BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Alexander Yakovlev vs.
Kamaru Usman

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

3-6-0 Alexander Yakovlev · UFC
16-4-0 Kamaru Usman · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

3-6-0
UFC record
16-4-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
42.1
AgeΔ 2.9 yrs
39.2
6'3"
HeightΔ 3"
6'0"
74"
ReachΔ 2"
76"
Southpaw
Stance
Switch
69.4
Layoff (months)Δ 68.8 mo
0.6
LLWLL
Last 5 (newest first)
LWLLL
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.

Kamaru Usman owns the mat — in control 40% of cage time, vs a 18% Welterweight norm.
Kamaru Usman hunts takedowns — 2.60 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.
Alexander Yakovlev hunts takedowns — 1.66 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight 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.

Alexander Yakovlev

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

In the UFC: 2-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.2 wins over .500

Kamaru Usman

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 164
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 40
Tier 3 — regional circuit 11

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.67 · 20 tier-1/2 wins · 10 finish wins over 26 documented bouts

In the UFC: 14-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +6.0 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

1731.74/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
15034.13/min · norm 3.17
2392.41/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
10402.86/min · norm 3.06
47.4%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
50.9%norm 44.9%
58.5%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
54.6%norm 55.25%
20.30/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
100.41/15 · norm 0.38

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

Alexander Yakovlev

Distance 82.2% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 7.9% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 9.9% (norm 8.1%)

Kamaru Usman

Distance 73.7% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 10.1% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 16.3% (norm 8.1%)

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

Alexander Yakovlev

Head 68.2% (norm 78.2%) · Body 17.3% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 14.5% (norm 8.4%)

Kamaru Usman

Head 76.3% (norm 78.2%) · Body 19.2% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 4.5% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Yakovlev L/AAccWelterweight med Usman L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 124 / 300 41.3% 38.6% 897 / 2176 41.2% 38.6%
In the clinch 22 / 29 75.9% 67.8% 242 / 297 81.5% 67.8%
On the ground 27 / 36 75.0% 67.2% 364 / 480 75.8% 67.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 85 / 249 34.1% 37.2% 945 / 2252 42.0% 37.2%
To the body 46 / 63 73.0% 70.7% 441 / 567 77.8% 70.7%
To the legs 42 / 53 79.2% 82.9% 117 / 134 87.3% 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 Yakovlev L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Usman L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 140 / 443 31.6% 39.0% 873 / 2090 41.8% 39.0%
In the clinch 30 / 43 69.8% 68.9% 123 / 147 83.7% 68.9%
On the ground 69 / 90 76.7% 68.0% 44 / 54 81.5% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 151 / 463 32.6% 35.6% 600 / 1762 34.1% 35.6%
To the body 43 / 63 68.3% 69.6% 263 / 330 79.7% 69.6%
To the legs 45 / 50 90.0% 82.1% 177 / 199 88.9% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

1135.5% acc · 1.66/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
6342.0% acc · 2.60/15 · norm 1.27
2672.2% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
4690.2% def · norm 63.9%
14:5715.1% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
147:1440.5% of cage time · norm 18.5%
40:096:04 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
15:140:37 per 15 · norm 3:15
10.15/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
20.08/15 · norm 0.45

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.