BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Michael McDonald vs.
Urijah Faber

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

6-3-0 Michael McDonald · UFC
11-7-0 Urijah Faber · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

6-3-0
UFC record
11-7-0
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Bantamweight
35.6
AgeΔ 11.6 yrs
47.2
5'9"
HeightΔ 3"
5'6"
70"
ReachΔ 3"
67"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
120.8
Layoff (months)Δ 41.1 mo
79.7
LWLWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LWWLL
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.

Michael McDonald is a submission threat — 1.31 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Bantamweight norm.
Michael McDonald carries real power — 0.94 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.30 Bantamweight norm.
Urijah Faber is a submission threat — 0.55 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 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.

Michael McDonald

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

In the UFC: 3-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.8 wins over .500

Urijah Faber

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

In the UFC: 9-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.6 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

2162.70/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
7132.90/min · norm 3.52
2262.82/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
7102.89/min · norm 3.58
42.7%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
42.0%norm 43.4%
57.2%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
65.1%norm 56.6%
50.94/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
50.31/15 · norm 0.30

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

Michael McDonald

Distance 88.3% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 6.9% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 4.7% (norm 6.5%)

Urijah Faber

Distance 77.3% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 8.2% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 14.5% (norm 6.5%)

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

Michael McDonald

Head 89.3% (norm 77.4%) · Body 5.9% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 4.7% (norm 8.4%)

Urijah Faber

Head 82.9% (norm 77.4%) · Body 13.1% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 4.1% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone McDonald L/AAccBantamweight med Faber L/AAccBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 180 / 447 40.3% 39.0% 444 / 1312 33.8% 39.0%
In the clinch 19 / 35 54.3% 68.7% 97 / 139 69.8% 68.7%
On the ground 17 / 24 too few to rate 70.2% 172 / 247 69.6% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 171 / 452 37.8% 34.9% 524 / 1407 37.2% 34.9%
To the body 23 / 30 76.7% 66.8% 137 / 222 61.7% 66.8%
To the legs 22 / 24 too few to rate 79.4% 52 / 69 75.4% 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 McDonald L/AOpp accBantamweight med vs Faber L/AOpp accBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 174 / 442 39.4% 39.3% 578 / 1819 31.8% 39.3%
In the clinch 13 / 35 37.1% 70.4% 100 / 157 63.7% 70.4%
On the ground 39 / 51 76.5% 72.4% 32 / 59 54.2% 72.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 131 / 407 32.2% 34.9% 411 / 1592 25.8% 34.9%
To the body 60 / 80 75.0% 66.0% 122 / 219 55.7% 66.0%
To the legs 35 / 41 85.4% 79.1% 177 / 224 79.0% 79.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

666.7% acc · 1.12/15 · norm 1.12
Takedowns landed
2628.3% acc · 1.59/15 · norm 1.12
1052.6% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
3162.0% def · norm 66.7%
7:008.7% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
46:2118.9% of cage time · norm 17.4%
20:453:53 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
20:381:15 per 15 · norm 2:24
71.31/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
90.55/15 · norm 0.28

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.