BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Tom Nolan vs.
Fares Ziam

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

5-1-0 Tom Nolan · UFC
8-3-0 Fares Ziam · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

5-1-0
UFC record
8-3-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
26
AgeΔ 3 yrs
29
6'3"
HeightΔ 2"
6'1"
73"
ReachΔ 2"
75"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
2
Layoff (months)Δ 0 mo
2
WWWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LWWWW
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.

Tom Nolan is a submission threat — 1.39 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.49 Lightweight norm.
Fares Ziam is hard to hit — absorbs 1.58 sig. strikes per minute, vs a 3.37 Lightweight norm.
Fares Ziam owns the mat — in control 27% 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.

Tom Nolan

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

In the UFC: 2-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.7 wins over .500

Fares Ziam

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 83
Tier 3 — regional circuit 102

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.13 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 23 documented bouts

In the UFC: 4-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.3 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

2554.72/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
3892.68/min · norm 3.42
2053.80/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
2301.58/min · norm 3.37
45.4%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
52.4%norm 43.5%
48.5%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
63.8%norm 56.3%
00.00/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
20.21/15 · norm 0.25

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

Tom Nolan

Distance 83.1% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 11.7% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 5.2% (norm 8.0%)

Fares Ziam

Distance 76.4% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 8.8% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 14.8% (norm 8.0%)

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

Tom Nolan

Head 65.1% (norm 78.2%) · Body 23.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 11.2% (norm 7.9%)

Fares Ziam

Head 79.5% (norm 78.2%) · Body 11.3% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 9.2% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Nolan L/AAccLightweight med Ziam L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 197 / 467 42.2% 37.9% 271 / 567 47.8% 37.9%
In the clinch 42 / 66 63.6% 67.3% 49 / 65 75.4% 67.3%
On the ground 16 / 29 55.2% 69.1% 69 / 110 62.7% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 128 / 366 35.0% 35.0% 255 / 590 43.2% 35.0%
To the body 81 / 133 60.9% 69.1% 72 / 84 85.7% 69.1%
To the legs 46 / 63 73.0% 81.9% 62 / 68 91.2% 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 Nolan L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Ziam L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 163 / 327 49.8% 38.9% 157 / 512 30.7% 38.9%
In the clinch 21 / 36 58.3% 68.6% 36 / 60 60.0% 68.6%
On the ground 21 / 35 60.0% 68.0% 37 / 63 58.7% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 93 / 257 36.2% 35.1% 94 / 439 21.4% 35.1%
To the body 60 / 87 69.0% 68.1% 78 / 118 66.1% 68.1%
To the legs 52 / 54 96.3% 81.5% 58 / 78 74.4% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

426.7% acc · 1.11/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
1842.9% acc · 1.86/15 · norm 1.38
758.3% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
5170.8% def · norm 64.0%
9:4618.1% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
39:3027.2% of cage time · norm 19.5%
13:493:50 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
48:565:03 per 15 · norm 2:46
51.39/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
50.52/15 · norm 0.49

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.