Alex Soto vs.
Michael McDonald
Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.
The men, measured.
Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.
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.
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
Michael McDonald
Full career not yet synced for Michael McDonald — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 3-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.8 wins over .500
The stand-up battle.
Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
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%)
Michael McDonald
Distance 88.3% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 6.9% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 4.7% (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%)
Michael McDonald
Head 89.3% (norm 77.4%) · Body 5.9% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 4.7% (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/A | Acc | Bantamweight med | McDonald L/A | Acc | Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 41 / 176 | 23.3% | 39.0% | 180 / 447 | 40.3% | 39.0% |
| In the clinch | 4 / 8 | too few to rate | 68.7% | 19 / 35 | 54.3% | 68.7% |
| On the ground | 2 / 2 | too few to rate | 70.2% | 17 / 24 | too few to rate | 70.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 19 / 142 | 13.4% | 34.9% | 171 / 452 | 37.8% | 34.9% |
| To the body | 21 / 36 | 58.3% | 66.8% | 23 / 30 | 76.7% | 66.8% |
| To the legs | 7 / 8 | too few to rate | 79.4% | 22 / 24 | too few to rate | 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/A | Opp acc | Bantamweight med | vs McDonald L/A | Opp acc | Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 64 / 169 | 37.9% | 39.3% | 174 / 442 | 39.4% | 39.3% |
| In the clinch | 9 / 18 | too few to rate | 70.4% | 13 / 35 | 37.1% | 70.4% |
| On the ground | 7 / 10 | too few to rate | 72.4% | 39 / 51 | 76.5% | 72.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 59 / 166 | 35.5% | 34.9% | 131 / 407 | 32.2% | 34.9% |
| To the body | 14 / 22 | too few to rate | 66.0% | 60 / 80 | 75.0% | 66.0% |
| To the legs | 7 / 9 | too few to rate | 79.1% | 35 / 41 | 85.4% | 79.1% |
The ground war.
Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — McDonald has more cage time on record.