Tom Nolan vs.
Nikolas Motta
Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.
The men, measured.
Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.
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.
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
Nikolas Motta
Full career not yet synced for Nikolas Motta — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.3 wins over .500
The stand-up battle.
Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
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%)
Nikolas Motta
Distance 87.1% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 5.4% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 7.5% (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%)
Nikolas Motta
Head 88.0% (norm 78.2%) · Body 7.9% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 4.1% (norm 7.9%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Nolan L/A | Acc | Lightweight med | Motta L/A | Acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 197 / 467 | 42.2% | 37.9% | 186 / 487 | 38.2% | 37.9% |
| In the clinch | 42 / 66 | 63.6% | 67.3% | 14 / 30 | 46.7% | 67.3% |
| On the ground | 16 / 29 | 55.2% | 69.1% | 31 / 42 | 73.8% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 128 / 366 | 35.0% | 35.0% | 176 / 492 | 35.8% | 35.0% |
| To the body | 81 / 133 | 60.9% | 69.1% | 34 / 44 | 77.3% | 69.1% |
| To the legs | 46 / 63 | 73.0% | 81.9% | 21 / 23 | too few to rate | 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/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med | vs Motta L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 163 / 327 | 49.8% | 38.9% | 227 / 476 | 47.7% | 38.9% |
| In the clinch | 21 / 36 | 58.3% | 68.6% | 53 / 69 | 76.8% | 68.6% |
| On the ground | 21 / 35 | 60.0% | 68.0% | 15 / 26 | 57.7% | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 93 / 257 | 36.2% | 35.1% | 177 / 434 | 40.8% | 35.1% |
| To the body | 60 / 87 | 69.0% | 68.1% | 61 / 74 | 82.4% | 68.1% |
| To the legs | 52 / 54 | 96.3% | 81.5% | 57 / 63 | 90.5% | 81.5% |
The ground war.
Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Motta has more cage time on record.