Townsend Saunders vs.
Mikey Burnett
Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.
The men, measured.
Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.
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.
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.
Townsend Saunders
Full career not yet synced for Townsend Saunders — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.5 wins over .500
Mikey Burnett
Full career not yet synced for Mikey Burnett — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 0-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.3 wins over .500
The stand-up battle.
Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Townsend Saunders
Distance 48.5% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 25.8% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 25.8% (norm 8.0%)
Mikey Burnett
Distance 52.7% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 34.5% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 12.8% (norm 8.0%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Townsend Saunders
Head 52.6% (norm 78.2%) · Body 21.6% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 25.8% (norm 7.9%)
Mikey Burnett
Head 77.5% (norm 78.2%) · Body 19.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 3.5% (norm 7.9%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Saunders L/A | Acc | Lightweight med | Burnett L/A | Acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 20 / 47 | 42.6% | 37.9% | 34 / 136 | 25.0% | 37.9% |
| In the clinch | 20 / 25 | 80.0% | 67.3% | 52 / 89 | 58.4% | 67.3% |
| On the ground | 7 / 25 | 28.0% | 69.1% | 22 / 33 | 66.7% | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 14 / 51 | 27.5% | 35.0% | 55 / 200 | 27.5% | 35.0% |
| To the body | 19 / 21 | too few to rate | 69.1% | 46 / 49 | 93.9% | 69.1% |
| To the legs | 14 / 25 | 56.0% | 81.9% | 7 / 9 | too few to rate | 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 Saunders L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med | vs Burnett L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 24 / 101 | 23.8% | 38.9% | 29 / 70 | 41.4% | 38.9% |
| In the clinch | 32 / 50 | 64.0% | 68.6% | 30 / 51 | 58.8% | 68.6% |
| On the ground | 4 / 11 | too few to rate | 68.0% | 0 / 0 | too few to rate | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 33 / 133 | 24.8% | 35.1% | 11 / 53 | 20.8% | 35.1% |
| To the body | 20 / 20 | too few to rate | 68.1% | 27 / 35 | 77.1% | 68.1% |
| To the legs | 7 / 9 | too few to rate | 81.5% | 21 / 33 | 63.6% | 81.5% |
The ground war.
Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Burnett has more cage time on record.