BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Ian Loveland 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.

1-2-0 Ian Loveland · UFC
15-6-0 Joseph Benavidez · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

1-2-0
UFC record
15-6-0
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Flyweight
42.9
AgeΔ 0.9 yrs
42
5'8"
HeightΔ 4"
5'4"
Reach
65"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
179.3
Layoff (months)Δ 114.3 mo
65
LLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWW
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.

Ian Loveland carries real power — 0.67 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.30 Bantamweight norm.
Joseph Benavidez carries real power — 0.37 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.18 Flyweight norm.
Ian Loveland defends head shots well — opponents land just 20%, vs a 35% Bantamweight 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.

Ian Loveland

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

In the UFC: 0-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record -0.3 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

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

1222.71/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
9383.91/min · norm 3.49
1062.36/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
7223.01/min · norm 3.24
40.1%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
36.9%norm 44.6%
64.9%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
57.1%norm 56.4%
20.67/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
60.37/15 · norm 0.18

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

Ian Loveland

Distance 78.9% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 8.2% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 12.8% (norm 6.5%)

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)

Ian Loveland

Head 90.5% (norm 77.4%) · Body 8.2% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 1.3% (norm 8.4%)

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 Loveland L/AAccBantamweight med Benavidez L/AAccFlyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 91 / 240 37.9% 39.0% 764 / 2271 33.6% 40.0%
In the clinch 13 / 25 52.0% 68.7% 111 / 174 63.8% 70.4%
On the ground 18 / 39 46.2% 70.2% 63 / 98 64.3% 69.7%
BY TARGET
To the head 99 / 275 36.0% 34.9% 505 / 1810 27.9% 37.6%
To the body 20 / 25 80.0% 66.8% 243 / 431 56.4% 68.5%
To the legs 3 / 4 too few to rate 79.4% 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 (Bantamweight: 117 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 Loveland L/AOpp accBantamweight med vs Benavidez L/AOpp accFlyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 97 / 288 33.7% 39.3% 536 / 1429 37.5% 40.1%
In the clinch 5 / 8 too few to rate 70.4% 126 / 182 69.2% 68.8%
On the ground 4 / 6 too few to rate 72.4% 60 / 71 84.5% 71.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 39 / 197 19.8% 34.9% 439 / 1292 34.0% 35.2%
To the body 43 / 62 69.4% 66.0% 206 / 289 71.3% 68.2%
To the legs 24 / 43 55.8% 79.1% 77 / 101 76.2% 80.3%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

337.5% acc · 1.00/15 · norm 1.12
Takedowns landed
2430.8% acc · 1.50/15 · norm 1.30
1669.6% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
5767.9% def · norm 62.5%
9:0920.3% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
40:5517.0% of cage time · norm 17.0%
4:471:35 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
20:421:17 per 15 · norm 2:44
10.33/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
40.25/15 · norm 0.58

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.