Chad Mendes vs. Yaotzin Meza
Tale of the tape
The read
Level of competition
Chad Mendes
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 9 | 5 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 9 | 0 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 1.28 · 9 tier-1/2 wins · 10 finish wins over 23 documented bouts
In the UFC: 6-5 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.6 wins over .500
Yaotzin Meza
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 2 | 4 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 20 | 7 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.41 · 2 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 34 documented bouts
In the UFC: 0-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.3 wins over .500
Striking
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Chad Mendes
Distance 78.6% (norm 85.9%) · Clinch 4.7% (norm 6.0%) · Ground 16.6% (norm 6.5%)
Yaotzin Meza
Distance 90.5% (norm 85.9%) · Clinch 5.4% (norm 6.0%) · Ground 4.1% (norm 6.5%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Chad Mendes
Head 77.2% (norm 77.5%) · Body 6.5% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 16.4% (norm 7.9%)
Yaotzin Meza
Head 68.4% (norm 77.5%) · Body 13.3% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 18.4% (norm 7.9%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Mendes L/A | Acc | Featherweight med | Meza L/A | Acc | Featherweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 260 / 596 | 43.6% | 40.5% | 100 / 266 | 37.6% | 40.5% |
| In the clinch | 24 / 36 | 66.7% | 70.5% | 11 / 16 | too few to rate | 70.5% |
| On the ground | 97 / 126 | 77.0% | 69.3% | 10 / 12 | too few to rate | 69.3% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 257 / 585 | 43.9% | 37.1% | 55 / 201 | 27.4% | 37.1% |
| To the body | 33 / 49 | 67.3% | 68.0% | 24 / 39 | 61.5% | 68.0% |
| To the legs | 91 / 124 | 73.4% | 80.3% | 42 / 54 | 77.8% | 80.3% |
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 (Featherweight: 127 fighters · Featherweight: 127 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 Mendes L/A | Opp acc | Featherweight med | vs Meza L/A | Opp acc | Featherweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 292 / 965 | 30.3% | 39.3% | 97 / 332 | 29.2% | 39.3% |
| In the clinch | 13 / 27 | 48.1% | 70.3% | 11 / 20 | too few to rate | 70.3% |
| On the ground | 27 / 29 | 93.1% | 69.4% | 29 / 34 | 85.3% | 69.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 226 / 841 | 26.9% | 35.9% | 80 / 300 | 26.7% | 35.9% |
| To the body | 63 / 107 | 58.9% | 68.0% | 23 / 46 | 50.0% | 68.0% |
| To the legs | 43 / 73 | 58.9% | 81.5% | 34 / 40 | 85.0% | 81.5% |
Grappling
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Mendes has more cage time on record.