BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Aljamain Sterling vs.
Brett Johns

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

18-5-0 Aljamain Sterling · UFC
5-2-0 Brett Johns · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

18-5-0
UFC record
5-2-0
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Bantamweight
37
AgeΔ 2.5 yrs
34.5
5'7"
HeightΔ 0"
5'7"
71"
ReachΔ 0"
71"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
3.4
Layoff (months)Δ 69.2 mo
72.6
WWLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
WWLLW
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.

Brett Johns hunts takedowns — 4.92 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.12 Bantamweight norm.
Brett Johns is a submission threat — 1.02 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Bantamweight norm.
Aljamain Sterling is a submission threat — 0.64 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.

Aljamain Sterling

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 185
Tier 3 — regional circuit 80

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.61 · 18 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 31 documented bouts

In the UFC: 16-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.3 wins over .500

Brett Johns

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

In the UFC: 1-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.0 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

14074.26/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
2532.86/min · norm 3.52
7102.15/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
3393.84/min · norm 3.58
52.6%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
49.0%norm 43.4%
59.2%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
53.4%norm 56.6%
00.00/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · norm 0.30

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

Aljamain Sterling

Distance 77.2% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 10.1% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 12.7% (norm 6.5%)

Brett Johns

Distance 72.1% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 7.4% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 20.5% (norm 6.5%)

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

Aljamain Sterling

Head 64.0% (norm 77.4%) · Body 23.3% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 12.7% (norm 8.4%)

Brett Johns

Head 91.1% (norm 77.4%) · Body 6.8% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 2.1% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Sterling L/AAccBantamweight med Johns L/AAccBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 941 / 2066 45.5% 39.0% 136 / 372 36.6% 39.0%
In the clinch 209 / 270 77.4% 68.7% 32 / 38 84.2% 68.7%
On the ground 257 / 339 75.8% 70.2% 85 / 106 80.2% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 703 / 1712 41.1% 34.9% 222 / 470 47.2% 34.9%
To the body 443 / 622 71.2% 66.8% 23 / 35 65.7% 66.8%
To the legs 261 / 341 76.5% 79.4% 8 / 11 too few to rate 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 Sterling L/AOpp accBantamweight med vs Johns L/AOpp accBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 567 / 1534 37.0% 39.3% 217 / 551 39.4% 39.3%
In the clinch 92 / 134 68.7% 70.4% 79 / 107 73.8% 70.4%
On the ground 51 / 71 71.8% 72.4% 43 / 70 61.4% 72.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 355 / 1230 28.9% 34.9% 200 / 540 37.0% 34.9%
To the body 190 / 302 62.9% 66.0% 78 / 114 68.4% 66.0%
To the legs 165 / 207 79.7% 79.1% 61 / 74 82.4% 79.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

5632.2% acc · 2.54/15 · norm 1.12
Takedowns landed
2949.2% acc · 4.92/15 · norm 1.12
2244.9% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
1458.3% def · norm 66.7%
109:3333.1% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
45:0451.0% of cage time · norm 17.4%
56:062:32 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
12:512:10 per 15 · norm 2:24
140.64/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
61.02/15 · norm 0.28

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.