Compare Benoit Saint Denis vs Max Holloway — UFC matchup breakdown
Tale of the Tape
The biometric deltas where one side genuinely has an edge.
Activity & layoff
The recency dimension Tale of the Tape doesn't carry. How active each fighter has been, and how that compares to active peers in their division.
Division percentiles below rank both fighters against the Lightweight roster (470 fighters).
Recent form
Last five pro bouts (non-UFC fights dashed + tagged), current trajectory, and the level of opposition going into this matchup.
Common opponents
The single UFC opponent both fighters have faced. Reads as a directional signal, not a verdict.
Schedule Score
Who they've faced × what they've done. Composite + components compared head-to-head, percentile-ranked against every UFC fighter w/ ≥3 resolved bouts.
Per-tier records + bout-by-bout
| Tier | Benoit Saint Denis | Max Holloway |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | — | 3-6 |
| Top-5 | 2-1 | 11-2 |
| Top-15 | 3-2 | 2-1 |
| Established | — | 1-0 |
| Building | 1-0 | 1-0 |
| Unproven | 3-0 | 5-0 |
- W vs Dan Hooker#679Jan 31, 2026 · Top-5
- W vs Beneil Dariush#979Nov 15, 2025 · Top-5
- W vs Mauricio Ruffy#1569Sep 6, 2025 · Top-15
- W vs Kyle Prepolec8May 10, 2025 · Unproven
- L vs Renato Moicano#1169Sep 28, 2024 · Top-15
- L vs Dustin Poirier#391Mar 9, 2024 · Top-5
- W vs Matt Frevola#1462Nov 11, 2023 · Top-15
- W vs Thiago Moises#1561Sep 2, 2023 · Top-15
- W vs Ismael Bonfim15Jul 1, 2023 · Building
- W vs Gabriel Miranda8Sep 3, 2022 · Unproven
- W vs Niklas Stolze8Jun 4, 2022 · Unproven
- L vs Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos#1560Oct 30, 2021 · Top-15
- L vs Charles Oliveira#394Mar 7, 2026 · Champion
- W vs Dustin Poirier#688Jul 19, 2025 · Top-5
- L vs Ilia TopuriaCHAMP100Oct 26, 2024 · Champion
- W vs Justin Gaethje#296Apr 13, 2024 · Champion
- W vs Chan Sung Jung#880Aug 26, 2023 · Top-5
- W vs Arnold Allen#481Apr 15, 2023 · Top-5
- L vs Alexander VolkanovskiCHAMP100Jul 2, 2022 · Champion
- W vs Yair Rodriguez#388Nov 13, 2021 · Top-5
- W vs Calvin Kattar#679Jan 16, 2021 · Top-5
- L vs Alexander VolkanovskiCHAMP100Jul 11, 2020 · Champion
- L vs Alexander Volkanovski#197Dec 14, 2019 · Champion
- W vs Frankie Edgar#490Jul 27, 2019 · Top-5
- L vs Dustin Poirier#391Apr 13, 2019 · Top-5
- W vs Brian Ortega#190Dec 8, 2018 · Top-5
- W vs Jose Aldo#197Dec 2, 2017 · Champion
- W vs Jose AldoCHAMP100Jun 3, 2017 · Champion
- W vs Anthony Pettis#581Dec 10, 2016 · Top-5
- W vs Ricardo Lamas#584Jun 4, 2016 · Top-5
- W vs Jeremy Stephens#878Dec 12, 2015 · Top-5
- W vs Charles Oliveira#778Aug 23, 2015 · Top-15
- W vs Cub Swanson#584Apr 18, 2015 · Top-5
- W vs Cole Miller35Feb 14, 2015 · Established
- W vs Akira Corassani18Oct 4, 2014 · Building
- W vs Clay Collard8Aug 23, 2014 · Unproven
- W vs Andre Fili42Apr 26, 2014 · Top-15
- W vs Will Chope8Jan 4, 2014 · Unproven
- L vs Conor McGregor68Aug 17, 2013 · Champion
- L vs Dennis Bermudez55May 25, 2013 · Top-15
- W vs Leonard Garcia8Dec 29, 2012 · Unproven
- W vs Justin Lawrence8Aug 11, 2012 · Unproven
- W vs Pat Schilling8Jun 1, 2012 · Unproven
- L vs Dustin Poirier60Feb 4, 2012 · Top-5
All figures are 0–100 ratings (shown as %), not percentages of anything literal. Schedule strength = the average quality of every UFC opponent faced (win or lose). Win quality = the average quality of the opponents actually beaten. The composite Schedule Score combines schedule strength (65%) with win quality (35%). Per-bout opponent quality is scored on rank-at-time-of-fight (champion 100, ranks 1–5 = 90→78, ranks 6–15 = 75→60), with cross-division and P4P signals layered on, falling back to opponent UFC record-at-time for unranked opponents. For fighters with limited UFC experience the headline is held toward a rookie baseline, so debut / low-sample fighters read lower than established names. UFC ranking data is sparse before December 2018, so legacy-era fighters score from record-at-time when ranks are missing.
