BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Tony Ferguson vs.
Anthony Pettis

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

15-9-0 Tony Ferguson · UFC
11-9-0 Anthony Pettis · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

15-9-0
UFC record
11-9-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
42.5
AgeΔ 3 yrs
39.5
5'11"
HeightΔ 1"
5'10"
76"
ReachΔ 4"
72"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
24.1
Layoff (months)Δ 43.4 mo
67.5
LLLLL
Last 5 (newest first)
WWLLW
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.

Tony Ferguson is a submission threat — 0.88 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.49 Lightweight norm.
Tony Ferguson rarely shoots — 0.39 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 Lightweight norm.
Anthony Pettis rarely shoots — 0.52 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 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.

Tony Ferguson

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 159
Tier 3 — regional circuit 102

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.17 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 20 finish wins over 36 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.8 wins over .500

Anthony Pettis

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

In the UFC: 10-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +5.7 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

13324.91/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
7693.32/min · norm 3.42
11864.37/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
9243.99/min · norm 3.37
45.9%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
48.4%norm 43.5%
55.4%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
52.9%norm 56.3%
30.17/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
40.26/15 · norm 0.25

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

Tony Ferguson

Distance 94.3% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 1.7% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 4.1% (norm 8.0%)

Anthony Pettis

Distance 89.7% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 5.0% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 5.3% (norm 8.0%)

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

Tony Ferguson

Head 75.1% (norm 78.2%) · Body 13.5% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 11.4% (norm 7.9%)

Anthony Pettis

Head 76.0% (norm 78.2%) · Body 16.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 8.1% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Ferguson L/AAccLightweight med Pettis L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1210 / 2738 44.2% 37.9% 657 / 1425 46.1% 37.9%
In the clinch 31 / 49 63.3% 67.3% 53 / 79 67.1% 67.3%
On the ground 91 / 118 77.1% 69.1% 59 / 85 69.4% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 800 / 2182 36.7% 35.0% 497 / 1207 41.2% 35.0%
To the body 259 / 393 65.9% 69.1% 162 / 254 63.8% 69.1%
To the legs 273 / 330 82.7% 81.9% 110 / 128 85.9% 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 Ferguson L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Pettis L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1028 / 2394 42.9% 38.9% 686 / 1607 42.7% 38.9%
In the clinch 15 / 48 31.2% 68.6% 136 / 190 71.6% 68.6%
On the ground 143 / 216 66.2% 68.0% 102 / 165 61.8% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 790 / 2103 37.6% 35.1% 519 / 1408 36.9% 35.1%
To the body 225 / 356 63.2% 68.1% 222 / 328 67.7% 68.1%
To the legs 171 / 199 85.9% 81.5% 183 / 226 81.0% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

735.0% acc · 0.39/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
840.0% acc · 0.52/15 · norm 1.38
3966.1% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
5755.9% def · norm 64.0%
8:002.9% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
26:5911.6% of cage time · norm 19.5%
63:463:31 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
74:394:49 per 15 · norm 2:46
160.88/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
110.71/15 · norm 0.49

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.