Michael Johnson vs. Paul Sass
Tale of the tape
The read
Level of competition
Michael Johnson
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 16 | 16 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 8 | 4 |
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
Paul Sass
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 4 | 2 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 10 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.51 · 4 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 16 documented bouts
In the UFC: 1-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.6 wins over .500
Striking
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
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%)
Paul Sass
Distance 82.5% (norm 82.8%) · Clinch 0.0% (norm 7.6%) · Ground 17.5% (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%)
Paul Sass
Head 89.5% (norm 78.2%) · Body 7.0% (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 | Johnson L/A | Acc | Lightweight med | Sass L/A | Acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 1405 / 3703 | 37.9% | 37.9% | 9 / 47 | 19.1% | 37.9% |
| In the clinch | 101 / 157 | 64.3% | 67.3% | 0 / 0 | too few to rate | 67.3% |
| On the ground | 62 / 101 | 61.4% | 69.1% | 6 / 10 | too few to rate | 69.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 829 / 2776 | 29.9% | 35.0% | 10 / 51 | 19.6% | 35.0% |
| To the body | 496 / 869 | 57.1% | 69.1% | 4 / 4 | too few to rate | 69.1% |
| To the legs | 243 / 316 | 76.9% | 81.9% | 1 / 2 | 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 Johnson L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med | vs Sass L/A | Opp acc | Lightweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 1025 / 2854 | 35.9% | 38.9% | 12 / 46 | 26.1% | 38.9% |
| In the clinch | 96 / 140 | 68.6% | 68.6% | 0 / 0 | too few to rate | 68.6% |
| On the ground | 265 / 373 | 71.0% | 68.0% | 42 / 66 | 63.6% | 68.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 923 / 2702 | 34.2% | 35.1% | 45 / 101 | 44.6% | 35.1% |
| To the body | 231 / 379 | 60.9% | 68.1% | 3 / 4 | too few to rate | 68.1% |
| To the legs | 232 / 286 | 81.1% | 81.5% | 6 / 7 | too few to rate | 81.5% |
Grappling
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Johnson has more cage time on record.