BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Melissa Croden vs.
Luana Santos

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

2-1-0 Melissa Croden · UFC
6-1-0 Luana Santos · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

2-1-0
UFC record
6-1-0
Women's Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Women's Bantamweight
35
AgeΔ 9 yrs
26
Height
5'6"
Reach
67"
Stance
Orthodox
3.6
Layoff (months)Δ 2.1 mo
1.5
WLW
Last 5 (newest first)
WWWLW
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.

Melissa Croden carries real power — 0.34 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.08 Women's Bantamweight norm.
Luana Santos is a submission threat — 0.97 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.34 Women's Bantamweight norm.
Luana Santos hunts takedowns — 2.14 per 15 minutes, vs a 0.91 Women's 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.

Melissa Croden

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

In the UFC: 2-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.7 wins over .500

Luana Santos

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

In the UFC: 3-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.1 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

1904.27/min · norm 3.56
Sig. strikes landed
1952.53/min · norm 3.56
952.13/min · norm 3.51
Sig. strikes absorbed
1892.45/min · norm 3.51
47.3%norm 46.65%
Striking accuracy
53.6%norm 46.65%
59.4%norm 52.45%
Striking defense
64.4%norm 52.45%
10.34/15 · norm 0.08
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · norm 0.08

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

Melissa Croden

Distance 72.6% (norm 80.3%) · Clinch 12.4% (norm 9.7%) · Ground 14.9% (norm 7.5%)

Luana Santos

Distance 89.3% (norm 80.3%) · Clinch 9.3% (norm 9.7%) · Ground 1.4% (norm 7.5%)

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

Melissa Croden

Head 78.4% (norm 75.2%) · Body 11.9% (norm 14.3%) · Legs 9.7% (norm 8.8%)

Luana Santos

Head 71.7% (norm 75.2%) · Body 20.9% (norm 14.3%) · Legs 7.4% (norm 8.8%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Croden L/AAccWomen's Bantamweight med Santos L/AAccWomen's Bantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 118 / 292 40.4% 38.3% 174 / 325 53.5% 38.3%
In the clinch 34 / 50 68.0% 73.3% 17 / 34 50.0% 73.3%
On the ground 38 / 60 63.3% 70.8% 4 / 5 too few to rate 70.8%
BY TARGET
To the head 134 / 315 42.5% 37.7% 115 / 261 44.1% 37.7%
To the body 31 / 48 64.6% 70.0% 57 / 76 75.0% 70.0%
To the legs 25 / 39 64.1% 80.9% 23 / 27 85.2% 80.9%

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 (Women's Bantamweight: 40 fighters · Women's Bantamweight: 40 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 Croden L/AOpp accWomen's Bantamweight med vs Santos L/AOpp accWomen's Bantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 68 / 196 34.7% 41.3% 149 / 478 31.2% 41.3%
In the clinch 27 / 37 73.0% 74.7% 30 / 43 69.8% 74.7%
On the ground 0 / 1 too few to rate 74.2% 10 / 10 too few to rate 74.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 59 / 186 31.7% 38.1% 123 / 426 28.9% 38.1%
To the body 29 / 40 72.5% 73.2% 43 / 67 64.2% 73.2%
To the legs 7 / 8 too few to rate 80.9% 23 / 38 60.5% 80.9%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

650.0% acc · 2.02/15 · norm 0.91
Takedowns landed
1137.9% acc · 2.14/15 · norm 0.91
1066.7% def · norm 62.5%
Takedowns stopped
685.7% def · norm 62.5%
11:0124.7% of cage time · norm 26.55%
Control time
42:3355.2% of cage time · norm 26.55%
11:403:55 per 15 · norm 3:19
Time under control
4:400:54 per 15 · norm 3:19
10.34/15 · norm 0.34
Submission attempts
50.97/15 · norm 0.34

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.