Ben Saunders vs.
Ryan Thomas
Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.
The men, measured.
Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.
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.
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 Saunders
Full career not yet synced for Ben Saunders — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 4-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.8 wins over .500
Ryan Thomas
Full career not yet synced for Ryan Thomas — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.5 wins over .500
The stand-up battle.
Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Ben Saunders
Distance 71.9% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 23.0% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 5.1% (norm 8.1%)
Ryan Thomas
Distance 69.3% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 17.3% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 13.3% (norm 8.1%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Ben Saunders
Head 66.2% (norm 78.2%) · Body 27.6% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 6.2% (norm 8.4%)
Ryan Thomas
Head 77.3% (norm 78.2%) · Body 13.3% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 9.3% (norm 8.4%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Saunders L/A | Acc | Welterweight med | Thomas L/A | Acc | Welterweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 285 / 696 | 40.9% | 38.6% | 12 / 52 | 23.1% | 38.6% |
| In the clinch | 160 / 223 | 71.7% | 67.8% | 5 / 13 | too few to rate | 67.8% |
| On the ground | 41 / 49 | 83.7% | 67.2% | 10 / 10 | too few to rate | 67.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 247 / 641 | 38.5% | 37.2% | 15 / 58 | 25.9% | 37.2% |
| To the body | 188 / 267 | 70.4% | 70.7% | 7 / 10 | too few to rate | 70.7% |
| To the legs | 51 / 60 | 85.0% | 82.9% | 5 / 7 | too few to rate | 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 Saunders L/A | Opp acc | Welterweight med | vs Thomas L/A | Opp acc | Welterweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 288 / 715 | 40.3% | 39.0% | 36 / 59 | 61.0% | 39.0% |
| In the clinch | 108 / 178 | 60.7% | 68.9% | 11 / 13 | too few to rate | 68.9% |
| On the ground | 142 / 208 | 68.3% | 68.0% | 9 / 9 | too few to rate | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 374 / 880 | 42.5% | 35.6% | 29 / 52 | 55.8% | 35.6% |
| To the body | 64 / 103 | 62.1% | 69.6% | 23 / 25 | 92.0% | 69.6% |
| To the legs | 100 / 118 | 84.7% | 82.1% | 4 / 4 | too few to rate | 82.1% |
The ground war.
Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Saunders has more cage time on record.