BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

John Cholish vs.
Mitch Clarke

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 John Cholish · UFC
2-5-0 Mitch Clarke · 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
2-5-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
42.6
AgeΔ 1.9 yrs
40.7
5'11"
HeightΔ 1"
5'10"
74"
ReachΔ 1"
73"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
158.6
Layoff (months)Δ 51.7 mo
106.9
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.

Mitch Clarke rarely shoots — 0.64 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 Lightweight norm.
John Cholish defends strikes at range well — opponents land just 20%, vs a 39% Lightweight norm.
John Cholish defends head shots well — opponents land just 19%, vs a 35% Lightweight 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.

John Cholish

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

In the UFC: 0-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.0 wins over .500

Mitch Clarke

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

In the UFC: 1-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.4 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

932.89/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
1662.35/min · norm 3.42
902.80/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
2313.27/min · norm 3.37
48.9%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
34.0%norm 43.5%
73.1%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
47.9%norm 56.3%
00.00/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · norm 0.25

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

John Cholish

Distance 83.7% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 4.7% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 11.6% (norm 8.0%)

Mitch Clarke

Distance 86.3% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 10.9% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 2.9% (norm 8.0%)

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

John Cholish

Head 80.0% (norm 78.2%) · Body 8.4% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 11.6% (norm 7.9%)

Mitch Clarke

Head 70.1% (norm 78.2%) · Body 11.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 18.2% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Cholish L/AAccLightweight med Clarke L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 71 / 159 44.7% 37.9% 124 / 421 29.5% 37.9%
In the clinch 5 / 9 too few to rate 67.3% 38 / 53 71.7% 67.3%
On the ground 17 / 22 too few to rate 69.1% 4 / 14 too few to rate 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 64 / 152 42.1% 35.0% 82 / 342 24.0% 35.0%
To the body 8 / 16 too few to rate 69.1% 31 / 57 54.4% 69.1%
To the legs 21 / 22 too few to rate 81.9% 53 / 89 59.6% 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 Cholish L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Clarke L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 59 / 290 20.3% 38.9% 129 / 305 42.3% 38.9%
In the clinch 27 / 37 73.0% 68.6% 45 / 59 76.3% 68.6%
On the ground 4 / 7 too few to rate 68.0% 57 / 79 72.2% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 54 / 288 18.8% 35.1% 184 / 383 48.0% 35.1%
To the body 16 / 22 too few to rate 68.1% 33 / 45 73.3% 68.1%
To the legs 20 / 24 too few to rate 81.5% 14 / 15 too few to rate 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

215.4% acc · 0.93/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
315.0% acc · 0.64/15 · norm 1.38
770.0% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
1250.0% def · norm 64.0%
3:5011.9% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
10:2314.7% of cage time · norm 19.5%
4:402:10 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
27:315:50 per 15 · norm 2:46
00.00/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
20.43/15 · norm 0.49

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.