Paulo Thiago vs. Sean Spencer

UFC 5-8-0 vs. 3-5-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
5-8-0
UFC record
3-5-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
45
AgeΔ 6 yrs
39
5'11"
HeightΔ 1"
5'10"
74"
ReachΔ 0"
74"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
142.8
Layoff (months)Δ 23.9 mo
118.9
LLLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWL

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Paulo Thiago is a submission threat — 1.21 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.45 Welterweight norm.
Sean Spencer rarely shoots — 0.14 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.
Paulo Thiago is hard to hit — absorbs 1.99 sig. strikes per minute, vs a 3.06 Welterweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Paulo Thiago

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 58
Tier 3 — regional circuit 123

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.55 · 5 tier-1/2 wins · 10 finish wins over 28 documented bouts

In the UFC: 2-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.8 wins over .500

Sean Spencer

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 45
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 11
Tier 3 — regional circuit 71

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.54 · 5 tier-1/2 wins · 4 finish wins over 19 documented bouts

In the UFC: 0-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.2 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

2541.71/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
4564.24/min · norm 3.17
2951.99/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
4324.02/min · norm 3.06
39.1%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
32.4%norm 44.9%
63.5%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
60.7%norm 55.25%
40.40/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
30.42/15 · norm 0.38

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

Paulo Thiago

Distance 76.3% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 14.6% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 9.1% (norm 8.1%)

Sean Spencer

Distance 92.6% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 6.0% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 1.4% (norm 8.1%)

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

Paulo Thiago

Head 81.7% (norm 78.2%) · Body 13.1% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 5.2% (norm 8.4%)

Sean Spencer

Head 87.1% (norm 78.2%) · Body 9.7% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 3.2% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Thiago L/AAccWelterweight med Spencer L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 151 / 495 30.5% 38.6% 391 / 1302 30.0% 38.6%
In the clinch 73 / 95 76.8% 67.8% 49 / 84 58.3% 67.8%
On the ground 30 / 59 50.8% 67.2% 16 / 20 too few to rate 67.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 156 / 530 29.4% 37.2% 345 / 1225 28.2% 37.2%
To the body 65 / 85 76.5% 70.7% 77 / 136 56.6% 70.7%
To the legs 33 / 34 97.1% 82.9% 34 / 45 75.6% 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 Thiago L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Spencer L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 168 / 611 27.5% 39.0% 332 / 947 35.1% 39.0%
In the clinch 29 / 52 55.8% 68.9% 60 / 97 61.9% 68.9%
On the ground 98 / 146 67.1% 68.0% 40 / 56 71.4% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 199 / 642 31.0% 35.6% 278 / 898 31.0% 35.6%
To the body 48 / 86 55.8% 69.6% 54 / 98 55.1% 69.6%
To the legs 48 / 81 59.3% 82.1% 100 / 104 96.2% 82.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1431.8% acc · 1.42/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
133.3% acc · 0.14/15 · norm 1.27
3063.8% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
4069.0% def · norm 63.9%
22:3815.3% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
7:006.5% of cage time · norm 18.5%
62:026:16 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
23:143:14 per 15 · norm 3:15
121.21/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.45

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