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Ross Pearson vs. Diego Sanchez

UFC 12-13-0 (1 NC) vs. 19-13-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
12-13-0 (1 NC)
UFC record
19-13-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
42
AgeΔ 2 yrs
44
5'8"
HeightΔ 2"
5'10"
69"
ReachΔ 3"
72"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
90.7
Layoff (months)Δ 17.9 mo
72.8
LLWLL
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLWW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Diego Sanchez is a submission threat — 0.68 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.44 Welterweight norm.
Ross Pearson rarely shoots — 0.74 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.34 Lightweight norm.
Diego Sanchez owns the mat — in control 25% of cage time, vs a 18% Welterweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Ross Pearson

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1213
Tier 3 — regional circuit 84

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.53 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 12 finish wins over 38 documented bouts

In the UFC: 6-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.7 wins over .500

Diego Sanchez

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1913
Tier 3 — regional circuit 111

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.1 · 19 tier-1/2 wins · 16 finish wins over 44 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-12 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.6 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

11143.68/min · norm 3.44
Sig. strikes landed
10582.66/min · norm 3.17
12384.09/min · norm 3.38
Sig. strikes absorbed lower is better
12383.12/min · norm 3.08
40.3%norm 43.65%
Striking accuracy
37.3%norm 44.75%
62.2%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
56.5%norm 55.25%
60.30/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
60.23/15 · norm 0.38

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

Ross Pearson

Distance 89.3% (norm 83.1%) · Clinch 8.9% (norm 7.3%) · Ground 1.8% (norm 8.0%)

Diego Sanchez

Distance 74.5% (norm 80.7%) · Clinch 6.6% (norm 9.6%) · Ground 18.9% (norm 8.1%)

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

Ross Pearson

Head 73.2% (norm 78.0%) · Body 17.5% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 9.3% (norm 8.0%)

Diego Sanchez

Head 83.1% (norm 78.3%) · Body 13.3% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 3.5% (norm 8.0%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Pearson L/AAccLightweight med Sanchez L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 915 / 2470 37.0% 38.3% 612 / 2110 29.0% 38.5%
In the clinch 172 / 245 70.2% 67.5% 112 / 188 59.6% 67.8%
On the ground 27 / 51 52.9% 68.8% 334 / 535 62.4% 67.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 588 / 2025 29.0% 35.1% 730 / 2355 31.0% 36.4%
To the body 314 / 485 64.7% 69.1% 250 / 378 66.1% 70.7%
To the legs 212 / 256 82.8% 81.8% 78 / 100 78.0% 83.0%

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 · Welterweight: 180 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 Pearson L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Sanchez L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 977 / 2884 33.9% 38.8% 862 / 2235 38.6% 39.1%
In the clinch 203 / 307 66.1% 68.6% 198 / 303 65.3% 68.9%
On the ground 58 / 84 69.0% 68.0% 178 / 309 57.6% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 789 / 2642 29.9% 35.2% 954 / 2483 38.4% 35.6%
To the body 245 / 365 67.1% 68.2% 178 / 236 75.4% 69.6%
To the legs 204 / 268 76.1% 81.5% 106 / 128 82.8% 82.2%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1535.7% acc · 0.74/15 · norm 1.34
Takedowns landed
3621.7% acc · 1.36/15 · norm 1.31
6475.3% def · norm 63.7%
Takedowns stopped
3347.1% def · norm 63.9%
21:047.0% of cage time · norm 18.95%
Control time
99:2225.0% of cage time · norm 18.5%
43:042:08 per 15 · norm 2:50
Time under control lower is better
62:342:21 per 15 · norm 3:15
00.00/15 · norm 0.48
Submission attempts
180.68/15 · norm 0.44

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