BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Josh Barnett vs.
Ben Rothwell

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

7-3-0 Josh Barnett · UFC
9-8-0 Ben Rothwell · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

7-3-0
UFC record
9-8-0
Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Heavyweight
48.7
AgeΔ 3.9 yrs
44.8
6'3"
HeightΔ 1"
6'4"
78"
ReachΔ 0"
78"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
119.1
Layoff (months)Δ 62.4 mo
56.7
WLWLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLWW
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.

Josh Barnett is a submission threat — 0.82 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.16 Heavyweight norm.
Ben Rothwell is a submission threat — 0.53 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.16 Heavyweight norm.
Josh Barnett owns the mat — in control 32% of cage time, vs a 17% Heavyweight 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.

Josh Barnett

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

In the UFC: 4-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.3 wins over .500

Ben Rothwell

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

In the UFC: 6-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.5 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

3924.27/min · norm 3.36
Sig. strikes landed
6813.99/min · norm 3.36
2202.39/min · norm 3.19
Sig. strikes absorbed
8895.21/min · norm 3.19
61.5%norm 47.8%
Striking accuracy
43.3%norm 47.8%
50.6%norm 52.5%
Striking defense
44.7%norm 52.5%
10.16/15 · norm 0.28
Knockdowns
40.35/15 · norm 0.28

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

Josh Barnett

Distance 44.7% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 34.4% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 20.9% (norm 9.3%)

Ben Rothwell

Distance 86.4% (norm 79.5%) · Clinch 8.3% (norm 9.8%) · Ground 5.3% (norm 9.3%)

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

Josh Barnett

Head 74.7% (norm 79.2%) · Body 20.4% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 4.9% (norm 7.6%)

Ben Rothwell

Head 86.1% (norm 79.2%) · Body 8.7% (norm 11.5%) · Legs 5.2% (norm 7.6%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Barnett L/AAccHeavyweight med Rothwell L/AAccHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 133 / 285 46.7% 40.1% 537 / 1358 39.5% 40.1%
In the clinch 171 / 219 78.1% 70.6% 86 / 130 66.2% 70.6%
On the ground 88 / 133 66.2% 70.2% 58 / 84 69.0% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 248 / 476 52.1% 38.9% 496 / 1354 36.6% 38.9%
To the body 116 / 130 89.2% 76.8% 109 / 136 80.1% 76.8%
To the legs 28 / 31 90.3% 87.8% 76 / 82 92.7% 87.8%

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 (Heavyweight: 93 fighters · Heavyweight: 93 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 Barnett L/AOpp accHeavyweight med vs Rothwell L/AOpp accHeavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 113 / 282 40.1% 40.7% 736 / 1373 53.6% 40.7%
In the clinch 75 / 113 66.4% 70.6% 57 / 94 60.6% 70.6%
On the ground 32 / 50 64.0% 72.0% 96 / 141 68.1% 72.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 145 / 352 41.2% 38.8% 557 / 1234 45.1% 38.8%
To the body 42 / 51 82.4% 75.1% 246 / 281 87.5% 75.1%
To the legs 33 / 42 78.6% 84.4% 86 / 93 92.5% 84.4%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

562.5% acc · 0.82/15 · norm 0.95
Takedowns landed
932.1% acc · 0.79/15 · norm 0.95
1359.1% def · norm 64.3%
Takedowns stopped
1659.3% def · norm 64.3%
28:5931.5% of cage time · norm 17.2%
Control time
32:1718.9% of cage time · norm 17.2%
28:584:43 per 15 · norm 2:28
Time under control
19:491:44 per 15 · norm 2:28
50.82/15 · norm 0.16
Submission attempts
60.53/15 · norm 0.16

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.