Rousimar Palhares vs. Dan Henderson

UFC 8-4-0 vs. 9-9-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
8-4-0
UFC record
9-9-0
Middleweight
Division (benchmark)
Middleweight
46
AgeΔ 9 yrs
55
5'8"
HeightΔ 3"
5'11"
71"
ReachΔ 3"
74"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
153.9
Layoff (months)Δ 35.9 mo
118
WLLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLWL

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Rousimar Palhares is a submission threat — 3.14 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.47 Middleweight norm.
Dan Henderson carries real power — 0.66 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Middleweight norm.
Rousimar Palhares's takedown defense leaks — 0% stopped, vs a 63% Middleweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Rousimar Palhares

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 84
Tier 3 — regional circuit 119

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.47 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 16 finish wins over 33 documented bouts

In the UFC: 4-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.4 wins over .500

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

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

1311.71/min · norm 3.25
Sig. strikes landed
5262.55/min · norm 3.25
1652.16/min · norm 3.20
Sig. strikes absorbed
6923.36/min · norm 3.20
51.2%norm 47.4%
Striking accuracy
45.5%norm 47.4%
58.4%norm 53.8%
Striking defense
52.6%norm 53.8%
10.20/15 · norm 0.32
Knockdowns
90.66/15 · norm 0.32

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

Rousimar Palhares

Distance 70.7% (norm 79.4%) · Clinch 5.9% (norm 9.1%) · Ground 23.4% (norm 10.3%)

Dan Henderson

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

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

Rousimar Palhares

Head 82.0% (norm 78.0%) · Body 6.6% (norm 13.4%) · Legs 11.3% (norm 8.4%)

Dan Henderson

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

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Palhares L/AAccMiddleweight med Henderson L/AAccMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 88 / 181 48.6% 40.5% 265 / 769 34.5% 40.5%
In the clinch 9 / 15 too few to rate 70.3% 150 / 219 68.5% 70.3%
On the ground 34 / 60 56.7% 69.1% 111 / 167 66.5% 69.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 93 / 210 44.3% 38.9% 327 / 915 35.7% 38.9%
To the body 13 / 17 too few to rate 71.7% 86 / 103 83.5% 71.7%
To the legs 25 / 29 86.2% 83.3% 113 / 137 82.5% 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 Palhares L/AOpp accMiddleweight med vs Henderson L/AOpp accMiddleweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 97 / 272 35.7% 39.5% 431 / 1068 40.4% 39.5%
In the clinch 6 / 15 too few to rate 70.9% 90 / 146 61.6% 70.9%
On the ground 62 / 110 56.4% 69.0% 171 / 245 69.8% 69.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 150 / 374 40.1% 37.9% 471 / 1185 39.7% 37.9%
To the body 9 / 14 too few to rate 71.3% 129 / 163 79.1% 71.3%
To the legs 6 / 9 too few to rate 82.1% 92 / 111 82.9% 82.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1438.9% acc · 2.75/15 · norm 1.42
Takedowns landed
1542.9% acc · 1.09/15 · norm 1.42
00.0% def · norm 63.1%
Takedowns stopped
3163.3% def · norm 63.1%
25:2433.2% of cage time · norm 19.75%
Control time
29:1315.4% of cage time · norm 19.75%
12:352:28 per 15 · norm 3:00
Time under control
45:313:18 per 15 · norm 3:00
163.14/15 · norm 0.47
Submission attempts
50.36/15 · norm 0.47

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