BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Ismael Bonfim vs.
Benoit Saint Denis

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 Ismael Bonfim · UFC
9-4-0 Benoit Saint Denis · 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
9-4-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
30
AgeΔ 0 yrs
30
5'8"
HeightΔ 3"
5'11"
71"
ReachΔ 2"
73"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
0.4
Layoff (months)Δ 0.5 mo
0.9
LLLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LWWWW
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.

Benoit Saint Denis is a submission threat — 1.73 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.49 Lightweight norm.
Benoit Saint Denis carries real power — 0.86 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
Ismael Bonfim outworks the Lightweight division — 4.92 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.42 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.

Ismael Bonfim

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 81
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 20
Tier 3 — regional circuit 100

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.87 · 10 tier-1/2 wins · 17 finish wins over 21 documented bouts

In the UFC: 2-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.0 wins over .500

Benoit Saint Denis

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 94
Tier 3 — regional circuit 80

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.53 · 9 tier-1/2 wins · 17 finish wins over 22 documented bouts

In the UFC: 6-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.9 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

2284.92/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
4845.58/min · norm 3.42
1984.27/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
3554.09/min · norm 3.37
54.5%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
58.5%norm 43.5%
53.2%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
42.0%norm 56.3%
10.32/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
50.86/15 · norm 0.25

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

Ismael Bonfim

Distance 93.8% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 5.3% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 1.0% (norm 8.0%)

Benoit Saint Denis

Distance 59.2% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 12.7% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 28.1% (norm 8.0%)

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

Ismael Bonfim

Head 77.3% (norm 78.2%) · Body 13.6% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 9.1% (norm 7.9%)

Benoit Saint Denis

Head 74.2% (norm 78.2%) · Body 19.3% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 6.5% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Bonfim L/AAccLightweight med Denis L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 206 / 392 52.6% 37.9% 245 / 490 50.0% 37.9%
In the clinch 19 / 22 too few to rate 67.3% 87 / 105 82.9% 67.3%
On the ground 3 / 4 too few to rate 69.1% 152 / 233 65.2% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 146 / 323 45.2% 35.0% 304 / 614 49.5% 35.0%
To the body 48 / 57 84.2% 69.1% 128 / 160 80.0% 69.1%
To the legs 34 / 38 89.5% 81.9% 52 / 54 96.3% 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 Bonfim L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Denis L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 140 / 345 40.6% 38.9% 259 / 489 53.0% 38.9%
In the clinch 34 / 40 85.0% 68.6% 55 / 79 69.6% 68.6%
On the ground 24 / 38 63.2% 68.0% 41 / 44 93.2% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 112 / 291 38.5% 35.1% 241 / 479 50.3% 35.1%
To the body 42 / 69 60.9% 68.1% 78 / 94 83.0% 68.1%
To the legs 44 / 63 69.8% 81.5% 36 / 39 92.3% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

433.3% acc · 1.30/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
2435.3% acc · 4.15/15 · norm 1.38
872.7% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
1372.2% def · norm 64.0%
3:468.1% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
40:5847.2% of cage time · norm 19.5%
11:413:47 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
10:191:46 per 15 · norm 2:46
00.00/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
101.73/15 · norm 0.49

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.