Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson

UFC 15-6-0 vs. 15-2-1

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
15-6-0
UFC record
15-2-1
Flyweight
Division (benchmark)
Flyweight
42
AgeΔ 3 yrs
39
5'4"
HeightΔ 1"
5'3"
65"
ReachΔ 1"
66"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
65.1
Layoff (months)Δ 31 mo
96.1
LLLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LWWWW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Demetrious Johnson hunts takedowns — 3.32 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.30 Flyweight norm.
Joseph Benavidez carries real power — 0.37 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.18 Flyweight norm.
Demetrious Johnson owns the mat — in control 31% of cage time, vs a 17% Flyweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Joseph Benavidez

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 156
Tier 3 — regional circuit 132

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.31 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 17 finish wins over 36 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.2 wins over .500

Demetrious Johnson

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 203
Tier 3 — regional circuit 51

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.79 · 20 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 30 documented bouts

In the UFC: 12-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.4 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

9383.91/min · norm 3.49
Sig. strikes landed
11733.51/min · norm 3.49
7223.01/min · norm 3.24
Sig. strikes absorbed
5821.74/min · norm 3.24
36.9%norm 44.6%
Striking accuracy
54.5%norm 44.6%
57.1%norm 56.4%
Striking defense
67.2%norm 56.4%
60.37/15 · norm 0.18
Knockdowns
30.13/15 · norm 0.18

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

Joseph Benavidez

Distance 89.3% (norm 85.1%) · Clinch 6.8% (norm 6.0%) · Ground 3.9% (norm 7.3%)

Demetrious Johnson

Distance 70.1% (norm 85.1%) · Clinch 21.7% (norm 6.0%) · Ground 8.2% (norm 7.3%)

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

Joseph Benavidez

Head 71.2% (norm 75.9%) · Body 16.9% (norm 13.3%) · Legs 11.9% (norm 9.3%)

Demetrious Johnson

Head 60.9% (norm 75.9%) · Body 21.9% (norm 13.3%) · Legs 17.2% (norm 9.3%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Benavidez L/AAccFlyweight med Johnson L/AAccFlyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 764 / 2271 33.6% 40.0% 665 / 1509 44.1% 40.0%
In the clinch 111 / 174 63.8% 70.4% 359 / 468 76.7% 70.4%
On the ground 63 / 98 64.3% 69.7% 149 / 177 84.2% 69.7%
BY TARGET
To the head 505 / 1810 27.9% 37.6% 533 / 1311 40.7% 37.6%
To the body 243 / 431 56.4% 68.5% 369 / 472 78.2% 68.5%
To the legs 190 / 302 62.9% 80.0% 271 / 371 73.0% 80.0%

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 (Flyweight: 73 fighters · Flyweight: 73 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 Benavidez L/AOpp accFlyweight med vs Johnson L/AOpp accFlyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 536 / 1429 37.5% 40.1% 350 / 1431 24.5% 40.1%
In the clinch 126 / 182 69.2% 68.8% 200 / 292 68.5% 68.8%
On the ground 60 / 71 84.5% 71.1% 32 / 49 65.3% 71.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 439 / 1292 34.0% 35.2% 249 / 1270 19.6% 35.2%
To the body 206 / 289 71.3% 68.2% 223 / 333 67.0% 68.2%
To the legs 77 / 101 76.2% 80.3% 110 / 169 65.1% 80.3%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
2430.8% acc · 1.50/15 · norm 1.30
Takedowns landed
7454.8% acc · 3.32/15 · norm 1.30
5767.9% def · norm 62.5%
Takedowns stopped
7971.2% def · norm 62.5%
40:5517.0% of cage time · norm 17.0%
Control time
102:1630.6% of cage time · norm 17.0%
20:421:17 per 15 · norm 2:44
Time under control
55:392:29 per 15 · norm 2:44
40.25/15 · norm 0.58
Submission attempts
120.54/15 · norm 0.58

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