Joe Soto vs.
Michinori Tanaka
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.
Joe Soto
Full career not yet synced for Joe Soto — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 2-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.1 wins over .500
Michinori Tanaka
Full career not yet synced for Michinori Tanaka — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).
In the UFC: 1-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.0 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)
Joe Soto
Distance 94.0% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 1.6% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 4.4% (norm 6.5%)
Michinori Tanaka
Distance 78.7% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 1.8% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 19.5% (norm 6.5%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Joe Soto
Head 88.6% (norm 77.4%) · Body 4.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 7.4% (norm 8.4%)
Michinori Tanaka
Head 87.1% (norm 77.4%) · Body 4.6% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 8.4% (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 | Tanaka L/A | Acc | Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 211 / 536 | 39.4% | 39.0% | 91 / 311 | 29.3% | 39.0% |
| In the clinch | 3 / 9 | too few to rate | 68.7% | 4 / 7 | too few to rate | 68.7% |
| On the ground | 24 / 25 | 96.0% | 70.2% | 53 / 77 | 68.8% | 70.2% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 195 / 505 | 38.6% | 34.9% | 105 / 344 | 30.5% | 34.9% |
| To the body | 17 / 23 | too few to rate | 66.8% | 16 / 18 | too few to rate | 66.8% |
| To the legs | 26 / 42 | 61.9% | 79.4% | 27 / 33 | 81.8% | 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 Tanaka L/A | Opp acc | Bantamweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 338 / 1082 | 31.2% | 39.3% | 112 / 252 | 44.4% | 39.3% |
| In the clinch | 20 / 38 | 52.6% | 70.4% | 17 / 21 | too few to rate | 70.4% |
| On the ground | 22 / 34 | 64.7% | 72.4% | 20 / 30 | 66.7% | 72.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 294 / 1037 | 28.4% | 34.9% | 102 / 239 | 42.7% | 34.9% |
| To the body | 56 / 80 | 70.0% | 66.0% | 23 / 32 | 71.9% | 66.0% |
| To the legs | 30 / 37 | 81.1% | 79.1% | 24 / 32 | 75.0% | 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 — Soto has more cage time on record.