Joe Riggs vs. Nick Diaz

UFC 5-7-0 vs. 7-7-0 (1 NC)

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
5-7-0
UFC record
7-7-0 (1 NC)
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
43
AgeΔ 0 yrs
43
6'0"
HeightΔ 1"
6'1"
70"
ReachΔ 6"
76"
Southpaw
Stance
Southpaw
125.5
Layoff (months)Δ 67.1 mo
58.4
LWLLL
Last 5 (newest first)
LNCLLW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Joe Riggs hunts takedowns — 2.92 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.
Nick Diaz is a submission threat — 0.95 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.45 Welterweight norm.
Joe Riggs owns the mat — in control 33% of cage time, vs a 18% Welterweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Joe Riggs

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 68
Tier 3 — regional circuit 4310

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.67 · 6 tier-1/2 wins · 44 finish wins over 70 documented bouts

In the UFC: 1-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.6 wins over .500

Nick Diaz

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 77
Tier 3 — regional circuit 173

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.88 · 7 tier-1/2 wins · 19 finish wins over 36 documented bouts

In the UFC: 2-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.1 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

1652.47/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
8724.26/min · norm 3.17
1281.92/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
7963.89/min · norm 3.06
50.8%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
41.7%norm 44.9%
52.4%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
54.1%norm 55.25%
10.22/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
30.22/15 · norm 0.38

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

Joe Riggs

Distance 46.2% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 19.1% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 34.8% (norm 8.1%)

Nick Diaz

Distance 82.8% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 11.7% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 5.5% (norm 8.1%)

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

Joe Riggs

Head 88.6% (norm 78.2%) · Body 8.0% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 3.4% (norm 8.4%)

Nick Diaz

Head 80.8% (norm 78.2%) · Body 14.7% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 4.5% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Riggs L/AAccWelterweight med Diaz L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 62 / 150 41.3% 38.6% 658 / 1734 37.9% 38.6%
In the clinch 37 / 62 59.7% 67.8% 155 / 244 63.5% 67.8%
On the ground 66 / 113 58.4% 67.2% 59 / 115 51.3% 67.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 136 / 288 47.2% 37.2% 605 / 1691 35.8% 37.2%
To the body 19 / 26 73.1% 70.7% 212 / 307 69.1% 70.7%
To the legs 10 / 11 too few to rate 82.9% 55 / 95 57.9% 82.9%

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 (Welterweight: 182 fighters · Welterweight: 182 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 Riggs L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Diaz L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 59 / 173 34.1% 39.0% 574 / 1290 44.5% 39.0%
In the clinch 47 / 66 71.2% 68.9% 132 / 245 53.9% 68.9%
On the ground 22 / 30 73.3% 68.0% 90 / 201 44.8% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 77 / 192 40.1% 35.6% 507 / 1389 36.5% 35.6%
To the body 30 / 47 63.8% 69.6% 149 / 179 83.2% 69.6%
To the legs 21 / 30 70.0% 82.1% 140 / 168 83.3% 82.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1361.9% acc · 2.92/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
1434.1% acc · 1.03/15 · norm 1.27
1872.0% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
4962.8% def · norm 63.9%
22:0833.2% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
29:3014.4% of cage time · norm 18.5%
17:023:49 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
48:443:34 per 15 · norm 3:15
20.45/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
130.95/15 · norm 0.45

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