BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Rafael Cerqueira vs.
Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev

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

0-1-0 Rafael Cerqueira · UFC
3-0-0 Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

0-1-0
UFC record
3-0-0
Light Heavyweight
Division (benchmark)
Light Heavyweight
36
AgeΔ 11 yrs
25
6'3"
HeightΔ 1"
6'2"
76"
ReachΔ 2"
78"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
8.4
Layoff (months)Δ 7.1 mo
1.3
L
Last 5 (newest first)
WWW
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.

Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev is a submission threat — 8.45 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.27 Light Heavyweight norm.
Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev carries real power — 8.45 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.40 Light Heavyweight norm.
Rafael Cerqueira absorbs 10.91 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.35 Light Heavyweight norm — hittable.
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.

Rafael Cerqueira

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

In the UFC: 0-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.0 wins over .500

Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev

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

In the UFC: 0-0 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record -1.0 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

00.00/min · norm 3.41
Sig. strikes landed
195.35/min · norm 3.41
610.91/min · norm 3.35
Sig. strikes absorbed
82.25/min · norm 3.35
0.0%norm 48.3%
Striking accuracy
57.6%norm 48.3%
40.0%norm 52.9%
Striking defense
57.9%norm 52.9%
00.00/15 · norm 0.40
Knockdowns
28.45/15 · norm 0.40

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

Rafael Cerqueira

Distance 100.0% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 0.0% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 0.0% (norm 10.4%)

Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev

Distance 48.5% (norm 80.5%) · Clinch 0.0% (norm 8.6%) · Ground 51.5% (norm 10.4%)

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

Rafael Cerqueira

Head 100.0% (norm 79.2%) · Body 0.0% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 0.0% (norm 9.7%)

Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev

Head 97.0% (norm 79.2%) · Body 3.0% (norm 11.7%) · Legs 0.0% (norm 9.7%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Cerqueira L/AAccLight Heavyweight med Yakhyaev L/AAccLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 0 / 1 too few to rate 41.4% 7 / 16 too few to rate 41.4%
In the clinch 0 / 0 too few to rate 70.9% 0 / 0 too few to rate 70.9%
On the ground 0 / 0 too few to rate 72.3% 12 / 17 too few to rate 72.3%
BY TARGET
To the head 0 / 1 too few to rate 38.9% 18 / 32 56.2% 38.9%
To the body 0 / 0 too few to rate 71.9% 1 / 1 too few to rate 71.9%
To the legs 0 / 0 too few to rate 81.8% 0 / 0 too few to rate 81.8%

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 (Light Heavyweight: 93 fighters · Light Heavyweight: 93 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 Cerqueira L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med vs Yakhyaev L/AOpp accLight Heavyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 3 / 4 too few to rate 40.4% 8 / 19 too few to rate 40.4%
In the clinch 0 / 0 too few to rate 68.7% 0 / 0 too few to rate 68.7%
On the ground 3 / 6 too few to rate 70.4% 0 / 0 too few to rate 70.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 6 / 10 too few to rate 37.5% 5 / 15 too few to rate 37.5%
To the body 0 / 0 too few to rate 72.3% 1 / 1 too few to rate 72.3%
To the legs 0 / 0 too few to rate 83.0% 2 / 3 too few to rate 83.0%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

0— acc · 0.00/15 · norm 0.87
Takedowns landed
375.0% acc · 12.68/15 · norm 0.87
00.0% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
0— def · norm 66.7%
0:000.0% of cage time · norm 16.5%
Control time
2:2367.1% of cage time · norm 16.5%
0:2410:54 per 15 · norm 2:48
Time under control
0:000:00 per 15 · norm 2:48
00.00/15 · norm 0.27
Submission attempts
28.45/15 · norm 0.27

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.