Benson Henderson vs.
Josh Thomson
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.
Benson Henderson
Full career not yet synced for Benson Henderson — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 10-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.5 wins over .500
Josh Thomson
Full career not yet synced for Josh Thomson — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 2-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.7 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)
Benson Henderson
Distance 74.4% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 12.3% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 13.3% (norm 8.0%)
Josh Thomson
Distance 73.3% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 13.8% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 12.9% (norm 8.0%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Benson Henderson
Head 66.8% (norm 78.2%) · Body 17.9% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 15.3% (norm 7.9%)
Josh Thomson
Head 68.5% (norm 78.2%) · Body 14.4% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 17.1% (norm 7.9%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Henderson L/A | Acc | Lightweight med | Thomson L/A | Acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 520 / 1340 | 38.8% | 37.9% | 128 / 335 | 38.2% | 37.9% |
| In the clinch | 154 / 222 | 69.4% | 67.3% | 37 / 63 | 58.7% | 67.3% |
| On the ground | 152 / 239 | 63.6% | 69.1% | 32 / 59 | 54.2% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 362 / 1203 | 30.1% | 35.0% | 98 / 313 | 31.3% | 35.0% |
| To the body | 247 / 323 | 76.5% | 69.1% | 41 / 66 | 62.1% | 69.1% |
| To the legs | 217 / 275 | 78.9% | 81.9% | 58 / 78 | 74.4% | 81.9% |
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 (Lightweight: 201 fighters · Lightweight: 201 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 Henderson L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med | vs Thomson L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 364 / 1172 | 31.1% | 38.9% | 168 / 416 | 40.4% | 38.9% |
| In the clinch | 104 / 157 | 66.2% | 68.6% | 36 / 50 | 72.0% | 68.6% |
| On the ground | 17 / 40 | 42.5% | 68.0% | 43 / 56 | 76.8% | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 216 / 984 | 22.0% | 35.1% | 131 / 339 | 38.6% | 35.1% |
| To the body | 166 / 250 | 66.4% | 68.1% | 65 / 113 | 57.5% | 68.1% |
| To the legs | 103 / 135 | 76.3% | 81.5% | 51 / 70 | 72.9% | 81.5% |
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 — Henderson has more cage time on record.