Din Thomas vs. BJ Penn

UFC 5-4-0 vs. 12-13-2

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
5-4-0
UFC record
12-13-2
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
49
AgeΔ 2 yrs
47
5'9"
HeightΔ 0"
5'9"
Reach
70"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
220.2
Layoff (months)Δ 133.3 mo
86.9
LLWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLL

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Din Thomas is a submission threat — 1.22 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.49 Lightweight norm.
Din Thomas defends strikes at range well — opponents land just 24%, vs a 39% Lightweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Din Thomas

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 54
Tier 3 — regional circuit 215

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.84 · 5 tier-1/2 wins · 22 finish wins over 36 documented bouts

In the UFC: 1-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.3 wins over .500

BJ Penn

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1213
Tier 3 — regional circuit 41

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.8 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 32 documented bouts

In the UFC: 8-13 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.6 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

1821.85/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
9992.80/min · norm 3.42
2552.60/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
12393.48/min · norm 3.37
37.7%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
47.5%norm 43.5%
59.1%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
56.9%norm 56.3%
10.15/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
70.29/15 · norm 0.25

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

Din Thomas

Distance 74.7% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 18.6% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 6.6% (norm 8.0%)

BJ Penn

Distance 75.9% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 13.3% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 10.9% (norm 8.0%)

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

Din Thomas

Head 90.7% (norm 78.2%) · Body 6.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 3.3% (norm 7.9%)

BJ Penn

Head 88.0% (norm 78.2%) · Body 9.1% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 3.0% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Thomas L/AAccLightweight med Penn L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 102 / 361 28.3% 37.9% 628 / 1594 39.4% 37.9%
In the clinch 60 / 90 66.7% 67.3% 210 / 279 75.3% 67.3%
On the ground 20 / 32 62.5% 69.1% 161 / 228 70.6% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 147 / 438 33.6% 35.0% 783 / 1848 42.4% 35.0%
To the body 20 / 29 69.0% 69.1% 162 / 191 84.8% 69.1%
To the legs 15 / 16 too few to rate 81.9% 54 / 62 87.1% 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 Thomas L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Penn L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 80 / 340 23.5% 38.9% 849 / 2259 37.6% 38.9%
In the clinch 61 / 92 66.3% 68.6% 170 / 280 60.7% 68.6%
On the ground 114 / 191 59.7% 68.0% 220 / 334 65.9% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 169 / 518 32.6% 35.1% 793 / 2236 35.5% 35.1%
To the body 44 / 54 81.5% 68.1% 242 / 360 67.2% 68.1%
To the legs 42 / 51 82.4% 81.5% 204 / 277 73.6% 81.5%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
952.9% acc · 1.38/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
2657.8% acc · 1.09/15 · norm 1.38
4676.7% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
10976.2% def · norm 64.0%
22:2722.9% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
58:0516.3% of cage time · norm 19.5%
34:435:18 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
103:454:22 per 15 · norm 2:46
81.22/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
120.51/15 · norm 0.49

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