BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Stephen Thompson vs.
Jorge Masvidal

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

12-9-1 Stephen Thompson · UFC
12-10-0 Jorge Masvidal · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

12-9-1
UFC record
12-10-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
43.5
AgeΔ 1.8 yrs
41.7
6'0"
HeightΔ 1"
5'11"
75"
ReachΔ 1"
74"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
12.8
Layoff (months)Δ 27.1 mo
39.9
LLLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLW
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.

Stephen Thompson rarely shoots — 0.23 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.
Jorge Masvidal rarely shoots — 0.87 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.
Stephen Thompson outworks the Welterweight division — 4.05 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.17 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.

Stephen Thompson

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 129
Tier 3 — regional circuit 50

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.07 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 9 finish wins over 27 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.9 wins over .500

Jorge Masvidal

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

In the UFC: 11-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.0 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

12934.05/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
11703.98/min · norm 3.17
9593.00/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
9013.07/min · norm 3.06
46.0%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
49.5%norm 44.9%
54.9%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
57.5%norm 55.25%
100.47/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
90.46/15 · norm 0.38

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

Stephen Thompson

Distance 93.2% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 4.2% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 2.6% (norm 8.1%)

Jorge Masvidal

Distance 77.5% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 11.2% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 11.3% (norm 8.1%)

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

Stephen Thompson

Head 79.0% (norm 78.2%) · Body 15.4% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 5.6% (norm 8.4%)

Jorge Masvidal

Head 73.3% (norm 78.2%) · Body 15.6% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 11.1% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Thompson L/AAccWelterweight med Masvidal L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1158 / 2618 44.2% 38.6% 808 / 1832 44.1% 38.6%
In the clinch 88 / 119 73.9% 67.8% 202 / 265 76.2% 67.8%
On the ground 47 / 73 64.4% 67.2% 160 / 268 59.7% 67.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 857 / 2220 38.6% 37.2% 695 / 1734 40.1% 37.2%
To the body 305 / 432 70.6% 70.7% 281 / 369 76.2% 70.7%
To the legs 131 / 158 82.9% 82.9% 194 / 262 74.0% 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 Thompson L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Masvidal L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 666 / 1731 38.5% 39.0% 698 / 1813 38.5% 39.0%
In the clinch 146 / 204 71.6% 68.9% 114 / 163 69.9% 68.9%
On the ground 147 / 191 77.0% 68.0% 89 / 143 62.2% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 512 / 1495 34.2% 35.6% 545 / 1603 34.0% 35.6%
To the body 172 / 276 62.3% 69.6% 216 / 341 63.3% 69.6%
To the legs 275 / 355 77.5% 82.1% 140 / 175 80.0% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

535.7% acc · 0.23/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
1753.1% acc · 0.87/15 · norm 1.27
5063.3% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
8569.7% def · norm 63.9%
19:186.0% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
43:1614.7% of cage time · norm 18.5%
60:122:49 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
75:303:51 per 15 · norm 3:15
00.00/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
70.36/15 · norm 0.45

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.