BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Walel Watson vs.
TJ Dillashaw

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

1-3-0 Walel Watson · UFC
13-5-0 TJ Dillashaw · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

1-3-0
UFC record
13-5-0
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Bantamweight
42
AgeΔ 2 yrs
40
5'11"
HeightΔ 5"
5'6"
75"
ReachΔ 8"
67"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
166.4
Layoff (months)Δ 120.9 mo
45.5
LLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLWW
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.

Walel Watson is a submission threat — 1.39 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Bantamweight norm.
Walel Watson carries real power — 0.92 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.30 Bantamweight norm.
TJ Dillashaw is a submission threat — 0.82 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Bantamweight 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.

Walel Watson

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

In the UFC: 0-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record -0.5 wins over .500

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

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

682.10/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
11235.09/min · norm 3.52
1233.79/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
7663.47/min · norm 3.58
29.3%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
41.1%norm 43.4%
43.6%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
62.0%norm 56.6%
20.92/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
90.61/15 · norm 0.30

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

Walel Watson

Distance 93.5% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 1.3% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 5.2% (norm 6.5%)

TJ Dillashaw

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

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

Walel Watson

Head 74.6% (norm 77.4%) · Body 11.2% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 14.2% (norm 8.4%)

TJ Dillashaw

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

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Watson L/AAccBantamweight med Dillashaw L/AAccBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 57 / 217 26.3% 39.0% 820 / 2303 35.6% 39.0%
In the clinch 3 / 3 too few to rate 68.7% 113 / 172 65.7% 68.7%
On the ground 8 / 12 too few to rate 70.2% 190 / 257 73.9% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 37 / 173 21.4% 34.9% 748 / 2225 33.6% 34.9%
To the body 13 / 26 50.0% 66.8% 163 / 237 68.8% 66.8%
To the legs 18 / 33 54.5% 79.4% 212 / 270 78.5% 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 Watson L/AOpp accBantamweight med vs Dillashaw L/AOpp accBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 42 / 110 38.2% 39.3% 633 / 1824 34.7% 39.3%
In the clinch 1 / 2 too few to rate 70.4% 52 / 96 54.2% 70.4%
On the ground 80 / 106 75.5% 72.4% 81 / 98 82.7% 72.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 90 / 165 54.5% 34.9% 545 / 1664 32.8% 34.9%
To the body 10 / 16 too few to rate 66.0% 132 / 236 55.9% 66.0%
To the legs 23 / 37 62.2% 79.1% 89 / 118 75.4% 79.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

00.0% acc · 0.00/15 · norm 1.12
Takedowns landed
2330.7% acc · 1.56/15 · norm 1.12
861.5% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
3577.8% def · norm 66.7%
1:194.1% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
54:1524.6% of cage time · norm 17.4%
14:376:45 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
8:330:34 per 15 · norm 2:24
31.39/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
120.82/15 · 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.