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Edson Barboza vs. Beneil Dariush

UFC 18-15-0 vs. 17-8-1

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
18-15-0
UFC record
17-8-1
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
40
AgeΔ 3 yrs
37
5'11"
HeightΔ 1"
5'10"
75"
ReachΔ 3"
72"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
2.2
Layoff (months)Δ 3.4 mo
5.6
LLLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWLL

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Edson Barboza carries real power — 0.62 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
Beneil Dariush owns the mat — in control 41% of cage time, vs a 19% Lightweight norm.
Beneil Dariush carries real power — 0.47 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Edson Barboza

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1814
Tier 3 — regional circuit 60

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.06 · 18 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 38 documented bouts

In the UFC: 13-13 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.2 wins over .500

Beneil Dariush

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 178
Tier 3 — regional circuit 60

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.28 · 17 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 32 documented bouts

In the UFC: 13-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.0 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

16164.15/min · norm 3.44
Sig. strikes landed
8363.74/min · norm 3.44
18554.76/min · norm 3.38
Sig. strikes absorbed lower is better
5892.63/min · norm 3.38
44.7%norm 43.65%
Striking accuracy
49.1%norm 43.65%
55.5%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
57.2%norm 56.3%
160.62/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
70.47/15 · norm 0.25

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

Edson Barboza

Distance 94.7% (norm 83.1%) · Clinch 2.7% (norm 7.3%) · Ground 2.5% (norm 8.0%)

Beneil Dariush

Distance 75.8% (norm 83.1%) · Clinch 11.3% (norm 7.3%) · Ground 12.8% (norm 8.0%)

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

Edson Barboza

Head 65.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 20.4% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 14.1% (norm 8.0%)

Beneil Dariush

Head 74.7% (norm 78.0%) · Body 15.9% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 9.3% (norm 8.0%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Barboza L/AAccLightweight med Dariush L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1476 / 3425 43.1% 38.3% 561 / 1290 43.5% 38.3%
In the clinch 80 / 98 81.6% 67.5% 128 / 193 66.3% 67.5%
On the ground 60 / 92 65.2% 68.8% 147 / 218 67.4% 68.8%
BY TARGET
To the head 707 / 2371 29.8% 35.1% 505 / 1271 39.7% 35.1%
To the body 511 / 736 69.4% 69.1% 191 / 271 70.5% 69.1%
To the legs 398 / 508 78.3% 81.8% 140 / 159 88.1% 81.8%

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 (Lightweight: 204 fighters · Lightweight: 204 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 Barboza L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Dariush L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1494 / 3662 40.8% 38.8% 437 / 1177 37.1% 38.8%
In the clinch 90 / 134 67.2% 68.6% 93 / 126 73.8% 68.6%
On the ground 271 / 374 72.5% 68.0% 59 / 74 79.7% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 1343 / 3460 38.8% 35.2% 378 / 1073 35.2% 35.2%
To the body 254 / 398 63.8% 68.2% 155 / 240 64.6% 68.2%
To the legs 258 / 312 82.7% 81.5% 56 / 64 87.5% 81.5%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1150.0% acc · 0.42/15 · norm 1.34
Takedowns landed
3338.4% acc · 2.21/15 · norm 1.34
7673.1% def · norm 63.7%
Takedowns stopped
4382.7% def · norm 63.7%
24:396.3% of cage time · norm 18.95%
Control time
90:5940.7% of cage time · norm 18.95%
67:122:35 per 15 · norm 2:50
Time under control lower is better
19:481:19 per 15 · norm 2:50
20.08/15 · norm 0.48
Submission attempts
120.81/15 · norm 0.48

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