BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Matt Bessette vs.
Enrique Barzola

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

0-2-0 Matt Bessette · UFC
6-3-1 Enrique Barzola · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

0-2-0
UFC record
6-3-1
Featherweight
Division (benchmark)
Featherweight
41
AgeΔ 4 yrs
37
5'10"
HeightΔ 3"
5'7"
70"
ReachΔ 0"
70"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
97
Layoff (months)Δ 20.3 mo
76.7
LL
Last 5 (newest first)
DLWLW
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.

Enrique Barzola hunts takedowns — 4.20 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.19 Featherweight norm.
Matt Bessette rarely shoots — 0.00 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.19 Featherweight norm.
Enrique Barzola owns the mat — in control 30% of cage time, vs a 17% 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.

Matt Bessette

Full career not yet synced for Matt Bessette — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).

In the UFC: 0-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.5 wins over .500

Enrique Barzola

Full career not yet synced for Enrique Barzola — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).

In the UFC: 1-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.8 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

1003.33/min · norm 3.54
Sig. strikes landed
5873.91/min · norm 3.54
1294.30/min · norm 3.47
Sig. strikes absorbed
4462.97/min · norm 3.47
34.8%norm 45.0%
Striking accuracy
41.6%norm 45.0%
56.6%norm 54.85%
Striking defense
68.7%norm 54.85%
00.00/15 · norm 0.29
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · norm 0.29

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

Matt Bessette

Distance 93.4% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 5.9% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 0.7% (norm 6.5%)

Enrique Barzola

Distance 82.6% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 4.0% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 13.5% (norm 6.5%)

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

Matt Bessette

Head 81.5% (norm 77.4%) · Body 16.0% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 2.4% (norm 7.8%)

Enrique Barzola

Head 78.5% (norm 77.4%) · Body 12.8% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 8.7% (norm 7.8%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Bessette L/AAccFeatherweight med Barzola L/AAccFeatherweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 86 / 268 32.1% 40.9% 424 / 1166 36.4% 40.9%
In the clinch 12 / 17 too few to rate 70.8% 37 / 56 66.1% 70.8%
On the ground 2 / 2 too few to rate 69.2% 126 / 190 66.3% 69.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 69 / 234 29.5% 37.2% 348 / 1108 31.4% 37.2%
To the body 27 / 46 58.7% 68.2% 132 / 181 72.9% 68.2%
To the legs 4 / 7 too few to rate 80.7% 107 / 123 87.0% 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 Bessette L/AOpp accFeatherweight med vs Barzola L/AOpp accFeatherweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 89 / 234 38.0% 39.2% 417 / 1371 30.4% 39.2%
In the clinch 16 / 25 64.0% 70.3% 22 / 44 50.0% 70.3%
On the ground 24 / 38 63.2% 69.4% 7 / 10 too few to rate 69.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 69 / 224 30.8% 35.9% 290 / 1192 24.3% 35.9%
To the body 32 / 40 80.0% 67.9% 88 / 144 61.1% 67.9%
To the legs 28 / 33 84.8% 81.5% 68 / 89 76.4% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

00.0% acc · 0.00/15 · norm 1.19
Takedowns landed
4245.7% acc · 4.20/15 · norm 1.19
956.3% def · norm 61.5%
Takedowns stopped
1466.7% def · norm 61.5%
1:335.2% of cage time · norm 16.7%
Control time
44:3529.7% of cage time · norm 16.7%
11:455:52 per 15 · norm 3:12
Time under control
8:440:52 per 15 · norm 3:12
00.00/15 · norm 0.46
Submission attempts
30.30/15 · norm 0.46

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.