BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Ilia Topuria vs.
Josh Emmett

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

9-1-0 Ilia Topuria · UFC
10-7-0 Josh Emmett · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

9-1-0
UFC record
10-7-0
Featherweight
Division (benchmark)
Featherweight
29.5
AgeΔ 11.9 yrs
41.4
5'7"
HeightΔ 1"
5'6"
69"
ReachΔ 1"
70"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
1.7
Layoff (months)Δ 3.1 mo
4.8
LWWWW
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.

Ilia Topuria carries real power — 1.15 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.29 Featherweight norm.
Josh Emmett carries real power — 0.85 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.29 Featherweight norm.
Ilia Topuria is a submission threat — 0.86 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.46 Featherweight 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.

Ilia Topuria

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 91
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 20
Tier 3 — regional circuit 60

Tier-weighted record quality: 2.06 · 11 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 18 documented bouts

In the UFC: 7-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +6.2 wins over .500

Josh Emmett

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 107
Tier 3 — regional circuit 90

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.11 · 10 tier-1/2 wins · 9 finish wins over 26 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.6 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

5024.82/min · norm 3.54
Sig. strikes landed
7753.67/min · norm 3.54
4143.97/min · norm 3.47
Sig. strikes absorbed
9554.52/min · norm 3.47
50.1%norm 45.0%
Striking accuracy
35.8%norm 45.0%
62.1%norm 54.85%
Striking defense
59.6%norm 54.85%
81.15/15 · norm 0.29
Knockdowns
120.85/15 · norm 0.29

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

Ilia Topuria

Distance 84.3% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 4.5% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 11.2% (norm 6.5%)

Josh Emmett

Distance 91.3% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 2.9% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 5.8% (norm 6.5%)

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

Ilia Topuria

Head 78.3% (norm 77.4%) · Body 15.1% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 6.6% (norm 7.8%)

Josh Emmett

Head 81.6% (norm 77.4%) · Body 12.3% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 6.1% (norm 7.8%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Topuria L/AAccFeatherweight med Emmett L/AAccFeatherweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 387 / 845 45.8% 40.9% 654 / 1978 33.1% 40.9%
In the clinch 34 / 45 75.6% 70.8% 43 / 63 68.3% 70.8%
On the ground 81 / 112 72.3% 69.2% 78 / 126 61.9% 69.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 343 / 785 43.7% 37.2% 496 / 1768 28.1% 37.2%
To the body 106 / 151 70.2% 68.2% 164 / 267 61.4% 68.2%
To the legs 53 / 66 80.3% 80.7% 115 / 132 87.1% 80.7%

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: 126 fighters · Featherweight: 126 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 Topuria L/AOpp accFeatherweight med vs Emmett L/AOpp accFeatherweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 383 / 1046 36.6% 39.2% 824 / 2170 38.0% 39.2%
In the clinch 24 / 34 70.6% 70.3% 61 / 92 66.3% 70.3%
On the ground 7 / 11 too few to rate 69.4% 70 / 102 68.6% 69.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 257 / 841 30.6% 35.9% 665 / 1957 34.0% 35.9%
To the body 85 / 167 50.9% 67.9% 145 / 229 63.3% 67.9%
To the legs 72 / 83 86.7% 81.5% 145 / 178 81.5% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

1257.1% acc · 1.73/15 · norm 1.19
Takedowns landed
1536.6% acc · 1.07/15 · norm 1.19
2095.2% def · norm 61.5%
Takedowns stopped
743.8% def · norm 61.5%
21:2020.5% of cage time · norm 16.7%
Control time
16:518.0% of cage time · norm 16.7%
6:330:56 per 15 · norm 3:12
Time under control
9:340:40 per 15 · norm 3:12
60.86/15 · norm 0.46
Submission attempts
10.07/15 · norm 0.46

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.