BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Ben Rothwell vs.
Blagoy Ivanov

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

9-8-0 Ben Rothwell · UFC
3-5-0 Blagoy Ivanov · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

9-8-0
UFC record
3-5-0
Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Heavyweight
44.8
AgeΔ 5 yrs
39.8
6'4"
HeightΔ 5"
5'11"
78"
ReachΔ 5"
73"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
56.7
Layoff (months)Δ 19.5 mo
37.2
LWLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWLL
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.

Ben Rothwell is a submission threat — 0.53 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.16 Heavyweight norm.
Ben Rothwell absorbs 5.21 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.19 Heavyweight norm — hittable.
Blagoy Ivanov absorbs 4.20 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.19 Heavyweight norm — hittable.
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.

Ben Rothwell

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

In the UFC: 6-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.5 wins over .500

Blagoy Ivanov

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

In the UFC: 3-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.0 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

6813.99/min · norm 3.36
Sig. strikes landed
4223.25/min · norm 3.36
8895.21/min · norm 3.19
Sig. strikes absorbed
5464.20/min · norm 3.19
43.3%norm 47.8%
Striking accuracy
40.5%norm 47.8%
44.7%norm 52.5%
Striking defense
53.5%norm 52.5%
40.35/15 · norm 0.28
Knockdowns
10.12/15 · norm 0.28

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

Ben Rothwell

Distance 86.4% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 8.3% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 5.3% (norm 9.3%)

Blagoy Ivanov

Distance 94.2% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 4.9% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 0.9% (norm 9.3%)

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

Ben Rothwell

Head 86.1% (norm 79.2%) · Body 8.7% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 5.2% (norm 7.6%)

Blagoy Ivanov

Head 89.5% (norm 79.2%) · Body 9.7% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 0.8% (norm 7.6%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Rothwell L/AAccHeavyweight med Ivanov L/AAccHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 537 / 1358 39.5% 40.1% 377 / 982 38.4% 40.1%
In the clinch 86 / 130 66.2% 70.6% 37 / 51 72.5% 70.6%
On the ground 58 / 84 69.0% 70.2% 8 / 9 too few to rate 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 496 / 1354 36.6% 38.9% 329 / 933 35.3% 38.9%
To the body 109 / 136 80.1% 76.8% 85 / 101 84.2% 76.8%
To the legs 76 / 82 92.7% 87.8% 8 / 8 too few to rate 87.8%

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 (Heavyweight: 93 fighters · Heavyweight: 93 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 Rothwell L/AOpp accHeavyweight med vs Ivanov L/AOpp accHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 736 / 1373 53.6% 40.7% 471 / 1061 44.4% 40.7%
In the clinch 57 / 94 60.6% 70.6% 65 / 97 67.0% 70.6%
On the ground 96 / 141 68.1% 72.0% 10 / 16 too few to rate 72.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 557 / 1234 45.1% 38.8% 318 / 876 36.3% 38.8%
To the body 246 / 281 87.5% 75.1% 137 / 196 69.9% 75.1%
To the legs 86 / 93 92.5% 84.4% 91 / 102 89.2% 84.4%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

932.1% acc · 0.79/15 · norm 0.95
Takedowns landed
640.0% acc · 0.69/15 · norm 0.95
1659.3% def · norm 64.3%
Takedowns stopped
861.5% def · norm 64.3%
32:1718.9% of cage time · norm 17.2%
Control time
11:028.5% of cage time · norm 17.2%
19:491:44 per 15 · norm 2:28
Time under control
16:231:53 per 15 · norm 2:28
60.53/15 · norm 0.16
Submission attempts
10.12/15 · norm 0.16

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.