Career splits
Striking matchup
Each fighter's offense mapped against the other's defense — where one attacks meets where the other gets hit, across head, body, and leg. Per 15 minutes of UFC fight time.
Evenly matched striking — no clear edge either way.
Where Denis attacks (green = high volume) vs where Holloway gets hit (red = vulnerable) — Denis’s green zones meeting Holloway’s red zones are the openings.
- Head63%85th303
- Body27%89th128
- Leg11%63rd52
Color = division rank · green elite → red low · % = share of strikes
- Head63%24th1,559
- Body14%48th346
- Leg22%11th552
Color = division rank · green elite → red low · % = share absorbed · partly opponent-dependent
- Standing51%244
- Clinch18%87
- Ground31%152
- Standing92%2,264
- Clinch5%126
- Ground3%67
Each lane: the attacker’s strike rate (offense) vs the other’s rate absorbed (defense), graded on the division. The bar leans toward whoever wins the exchange — longer + greener = a bigger, higher-quality edge.
Full breakdown — all zones, both views
| Zone | Fighter | Landed / 15 | Accuracy | Absorbed / 15 | Career landed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Benoit Saint Denis | top 15% of division45.1 | 50% | below division average38.7 | 303 |
| Head | Max Holloway | elite — top of division64.2 | 40% | well below average43.1 | 2,381 |
| Body | Benoit Saint Denis | top 11% of division18.2 | 80% | well below average12.5 | 128 |
| Body | Max Holloway | elite — top of division24.1 | 74% | around division average9.8 | 899 |
| Leg | Benoit Saint Denis | above division average8.7 | 96% | above division average6.8 | 52 |
| Leg | Max Holloway | top 22% of division11.0 | 77% | bottom of the division15.0 | 401 |
Per-15-minute rates are sourced from UFCStats fight totals across each fighter’s UFC career. Division percentile is computed against every UFC fighter who has competed in this weight class with at least two recorded bouts. Lower “absorbed” values are better — the percentile is inverted so “top of division” always means better outcome.
Grappling matchup
Takedowns, submission threat, and control. Per 15 minutes of UFC fight time, with takedown defense as a percentage of opponent attempts stopped.
Each metric graded on the division — the bar leans toward whoever wins that part of the grappling exchange (longer + greener = a bigger edge).
Denis holds a decisive grappling edge (+26).
Full breakdown — career grappling totals
| Metric | Benoit Saint Denis | Max Holloway |
|---|---|---|
| Takedowns landed / 15career takedowns | 4.224 | 0.28 |
| Takedown accuracycareer landed / attempted | 36%24 / 67 | 53%8 / 15 |
| Takedown defensecareer stopped / faced | 72%13 / 18 | 81%136 / 167 |
| Submission attempts / 15career attempts | 1.710 | 0.310 |
| Control time / 15 (min)career total | 7.1 min40:54 | 0.8 min29:08 |
| Time controlled by opponent / 15 (min)career total | 1.7 min9:42 | 1.7 min61:20 |
All rates computed from UFCStats fight totals across each fighter’s UFC career. Takedown defense = opponent attempts stopped ÷ opponent total attempts. Control time figures are minutes the fighter spent in a dominant position per 15 minutes of fight time. Accuracy under 8 career attempts is shown raw and ungraded — too small a sample to rate against the division.
