BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Alex Soto vs.
Francisco Rivera

Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.

0-2-0 Alex Soto · UFC
4-6-0 (1 NC) Francisco Rivera · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.

0-2-0
UFC record
4-6-0 (1 NC)
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Bantamweight
42.5
AgeΔ 2.3 yrs
44.8
5'8"
HeightΔ 0"
5'8"
Reach
70"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
170.7
Layoff (months)Δ 50.5 mo
120.2
LL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWL
The read

What the numbers say.

Scouting notes, auto-generated — only stats deviating more than 25% from the division median make this list. No narratives, just deviations.

Alex Soto hunts takedowns — 2.82 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.12 Bantamweight norm.
Francisco Rivera carries real power — 0.74 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.30 Bantamweight norm.
Francisco Rivera is a submission threat — 0.59 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Bantamweight norm.
Level of competition

Who did they actually beat?

Full-career records re-graded by the tier of opposition — the same grading the Contender Series pick model uses. Records built on tier-4 competition are worth less than records built on killers.

Alex Soto

Full career not yet synced for Alex Soto — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).

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

Francisco Rivera

Full career not yet synced for Francisco Rivera — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).

In the UFC: 1-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.2 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

472.95/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
4214.13/min · norm 3.52
805.02/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
3213.15/min · norm 3.58
25.3%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
41.4%norm 43.4%
59.4%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
68.3%norm 56.6%
00.00/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
50.74/15 · norm 0.30

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

Alex Soto

Distance 94.6% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 4.3% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 1.1% (norm 6.5%)

Francisco Rivera

Distance 88.5% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 7.8% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 3.7% (norm 6.5%)

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

Alex Soto

Head 76.3% (norm 77.4%) · Body 19.4% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 4.3% (norm 8.4%)

Francisco Rivera

Head 84.7% (norm 77.4%) · Body 6.6% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 8.7% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Soto L/AAccBantamweight med Rivera L/AAccBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 41 / 176 23.3% 39.0% 353 / 901 39.2% 39.0%
In the clinch 4 / 8 too few to rate 68.7% 45 / 79 57.0% 68.7%
On the ground 2 / 2 too few to rate 70.2% 23 / 38 60.5% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 19 / 142 13.4% 34.9% 299 / 862 34.7% 34.9%
To the body 21 / 36 58.3% 66.8% 47 / 67 70.1% 66.8%
To the legs 7 / 8 too few to rate 79.4% 75 / 89 84.3% 79.4%

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 (Bantamweight: 117 fighters · Bantamweight: 117 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 Soto L/AOpp accBantamweight med vs Rivera L/AOpp accBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 64 / 169 37.9% 39.3% 216 / 847 25.5% 39.3%
In the clinch 9 / 18 too few to rate 70.4% 42 / 71 59.2% 70.4%
On the ground 7 / 10 too few to rate 72.4% 63 / 94 67.0% 72.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 59 / 166 35.5% 34.9% 170 / 778 21.9% 34.9%
To the body 14 / 22 too few to rate 66.0% 97 / 149 65.1% 66.0%
To the legs 7 / 9 too few to rate 79.1% 54 / 85 63.5% 79.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.

330.0% acc · 2.82/15 · norm 1.12
Takedowns landed
763.6% acc · 1.03/15 · norm 1.12
0— def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
2668.4% def · norm 66.7%
0:545.6% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
4:204.2% of cage time · norm 17.4%
0:080:07 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
29:204:18 per 15 · norm 2:24
00.00/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
40.59/15 · norm 0.28

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.