Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin

UFC 9-9-0 vs. 14-6-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
9-9-0
UFC record
14-6-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
55
AgeΔ 4 yrs
51
5'11"
HeightΔ 2"
6'1"
74"
ReachΔ 2"
76"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
118
Layoff (months)Δ 46.9 mo
164.9
LWLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLWL

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Rich Franklin carries real power — 0.74 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
Dan Henderson carries real power — 0.66 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
Rich Franklin is hard to hit — absorbs 2.05 sig. strikes per minute, vs a 3.20 Middleweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Dan Henderson

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 89
Tier 3 — regional circuit 186

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.6 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 41 documented bouts

In the UFC: 5-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.8 wins over .500

Rich Franklin

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 146
Tier 3 — regional circuit 151

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.39 · 14 tier-1/2 wins · 25 finish wins over 37 documented bouts

In the UFC: 9-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.5 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

5262.55/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
8564.23/min · norm 3.25
6923.36/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
4152.05/min · norm 3.20
45.5%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
43.5%norm 47.4%
52.6%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
63.4%norm 53.8%
90.66/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
100.74/15 · norm 0.32

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

Dan Henderson

Distance 66.6% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 19.0% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 14.5% (norm 10.3%)

Rich Franklin

Distance 79.9% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 11.5% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 8.6% (norm 10.3%)

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

Dan Henderson

Head 79.2% (norm 78.0%) · Body 8.9% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 11.9% (norm 8.4%)

Rich Franklin

Head 81.6% (norm 78.0%) · Body 12.8% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 5.5% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Henderson L/AAccMiddleweight med Franklin L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 265 / 769 34.5% 40.5% 596 / 1575 37.8% 40.5%
In the clinch 150 / 219 68.5% 70.3% 151 / 226 66.8% 70.3%
On the ground 111 / 167 66.5% 69.1% 109 / 169 64.5% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 327 / 915 35.7% 38.9% 559 / 1608 34.8% 38.9%
To the body 86 / 103 83.5% 71.7% 198 / 253 78.3% 71.7%
To the legs 113 / 137 82.5% 83.3% 99 / 109 90.8% 83.3%

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 (Middleweight: 174 fighters · Middleweight: 174 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 Henderson L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Franklin L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 431 / 1068 40.4% 39.5% 247 / 877 28.2% 39.5%
In the clinch 90 / 146 61.6% 70.9% 120 / 169 71.0% 70.9%
On the ground 171 / 245 69.8% 69.0% 48 / 88 54.5% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 471 / 1185 39.7% 37.9% 231 / 879 26.3% 37.9%
To the body 129 / 163 79.1% 71.3% 109 / 162 67.3% 71.3%
To the legs 92 / 111 82.9% 82.1% 75 / 93 80.6% 82.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1542.9% acc · 1.09/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
1463.6% acc · 1.04/15 · norm 1.42
3163.3% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
3464.2% def · norm 63.1%
29:1315.4% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
37:3818.6% of cage time · norm 19.75%
45:313:18 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
25:391:54 per 15 · norm 3:00
50.36/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
20.15/15 · norm 0.47

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