Ryan Thomas vs. Ben Saunders

UFC 0-2-0 vs. 9-10-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
0-2-0
UFC record
9-10-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
41
AgeΔ 2 yrs
43
6'0"
HeightΔ 2"
6'2"
Reach
77"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
212.7
Layoff (months)Δ 132.9 mo
79.8
LL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Ryan Thomas is a submission threat — 2.24 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.45 Welterweight norm.
Ryan Thomas hunts takedowns — 5.59 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.
Ben Saunders is a submission threat — 1.30 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.45 Welterweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Ryan Thomas

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 15
Tier 3 — regional circuit 193

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.68 · 1 tier-1/2 wins · 19 finish wins over 28 documented bouts

In the UFC: 0-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.5 wins over .500

Ben Saunders

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1613
Tier 3 — regional circuit 70

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.99 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 17 finish wins over 38 documented bouts

In the UFC: 4-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.8 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

272.01/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
4863.23/min · norm 3.17
564.17/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
5383.58/min · norm 3.06
36.0%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
50.2%norm 44.9%
30.9%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
51.1%norm 55.25%
00.00/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
30.30/15 · norm 0.38

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

Ryan Thomas

Distance 69.3% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 17.3% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 13.3% (norm 8.1%)

Ben Saunders

Distance 71.9% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 23.0% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 5.1% (norm 8.1%)

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

Ryan Thomas

Head 77.3% (norm 78.2%) · Body 13.3% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 9.3% (norm 8.4%)

Ben Saunders

Head 66.2% (norm 78.2%) · Body 27.6% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 6.2% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Thomas L/AAccWelterweight med Saunders L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 12 / 52 23.1% 38.6% 285 / 696 40.9% 38.6%
In the clinch 5 / 13 too few to rate 67.8% 160 / 223 71.7% 67.8%
On the ground 10 / 10 too few to rate 67.2% 41 / 49 83.7% 67.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 15 / 58 25.9% 37.2% 247 / 641 38.5% 37.2%
To the body 7 / 10 too few to rate 70.7% 188 / 267 70.4% 70.7%
To the legs 5 / 7 too few to rate 82.9% 51 / 60 85.0% 82.9%

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 (Welterweight: 182 fighters · Welterweight: 182 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 Thomas L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Saunders L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 36 / 59 61.0% 39.0% 288 / 715 40.3% 39.0%
In the clinch 11 / 13 too few to rate 68.9% 108 / 178 60.7% 68.9%
On the ground 9 / 9 too few to rate 68.0% 142 / 208 68.3% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 29 / 52 55.8% 35.6% 374 / 880 42.5% 35.6%
To the body 23 / 25 92.0% 69.6% 64 / 103 62.1% 69.6%
To the legs 4 / 4 too few to rate 82.1% 100 / 118 84.7% 82.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
533.3% acc · 5.59/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
240.0% acc · 0.20/15 · norm 1.27
00.0% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
3266.7% def · norm 63.9%
4:4335.2% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
15:5810.6% of cage time · norm 18.5%
4:535:27 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
69:286:55 per 15 · norm 3:15
22.24/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
131.30/15 · norm 0.45

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