0
UFC record
15-20-0 (1 NC)
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
41.8
AgeΔ 1.6 yrs
40.2
5'8"
HeightΔ 1"
5'9"
70"
ReachΔ 1"
71"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
21.3
Layoff (months)Δ 18.4 mo
2.9
LLLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLL
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.

Jeremy Stephens carries real power — 0.66 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
Rafael Dos Anjos hunts takedowns — 1.95 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 Lightweight norm.
Rafael Dos Anjos owns the mat — in control 26% of cage time, vs a 20% Lightweight 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.

Rafael Dos Anjos

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 2115
Tier 3 — regional circuit 102

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.02 · 21 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 48 documented bouts

In the UFC: 16-14 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.2 wins over .500

Jeremy Stephens

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1622
Tier 3 — regional circuit 131

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.68 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 21 finish wins over 53 documented bouts

In the UFC: 8-17 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.5 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

18223.48/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
12813.13/min · norm 3.42
16923.23/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
13273.25/min · norm 3.37
47.1%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
40.8%norm 43.5%
60.2%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
57.9%norm 56.3%
70.20/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
180.66/15 · norm 0.25

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

Rafael Dos Anjos

Distance 79.0% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 10.5% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 10.5% (norm 8.0%)

Jeremy Stephens

Distance 84.0% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 5.6% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 10.4% (norm 8.0%)

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

Rafael Dos Anjos

Head 74.7% (norm 78.2%) · Body 15.2% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 10.1% (norm 7.9%)

Jeremy Stephens

Head 77.1% (norm 78.2%) · Body 9.8% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 13.1% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Anjos L/AAccLightweight med Stephens L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1224 / 3059 40.0% 37.9% 942 / 2637 35.7% 37.9%
In the clinch 321 / 407 78.9% 67.3% 126 / 175 72.0% 67.3%
On the ground 277 / 405 68.4% 69.1% 213 / 326 65.3% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 1063 / 2890 36.8% 35.0% 752 / 2420 31.1% 35.0%
To the body 434 / 589 73.7% 69.1% 222 / 307 72.3% 69.1%
To the legs 325 / 392 82.9% 81.9% 307 / 411 74.7% 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 Anjos L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Stephens L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1334 / 3750 35.6% 38.9% 1035 / 2709 38.2% 38.9%
In the clinch 235 / 324 72.5% 68.6% 113 / 165 68.5% 68.6%
On the ground 123 / 181 68.0% 68.0% 179 / 278 64.4% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 1102 / 3462 31.8% 35.1% 812 / 2468 32.9% 35.1%
To the body 352 / 530 66.4% 68.1% 238 / 349 68.2% 68.1%
To the legs 238 / 263 90.5% 81.5% 277 / 335 82.7% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

6835.6% acc · 1.95/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
3038.5% acc · 1.10/15 · norm 1.38
9154.8% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
7861.9% def · norm 64.0%
136:4526.1% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
71:3117.5% of cage time · norm 19.5%
125:273:35 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
91:283:21 per 15 · norm 2:46
200.57/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
110.40/15 · norm 0.49

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.