BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Marlon Vera vs.
Aiemann Zahabi

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

15-11-0 Marlon Vera · UFC
8-3-0 Aiemann Zahabi · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

15-11-0
UFC record
8-3-0
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Bantamweight
33.7
AgeΔ 5 yrs
38.7
5'8"
HeightΔ 0"
5'8"
70"
ReachΔ 2"
68"
Switch
Stance
Orthodox
5.2
Layoff (months)Δ 3.5 mo
1.7
LLLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LWWWW
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.

Marlon Vera is a submission threat — 0.76 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Bantamweight norm.
Aiemann Zahabi rarely shoots — 0.12 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.12 Bantamweight norm.
Marlon Vera carries real power — 0.55 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.30 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.

Marlon Vera

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1511
Tier 3 — regional circuit 81

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.19 · 15 tier-1/2 wins · 18 finish wins over 36 documented bouts

In the UFC: 10-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.7 wins over .500

Aiemann Zahabi

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 83
Tier 3 — regional circuit 60

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.44 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 8 finish wins over 17 documented bouts

In the UFC: 5-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.3 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

14804.18/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
5824.47/min · norm 3.52
18905.34/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
5354.11/min · norm 3.58
47.6%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
48.1%norm 43.4%
50.1%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
68.2%norm 56.6%
130.55/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
30.35/15 · norm 0.30

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

Marlon Vera

Distance 86.6% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 6.1% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 7.3% (norm 6.5%)

Aiemann Zahabi

Distance 93.5% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 2.6% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 3.9% (norm 6.5%)

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

Marlon Vera

Head 69.0% (norm 77.4%) · Body 16.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 14.3% (norm 8.4%)

Aiemann Zahabi

Head 78.8% (norm 77.4%) · Body 11.5% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 9.7% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Vera L/AAccBantamweight med Zahabi L/AAccBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1183 / 2694 43.9% 39.0% 529 / 1131 46.8% 39.0%
In the clinch 146 / 189 77.2% 68.7% 21 / 32 65.6% 68.7%
On the ground 151 / 227 66.5% 70.2% 32 / 47 68.1% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 801 / 2146 37.3% 34.9% 403 / 954 42.2% 34.9%
To the body 319 / 520 61.3% 66.8% 91 / 139 65.5% 66.8%
To the legs 360 / 444 81.1% 79.4% 88 / 117 75.2% 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 Vera L/AOpp accBantamweight med vs Zahabi L/AOpp accBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1605 / 3379 47.5% 39.3% 519 / 1658 31.3% 39.3%
In the clinch 116 / 171 67.8% 70.4% 9 / 18 too few to rate 70.4%
On the ground 169 / 238 71.0% 72.4% 7 / 7 too few to rate 72.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 1163 / 2842 40.9% 34.9% 333 / 1353 24.6% 34.9%
To the body 426 / 586 72.7% 66.0% 110 / 208 52.9% 66.0%
To the legs 301 / 360 83.6% 79.1% 92 / 122 75.4% 79.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

1139.3% acc · 0.47/15 · norm 1.12
Takedowns landed
114.3% acc · 0.12/15 · norm 1.12
6671.7% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
2683.9% def · norm 66.7%
30:398.7% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
5:334.3% of cage time · norm 17.4%
65:262:46 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
3:100:21 per 15 · norm 2:24
180.76/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.28

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.