BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Stevie Ray vs.
Michael Johnson

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

7-4-0 Stevie Ray · UFC
16-16-0 Michael Johnson · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

7-4-0
UFC record
16-16-0
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
36
AgeΔ 4 yrs
40
5'10"
HeightΔ 0"
5'10"
70"
ReachΔ 3"
73"
Southpaw
Stance
Southpaw
81.3
Layoff (months)Δ 76.3 mo
5
WLWLL
Last 5 (newest first)
LWWWL
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.

Michael Johnson carries real power — 0.53 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 Lightweight norm.
Michael Johnson rarely shoots — 0.57 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 Lightweight norm.
Stevie Ray rarely shoots — 0.75 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.38 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.

Stevie Ray

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

In the UFC: 3-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.6 wins over .500

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

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4493.73/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
15684.27/min · norm 3.42
3532.93/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
13863.78/min · norm 3.37
44.9%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
39.6%norm 43.5%
54.7%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
58.8%norm 56.3%
10.12/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
130.53/15 · norm 0.25

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

Stevie Ray

Distance 82.8% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 5.2% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 12.0% (norm 8.0%)

Michael Johnson

Distance 93.5% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 4.0% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 2.5% (norm 8.0%)

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

Stevie Ray

Head 77.5% (norm 78.2%) · Body 7.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 14.8% (norm 7.9%)

Michael Johnson

Head 70.1% (norm 78.2%) · Body 21.9% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 8.0% (norm 7.9%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Ray L/AAccLightweight med Johnson L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 328 / 827 39.7% 37.9% 1405 / 3703 37.9% 37.9%
In the clinch 31 / 52 59.6% 67.3% 101 / 157 64.3% 67.3%
On the ground 90 / 120 75.0% 69.1% 62 / 101 61.4% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 280 / 774 36.2% 35.0% 829 / 2776 29.9% 35.0%
To the body 50 / 77 64.9% 69.1% 496 / 869 57.1% 69.1%
To the legs 119 / 148 80.4% 81.9% 243 / 316 76.9% 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 Ray L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Johnson L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 288 / 682 42.2% 38.9% 1025 / 2854 35.9% 38.9%
In the clinch 15 / 33 45.5% 68.6% 96 / 140 68.6% 68.6%
On the ground 50 / 65 76.9% 68.0% 265 / 373 71.0% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 203 / 574 35.4% 35.1% 923 / 2702 34.2% 35.1%
To the body 87 / 136 64.0% 68.1% 231 / 379 60.9% 68.1%
To the legs 63 / 70 90.0% 81.5% 232 / 286 81.1% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

646.2% acc · 0.75/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
1438.9% acc · 0.57/15 · norm 1.38
1555.6% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
8681.1% def · norm 64.0%
15:4013.0% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
28:497.9% of cage time · norm 19.5%
28:173:31 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
61:252:30 per 15 · norm 2:46
50.62/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
10.04/15 · norm 0.49

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.