Michael Johnson vs. Beneil Dariush

UFC 16-16-0 vs. 17-8-1

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
16-16-0
UFC record
17-8-1
Lightweight
Division (benchmark)
Lightweight
40
AgeΔ 3 yrs
37
5'10"
HeightΔ 0"
5'10"
73"
ReachΔ 1"
72"
Southpaw
Stance
Southpaw
5.1
Layoff (months)Δ 1.9 mo
3.2
LWWWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWLL

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.
Beneil Dariush owns the mat — in control 41% of cage time, vs a 20% Lightweight norm.
Beneil Dariush carries real power — 0.47 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.25 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

Beneil Dariush

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 178
Tier 3 — regional circuit 60

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.28 · 17 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 32 documented bouts

In the UFC: 13-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.0 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

15684.27/min · norm 3.42
Sig. strikes landed
8363.74/min · norm 3.42
13863.78/min · norm 3.37
Sig. strikes absorbed
5892.63/min · norm 3.37
39.6%norm 43.5%
Striking accuracy
49.1%norm 43.5%
58.8%norm 56.3%
Striking defense
57.2%norm 56.3%
130.53/15 · norm 0.25
Knockdowns
70.47/15 · norm 0.25

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

Michael Johnson

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

Beneil Dariush

Distance 75.8% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 11.3% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 12.8% (norm 8.0%)

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

Michael Johnson

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

Beneil Dariush

Head 74.7% (norm 78.2%) · Body 15.9% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 9.3% (norm 7.9%)

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 Dariush L/AAccLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1405 / 3703 37.9% 37.9% 561 / 1290 43.5% 37.9%
In the clinch 101 / 157 64.3% 67.3% 128 / 193 66.3% 67.3%
On the ground 62 / 101 61.4% 69.1% 147 / 218 67.4% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 829 / 2776 29.9% 35.0% 505 / 1271 39.7% 35.0%
To the body 496 / 869 57.1% 69.1% 191 / 271 70.5% 69.1%
To the legs 243 / 316 76.9% 81.9% 140 / 159 88.1% 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 Johnson L/AOpp accLightweight med vs Dariush L/AOpp accLightweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1025 / 2854 35.9% 38.9% 437 / 1177 37.1% 38.9%
In the clinch 96 / 140 68.6% 68.6% 93 / 126 73.8% 68.6%
On the ground 265 / 373 71.0% 68.0% 59 / 74 79.7% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 923 / 2702 34.2% 35.1% 378 / 1073 35.2% 35.1%
To the body 231 / 379 60.9% 68.1% 155 / 240 64.6% 68.1%
To the legs 232 / 286 81.1% 81.5% 56 / 64 87.5% 81.5%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1438.9% acc · 0.57/15 · norm 1.38
Takedowns landed
3338.4% acc · 2.21/15 · norm 1.38
8681.1% def · norm 64.0%
Takedowns stopped
4382.7% def · norm 64.0%
28:497.9% of cage time · norm 19.5%
Control time
90:5940.7% of cage time · norm 19.5%
61:252:30 per 15 · norm 2:46
Time under control
19:481:19 per 15 · norm 2:46
10.04/15 · norm 0.49
Submission attempts
120.81/15 · 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.