BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

TJ Dillashaw vs.
Cory Sandhagen

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

13-5-0 TJ Dillashaw · UFC
11-6-0 Cory Sandhagen · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

13-5-0
UFC record
11-6-0
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Bantamweight
40
AgeΔ 6 yrs
34
5'6"
HeightΔ 5"
5'11"
67"
ReachΔ 3"
70"
Orthodox
Stance
Switch
45.5
Layoff (months)Δ 44.6 mo
0.9
LWLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWLW
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.

TJ Dillashaw is a submission threat — 0.82 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Bantamweight norm.
TJ Dillashaw carries real power — 0.61 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.30 Bantamweight norm.
Cory Sandhagen outworks the Bantamweight division — 4.92 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.52 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.

TJ Dillashaw

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

In the UFC: 9-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.8 wins over .500

Cory Sandhagen

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 116
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 41
Tier 3 — regional circuit 30

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.4 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 25 documented bouts

In the UFC: 9-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +6.3 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

11235.09/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
12334.92/min · norm 3.52
7663.47/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
9313.72/min · norm 3.58
41.1%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
45.4%norm 43.4%
62.0%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
55.1%norm 56.6%
90.61/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
40.24/15 · norm 0.30

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

TJ Dillashaw

Distance 84.3% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 6.3% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 9.4% (norm 6.5%)

Cory Sandhagen

Distance 87.5% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 2.8% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 9.7% (norm 6.5%)

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

TJ Dillashaw

Head 81.4% (norm 77.4%) · Body 8.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 9.9% (norm 8.4%)

Cory Sandhagen

Head 81.0% (norm 77.4%) · Body 9.4% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 9.6% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Dillashaw L/AAccBantamweight med Sandhagen L/AAccBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 820 / 2303 35.6% 39.0% 1022 / 2378 43.0% 39.0%
In the clinch 113 / 172 65.7% 68.7% 50 / 77 64.9% 68.7%
On the ground 190 / 257 73.9% 70.2% 161 / 263 61.2% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 748 / 2225 33.6% 34.9% 812 / 2201 36.9% 34.9%
To the body 163 / 237 68.8% 66.8% 187 / 256 73.0% 66.8%
To the legs 212 / 270 78.5% 79.4% 234 / 261 89.7% 79.4%

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 (Bantamweight: 117 fighters · Bantamweight: 117 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 Dillashaw L/AOpp accBantamweight med vs Sandhagen L/AOpp accBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 633 / 1824 34.7% 39.3% 793 / 1875 42.3% 39.3%
In the clinch 52 / 96 54.2% 70.4% 88 / 125 70.4% 70.4%
On the ground 81 / 98 82.7% 72.4% 50 / 73 68.5% 72.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 545 / 1664 32.8% 34.9% 567 / 1598 35.5% 34.9%
To the body 132 / 236 55.9% 66.0% 191 / 270 70.7% 66.0%
To the legs 89 / 118 75.4% 79.1% 173 / 205 84.4% 79.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

2330.7% acc · 1.56/15 · norm 1.12
Takedowns landed
1933.9% acc · 1.14/15 · norm 1.12
3577.8% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
6557.0% def · norm 66.7%
54:1524.6% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
48:3819.4% of cage time · norm 17.4%
8:330:34 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
38:342:18 per 15 · norm 2:24
120.82/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
40.24/15 · norm 0.28

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.