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Lyoto Machida vs. Jon Jones

UFC 16-8-0 vs. 22-1-0 (1 NC)

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
16-8-0
UFC record
22-1-0 (1 NC)
Light Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Light Heavyweight
48
AgeΔ 9 yrs
39
6'1"
HeightΔ 3"
6'4"
74"
ReachΔ 10"
84"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
101.3
Layoff (months)Δ 78.2 mo
23.1
WWLLL
Last 5 (newest first)
WWWWW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Jon Jones hunts takedowns — 1.89 per 15 minutes, vs a 0.87 Light Heavyweight norm.
Lyoto Machida carries real power — 0.73 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.40 Light Heavyweight norm.
Jon Jones is a submission threat — 0.46 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Light Heavyweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Lyoto Machida

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1812
Tier 3 — regional circuit 80

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.15 · 18 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 38 documented bouts

In the UFC: 13-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.0 wins over .500

Jon Jones

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 221
Tier 3 — regional circuit 60

Tier-weighted record quality: 2.19 · 22 tier-1/2 wins · 18 finish wins over 30 documented bouts

In the UFC: 21-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.9 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

7162.51/min · norm 3.48
Sig. strikes landed
15644.38/min · norm 3.48
4621.62/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed lower is better
7982.24/min · norm 3.37
51.7%norm 48.45%
Striking accuracy
58.9%norm 48.45%
62.6%norm 52.75%
Striking defense
64.1%norm 52.75%
140.73/15 · norm 0.40
Knockdowns
60.25/15 · norm 0.40

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

Lyoto Machida

Distance 76.8% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 9.2% (norm 8.8%) · Ground 14.0% (norm 10.6%)

Jon Jones

Distance 72.2% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 13.0% (norm 8.8%) · Ground 14.7% (norm 10.6%)

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

Lyoto Machida

Head 64.0% (norm 78.5%) · Body 20.3% (norm 11.8%) · Legs 15.7% (norm 9.7%)

Jon Jones

Head 60.1% (norm 78.5%) · Body 18.6% (norm 11.8%) · Legs 21.3% (norm 9.7%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Machida L/AAccLight Heavyweight med Jones L/AAccLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 509 / 1063 47.9% 41.5% 1012 / 1918 52.8% 41.5%
In the clinch 89 / 127 70.1% 70.8% 250 / 346 72.3% 70.8%
On the ground 118 / 194 60.8% 72.9% 302 / 391 77.2% 72.9%
BY TARGET
To the head 360 / 886 40.6% 39.2% 759 / 1595 47.6% 39.2%
To the body 196 / 281 69.8% 72.0% 375 / 494 75.9% 72.0%
To the legs 160 / 217 73.7% 82.1% 430 / 566 76.0% 82.1%

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 (Light Heavyweight: 94 fighters · Light Heavyweight: 94 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 Machida L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med vs Jones L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 301 / 996 30.2% 40.6% 637 / 1921 33.2% 40.6%
In the clinch 111 / 162 68.5% 68.8% 154 / 289 53.3% 68.8%
On the ground 50 / 77 64.9% 70.4% 7 / 12 too few to rate 70.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 204 / 799 25.5% 37.7% 385 / 1573 24.5% 37.7%
To the body 102 / 191 53.4% 72.9% 217 / 367 59.1% 72.9%
To the legs 156 / 245 63.7% 83.1% 196 / 282 69.5% 83.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1463.6% acc · 0.73/15 · norm 0.87
Takedowns landed
4545.9% acc · 1.89/15 · norm 0.87
6576.5% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
3895.0% def · norm 66.7%
44:4115.6% of cage time · norm 17.1%
Control time
84:3223.7% of cage time · norm 17.1%
26:581:24 per 15 · norm 2:50
Time under control lower is better
6:330:16 per 15 · norm 2:50
80.42/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
110.46/15 · norm 0.28

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