BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Jake Ellenberger vs.
Ben Saunders

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

10-11-0 Jake Ellenberger · UFC
9-10-0 Ben Saunders · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

10-11-0
UFC record
9-10-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
41.4
AgeΔ 1.9 yrs
43.3
5'9"
HeightΔ 5"
6'2"
71"
ReachΔ 6"
77"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
95.4
Layoff (months)Δ 15.7 mo
79.7
LLLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLW
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.

Ben Saunders is a submission threat — 1.30 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.45 Welterweight norm.
Jake Ellenberger carries real power — 0.98 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.38 Welterweight norm.
Ben Saunders rarely shoots — 0.20 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight 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.

Jake Ellenberger

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

In the UFC: 7-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.7 wins over .500

Ben Saunders

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

In the UFC: 4-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.8 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4172.47/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
4863.23/min · norm 3.17
4782.83/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
5383.58/min · norm 3.06
39.3%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
50.2%norm 44.9%
60.7%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
51.1%norm 55.25%
110.98/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
30.30/15 · norm 0.38

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

Jake Ellenberger

Distance 74.6% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 12.2% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 13.2% (norm 8.1%)

Ben Saunders

Distance 71.9% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 23.0% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 5.1% (norm 8.1%)

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

Jake Ellenberger

Head 86.0% (norm 78.2%) · Body 9.5% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 4.4% (norm 8.4%)

Ben Saunders

Head 66.2% (norm 78.2%) · Body 27.6% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 6.2% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Ellenberger L/AAccWelterweight med Saunders L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 259 / 791 32.7% 38.6% 285 / 696 40.9% 38.6%
In the clinch 83 / 129 64.3% 67.8% 160 / 223 71.7% 67.8%
On the ground 75 / 140 53.6% 67.2% 41 / 49 83.7% 67.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 307 / 912 33.7% 37.2% 247 / 641 38.5% 37.2%
To the body 72 / 101 71.3% 70.7% 188 / 267 70.4% 70.7%
To the legs 38 / 47 80.9% 82.9% 51 / 60 85.0% 82.9%

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 (Welterweight: 182 fighters · Welterweight: 182 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 Ellenberger L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Saunders L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 338 / 1002 33.7% 39.0% 288 / 715 40.3% 39.0%
In the clinch 73 / 112 65.2% 68.9% 108 / 178 60.7% 68.9%
On the ground 67 / 102 65.7% 68.0% 142 / 208 68.3% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 314 / 986 31.8% 35.6% 374 / 880 42.5% 35.6%
To the body 88 / 137 64.2% 69.6% 64 / 103 62.1% 69.6%
To the legs 76 / 93 81.7% 82.1% 100 / 118 84.7% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

2347.9% acc · 2.04/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
240.0% acc · 0.20/15 · norm 1.27
2586.2% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
3266.7% def · norm 63.9%
34:4320.5% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
15:5810.6% of cage time · norm 18.5%
19:501:45 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
69:286:55 per 15 · norm 3:15
40.36/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
131.30/15 · norm 0.45

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.