BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Brian Johnston vs.
Ken Shamrock

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

2-4-0 Brian Johnston · UFC
6-5-2 Ken Shamrock · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

2-4-0
UFC record
6-5-2
Open Weight
Division (benchmark)
Open Weight
Age
62.5
6'3"
HeightΔ 2"
6'1"
Reach
72"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
348.3
Layoff (months)Δ 110.5 mo
237.8
LLLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWL
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.

Brian Johnston absorbs 3.03 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 1.68 Open Weight norm — hittable.
Brian Johnston's takedown defense leaks — 20% stopped, vs a 67% Open Weight norm.
Ken Shamrock is wasteful with strikes at range — only 16% land, vs a 28% Open Weight 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.

Brian Johnston

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

In the UFC: 0-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.5 wins over .500

Ken Shamrock

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

In the UFC: 1-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.5 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

291.63/min · norm 1.46
Sig. strikes landed
1171.55/min · norm 1.46
543.03/min · norm 1.68
Sig. strikes absorbed
1642.17/min · norm 1.68
54.7%norm 45.8%
Striking accuracy
41.1%norm 45.8%
40.0%norm 49.0%
Striking defense
50.5%norm 49.0%
00.00/15 · norm 0.00
Knockdowns
10.20/15 · norm 0.00

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

Brian Johnston

Distance 39.6% (norm 50.2%) · Clinch 39.6% (norm 14.9%) · Ground 20.8% (norm 28.7%)

Ken Shamrock

Distance 51.2% (norm 50.2%) · Clinch 14.0% (norm 14.9%) · Ground 34.7% (norm 28.7%)

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

Brian Johnston

Head 73.6% (norm 81.2%) · Body 13.2% (norm 8.0%) · Legs 13.2% (norm 5.2%)

Ken Shamrock

Head 85.3% (norm 81.2%) · Body 11.9% (norm 8.0%) · Legs 2.8% (norm 5.2%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Johnston L/AAccOpen Weight med Shamrock L/AAccOpen Weight med
BY POSITION
At distance 8 / 21 too few to rate 27.8% 23 / 146 15.8% 27.8%
In the clinch 14 / 21 too few to rate 63.8% 27 / 40 67.5% 63.8%
On the ground 7 / 11 too few to rate 65.8% 67 / 99 67.7% 65.8%
BY TARGET
To the head 18 / 39 46.2% 39.3% 79 / 243 32.5% 39.3%
To the body 5 / 7 too few to rate 90.5% 30 / 34 88.2% 90.5%
To the legs 6 / 7 too few to rate 53.5% 8 / 8 too few to rate 53.5%

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 (Open Weight: 11 fighters · Open Weight: 11 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 Johnston L/AOpp accOpen Weight med vs Shamrock L/AOpp accOpen Weight med
BY POSITION
At distance 4 / 14 too few to rate 37.0% 49 / 165 29.7% 37.0%
In the clinch 8 / 13 too few to rate 66.7% 38 / 57 66.7% 66.7%
On the ground 42 / 63 66.7% 67.1% 77 / 109 70.6% 67.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 45 / 81 55.6% 47.0% 134 / 288 46.5% 47.0%
To the body 8 / 8 too few to rate 87.9% 17 / 20 too few to rate 87.9%
To the legs 1 / 1 too few to rate 61.2% 13 / 23 too few to rate 61.2%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

266.7% acc · 1.69/15 · norm 1.15
Takedowns landed
763.6% acc · 1.39/15 · norm 1.15
120.0% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
1066.7% def · norm 66.7%
— of cage time · norm 21.95%
Control time
0:392.8% of cage time · norm 21.95%
— per 15 · norm 0:39
Time under control
14:002:46 per 15 · norm 0:39
10.84/15 · norm 1.34
Submission attempts
91.78/15 · norm 1.34

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.