Finishing & durability
How often each fighter ends fights early — and how often they get put away. Outcomes view, not per-minute output.
When their fights end
every pro finish on the fight clockFinish & durability rates
Full professional career
Full method breakdown
| Outcome | Benoit Saint Denis | Max Holloway |
|---|---|---|
| Wins | ||
| by KO / TKO | 6(35%) | 12(44%) |
| by submission | 11(65%) | 2(7%) |
| by decision | 0(0%) | 13(48%) |
| Losses | ||
| by KO / TKO | 2(67%) | 1(11%) |
| by submission | 0(0%) | 1(11%) |
| by decision | 1(33%) | 7(78%) |
Full professional career method splits, graded against the full-pro division distribution. Career KO losses are the total — clean knockouts and cut/injury stoppages can’t be separated outside the UFC corpus. Finish-time pace is UFC-only.
KO history
UFC fights only — knockout power and chin durability, head-to-head, then when the last finish landed, and on whom.
- Last time KO'dvs Renato Moicano1y 8mo agoUFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Saint Denis · Sep 28, 2024 · R2 · 5:00* between-rounds stoppage · not a clean KO
- Last time submittedNever submitted in the UFC
- Last time KO'dvs Ilia Topuria1y 7mo agoUFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway · Oct 26, 2024 · R3 · 1:34
- Last time submittedvs Dustin Poirier14y 4mo agoUFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit · Feb 4, 2012 · R1 · 3:23
Pace & fade
How each fighter's work rate holds up as a fight wears on — round-by-round output (striking, takedown attempts, and control time combined), and whether they fade. The fade % compares round-3 output to round 1 over bouts that reached the third round.
Holloway lifts to 158% of round-1 output by round 3 (within fights reaching round 3). Denis hasn't reached the third round in enough UFC bouts to read a pace pattern yet.
Faded points are drawn from a single bout that reached that round, so they’re less reliable than the solid points averaged over many fights.
Rounds backed by fewer than 2 bouts are drawn smaller and dimmed with an n= count — a deep round seen in one or two fights is a thin sample, not a settled rate. Per-round bout counts are in the breakdown below.
Full per-round breakdown — both fighters
What drives the pace · per round
The composite output line above blends these three inputs. Splitting them out shows whether a fighter’s work rate is built on striking volume, takedown pressure, or top control — and which input fades.
| Round | Fighter | Output / min | Sig landed / min | Sig absorbed / min | TD att / min | Control | Bouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Benoit Saint Denis | 8.4 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 0.70 | 53% | 12 |
| R1 | Max Holloway | 5.3 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 0.01 | 3% | 32 |
| R2 | Benoit Saint Denis | 12.9 | 8.5 | 5.4 | 0.89 | 45% | 9 |
| R2 | Max Holloway | 6.8 | 6.6 | 4.3 | 0.01 | 5% | 29 |
| R3 | Benoit Saint Denis | 7.4 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 1.00 | 11% | 1 |
| R3 | Max Holloway | 8.3 | 7.7 | 4.5 | 0.05 | 10% | 27 |
| R4 | Benoit Saint Denis | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| R4 | Max Holloway | 10.3 | 9.9 | 5.6 | 0.07 | 5% | 12 |
| R5 | Benoit Saint Denis | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| R5 | Max Holloway | 7.8 | 7.5 | 5.5 | 0.04 | 5% | 11 |
Output / minis the headline work rate — significant strikes landed, plus 3 per takedown attempt, plus one per 15 seconds of control — so a takedown-and-grind round isn’t scored as idle the way bare striking volume would. The remaining columns are its components. Per-round rates use UFCStats per-round data (available for ~95% of bouts since 2008). Each round’s rates are averaged only over bouts that reached that round, so the bout count shrinks as rounds deepen. The final round of a finished fight is pro-rated by its actual length — a 2:30 stoppage counts as 2.5 minutes, not five — so an early finish doesn’t distort the per-minute pace.