Demetrious Johnson vs.
Joseph Benavidez
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.
Demetrious Johnson
Full career not yet synced for Demetrious Johnson — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 12-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.4 wins over .500
Joseph Benavidez
Full career not yet synced for Joseph Benavidez — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 10-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.2 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)
Demetrious Johnson
Distance 70.1% (norm 85.1%) · Clinch 21.7% (norm 6.0%) · Ground 8.2% (norm 7.3%)
Joseph Benavidez
Distance 89.3% (norm 85.1%) · Clinch 6.8% (norm 6.0%) · Ground 3.9% (norm 7.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Demetrious Johnson
Head 60.9% (norm 75.9%) · Body 21.9% (norm 13.3%) · Legs 17.2% (norm 9.3%)
Joseph Benavidez
Head 71.2% (norm 75.9%) · Body 16.9% (norm 13.3%) · Legs 11.9% (norm 9.3%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Johnson L/A | Acc | Flyweight med | Benavidez L/A | Acc | Flyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 665 / 1509 | 44.1% | 40.0% | 764 / 2271 | 33.6% | 40.0% |
| In the clinch | 359 / 468 | 76.7% | 70.4% | 111 / 174 | 63.8% | 70.4% |
| On the ground | 149 / 177 | 84.2% | 69.7% | 63 / 98 | 64.3% | 69.7% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 533 / 1311 | 40.7% | 37.6% | 505 / 1810 | 27.9% | 37.6% |
| To the body | 369 / 472 | 78.2% | 68.5% | 243 / 431 | 56.4% | 68.5% |
| To the legs | 271 / 371 | 73.0% | 80.0% | 190 / 302 | 62.9% | 80.0% |
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 (Flyweight: 73 fighters · Flyweight: 73 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 Johnson L/A | Opp acc | Flyweight med | vs Benavidez L/A | Opp acc | Flyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 350 / 1431 | 24.5% | 40.1% | 536 / 1429 | 37.5% | 40.1% |
| In the clinch | 200 / 292 | 68.5% | 68.8% | 126 / 182 | 69.2% | 68.8% |
| On the ground | 32 / 49 | 65.3% | 71.1% | 60 / 71 | 84.5% | 71.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 249 / 1270 | 19.6% | 35.2% | 439 / 1292 | 34.0% | 35.2% |
| To the body | 223 / 333 | 67.0% | 68.2% | 206 / 289 | 71.3% | 68.2% |
| To the legs | 110 / 169 | 65.1% | 80.3% | 77 / 101 | 76.2% | 80.3% |
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 — Benavidez has more cage time on record.