TJ Dillashaw vs. Walel Watson
Tale of the tape
The read
Level of competition
TJ Dillashaw
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 13 | 5 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 4 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.57 · 13 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 22 documented bouts
In the UFC: 9-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.8 wins over .500
Walel Watson
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 1 | 3 |
| Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) | 0 | 1 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 14 | 11 |
Tier-weighted record quality: -0.18 · 1 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 30 documented bouts
In the UFC: 0-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record -0.5 wins over .500
Striking
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
TJ Dillashaw
Distance 84.3% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 6.3% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 9.4% (norm 6.5%)
Walel Watson
Distance 93.5% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 1.3% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 5.2% (norm 6.5%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
TJ Dillashaw
Head 81.4% (norm 77.4%) · Body 8.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 9.9% (norm 8.4%)
Walel Watson
Head 74.6% (norm 77.4%) · Body 11.2% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 14.2% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Dillashaw L/A | Acc | Bantamweight med | Watson L/A | Acc | Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 820 / 2303 | 35.6% | 39.0% | 57 / 217 | 26.3% | 39.0% |
| In the clinch | 113 / 172 | 65.7% | 68.7% | 3 / 3 | too few to rate | 68.7% |
| On the ground | 190 / 257 | 73.9% | 70.2% | 8 / 12 | too few to rate | 70.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 748 / 2225 | 33.6% | 34.9% | 37 / 173 | 21.4% | 34.9% |
| To the body | 163 / 237 | 68.8% | 66.8% | 13 / 26 | 50.0% | 66.8% |
| To the legs | 212 / 270 | 78.5% | 79.4% | 18 / 33 | 54.5% | 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 Dillashaw L/A | Opp acc | Bantamweight med | vs Watson L/A | Opp acc | Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 633 / 1824 | 34.7% | 39.3% | 42 / 110 | 38.2% | 39.3% |
| In the clinch | 52 / 96 | 54.2% | 70.4% | 1 / 2 | too few to rate | 70.4% |
| On the ground | 81 / 98 | 82.7% | 72.4% | 80 / 106 | 75.5% | 72.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 545 / 1664 | 32.8% | 34.9% | 90 / 165 | 54.5% | 34.9% |
| To the body | 132 / 236 | 55.9% | 66.0% | 10 / 16 | too few to rate | 66.0% |
| To the legs | 89 / 118 | 75.4% | 79.1% | 23 / 37 | 62.2% | 79.1% |
Grappling
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Dillashaw has more cage time on record.