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Michael Johnson vs. Tony Ferguson

UFC 16-16-0 vs. 15-9-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
16-16-0
UFC record
15-9-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
40
AgeΔ 2 yrs
42
5'10"
HeightΔ 1"
5'11"
73"
ReachΔ 3"
76"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
7.5
Layoff (months)Δ 19 mo
26.5
LWWWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLL

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Michael Johnson carries real power — 0.53 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
Tony Ferguson is a submission threat — 0.88 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.48 Lightweight norm.
Tony Ferguson rarely shoots — 0.39 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.34 Lightweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Michael Johnson

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1616
Tier 3 — regional circuit 84

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.54 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 12 finish wins over 44 documented bouts

In the UFC: 11-11 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.3 wins over .500

Tony Ferguson

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 159
Tier 3 — regional circuit 102

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.17 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 20 finish wins over 36 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.8 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

15684.27/min · norm 3.44
Sig. strikes landed
13324.91/min · norm 3.44
13863.78/min · norm 3.38
Sig. strikes absorbed lower is better
11864.37/min · norm 3.38
39.6%norm 43.65%
Striking accuracy
45.9%norm 43.65%
58.8%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
55.4%norm 56.3%
130.53/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
30.17/15 · norm 0.25

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

Michael Johnson

Distance 93.5% (norm 83.1%) · Clinch 4.0% (norm 7.3%) · Ground 2.5% (norm 8.0%)

Tony Ferguson

Distance 94.3% (norm 83.1%) · Clinch 1.7% (norm 7.3%) · Ground 4.1% (norm 8.0%)

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

Michael Johnson

Head 70.1% (norm 78.0%) · Body 21.9% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 8.0% (norm 8.0%)

Tony Ferguson

Head 75.1% (norm 78.0%) · Body 13.5% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 11.4% (norm 8.0%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Johnson L/AAccLightweight med Ferguson L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1405 / 3703 37.9% 38.3% 1210 / 2738 44.2% 38.3%
In the clinch 101 / 157 64.3% 67.5% 31 / 49 63.3% 67.5%
On the ground 62 / 101 61.4% 68.8% 91 / 118 77.1% 68.8%
BY TARGET
To the head 829 / 2776 29.9% 35.1% 800 / 2182 36.7% 35.1%
To the body 496 / 869 57.1% 69.1% 259 / 393 65.9% 69.1%
To the legs 243 / 316 76.9% 81.8% 273 / 330 82.7% 81.8%

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 (Lightweight: 204 fighters · Lightweight: 204 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 Johnson L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Ferguson L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1025 / 2854 35.9% 38.8% 1028 / 2394 42.9% 38.8%
In the clinch 96 / 140 68.6% 68.6% 15 / 48 31.2% 68.6%
On the ground 265 / 373 71.0% 68.0% 143 / 216 66.2% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 923 / 2702 34.2% 35.2% 790 / 2103 37.6% 35.2%
To the body 231 / 379 60.9% 68.2% 225 / 356 63.2% 68.2%
To the legs 232 / 286 81.1% 81.5% 171 / 199 85.9% 81.5%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1438.9% acc · 0.57/15 · norm 1.34
Takedowns landed
735.0% acc · 0.39/15 · norm 1.34
8681.1% def · norm 63.7%
Takedowns stopped
3966.1% def · norm 63.7%
28:497.9% of cage time · norm 18.95%
Control time
8:002.9% of cage time · norm 18.95%
61:252:30 per 15 · norm 2:50
Time under control lower is better
63:463:31 per 15 · norm 2:50
10.04/15 · norm 0.48
Submission attempts
160.88/15 · norm 0.48

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