BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Brian Kelleher vs.
Mario Bautista

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

8-9-0 Brian Kelleher · UFC
12-3-0 Mario Bautista · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

8-9-0
UFC record
12-3-0
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Bantamweight
40
AgeΔ 6.9 yrs
33.1
5'6"
HeightΔ 3"
5'9"
66"
ReachΔ 3"
69"
Switch
Stance
Switch
24.5
Layoff (months)Δ 23.7 mo
0.8
LLLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
WWLWW
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.

Mario Bautista is a submission threat — 1.05 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Bantamweight norm.
Brian Kelleher is a submission threat — 0.67 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Bantamweight norm.
Mario Bautista hunts takedowns — 2.49 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.12 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.

Brian Kelleher

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 811
Tier 3 — regional circuit 165

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.52 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 18 finish wins over 40 documented bouts

In the UFC: 3-7 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.4 wins over .500

Mario Bautista

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 123
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 20
Tier 3 — regional circuit 40

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.75 · 14 tier-1/2 wins · 10 finish wins over 21 documented bouts

In the UFC: 8-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.1 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4423.31/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
8645.52/min · norm 3.52
6144.59/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
6524.17/min · norm 3.58
41.4%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
50.3%norm 43.4%
54.6%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
54.1%norm 56.6%
30.34/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
30.29/15 · norm 0.30

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

Brian Kelleher

Distance 87.7% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 4.0% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 8.2% (norm 6.5%)

Mario Bautista

Distance 87.5% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 7.9% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 4.5% (norm 6.5%)

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

Brian Kelleher

Head 76.3% (norm 77.4%) · Body 13.2% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 10.5% (norm 8.4%)

Mario Bautista

Head 75.8% (norm 77.4%) · Body 16.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 7.5% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Kelleher L/AAccBantamweight med Bautista L/AAccBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 345 / 937 36.8% 39.0% 695 / 1503 46.2% 39.0%
In the clinch 29 / 43 67.4% 68.7% 111 / 136 81.6% 68.7%
On the ground 68 / 88 77.3% 70.2% 58 / 78 74.4% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 288 / 815 35.3% 34.9% 531 / 1302 40.8% 34.9%
To the body 67 / 141 47.5% 66.8% 225 / 286 78.7% 66.8%
To the legs 87 / 112 77.7% 79.4% 108 / 129 83.7% 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 Kelleher L/AOpp accBantamweight med vs Bautista L/AOpp accBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 519 / 1217 42.6% 39.3% 536 / 1280 41.9% 39.3%
In the clinch 64 / 93 68.8% 70.4% 93 / 111 83.8% 70.4%
On the ground 31 / 43 72.1% 72.4% 23 / 31 74.2% 72.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 399 / 1044 38.2% 34.9% 439 / 1151 38.1% 34.9%
To the body 130 / 201 64.7% 66.0% 102 / 149 68.5% 66.0%
To the legs 85 / 108 78.7% 79.1% 111 / 122 91.0% 79.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

1541.7% acc · 1.68/15 · norm 1.12
Takedowns landed
2638.8% acc · 2.49/15 · norm 1.12
2460.0% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
3257.1% def · norm 66.7%
34:1325.6% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
35:5723.0% of cage time · norm 17.4%
24:262:44 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
25:212:25 per 15 · norm 2:24
60.67/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
111.05/15 · norm 0.28

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.