BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Rani Yahya vs.
Luke Sanders

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

13-6-1 (1 NC) Rani Yahya · UFC
3-5-0 Luke Sanders · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

13-6-1 (1 NC)
UFC record
3-5-0
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Bantamweight
41.9
AgeΔ 1.3 yrs
40.6
5'6"
HeightΔ 0"
5'6"
67"
ReachΔ 0"
67"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
27.3
Layoff (months)Δ 35.9 mo
63.2
LLWWD
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWLW
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.

Rani Yahya is a submission threat — 1.49 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Bantamweight norm.
Luke Sanders carries real power — 0.95 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.30 Bantamweight norm.
Rani Yahya hunts takedowns — 2.66 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.12 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.

Rani Yahya

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 136
Tier 3 — regional circuit 136

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.9 · 13 tier-1/2 wins · 19 finish wins over 40 documented bouts

In the UFC: 3-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.4 wins over .500

Luke Sanders

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

In the UFC: 2-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.5 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4401.91/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
4166.61/min · norm 3.52
4862.11/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
2754.37/min · norm 3.58
39.2%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
52.6%norm 43.4%
50.4%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
50.8%norm 56.6%
00.00/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
40.95/15 · norm 0.30

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

Rani Yahya

Distance 87.3% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 3.4% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 9.3% (norm 6.5%)

Luke Sanders

Distance 79.9% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 7.6% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 12.5% (norm 6.5%)

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

Rani Yahya

Head 75.7% (norm 77.4%) · Body 10.6% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 13.7% (norm 8.4%)

Luke Sanders

Head 86.6% (norm 77.4%) · Body 8.5% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 4.9% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Yahya L/AAccBantamweight med Sanders L/AAccBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 336 / 980 34.3% 39.0% 284 / 632 44.9% 39.0%
In the clinch 23 / 38 60.5% 68.7% 41 / 60 68.3% 68.7%
On the ground 81 / 104 77.9% 70.2% 91 / 99 91.9% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 239 / 849 28.2% 34.9% 335 / 685 48.9% 34.9%
To the body 82 / 119 68.9% 66.8% 51 / 67 76.1% 66.8%
To the legs 119 / 154 77.3% 79.4% 30 / 39 76.9% 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 Yahya L/AOpp accBantamweight med vs Sanders L/AOpp accBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 311 / 757 41.1% 39.3% 234 / 500 46.8% 39.3%
In the clinch 17 / 26 65.4% 70.4% 24 / 34 70.6% 70.4%
On the ground 158 / 196 80.6% 72.4% 17 / 25 68.0% 72.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 340 / 790 43.0% 34.9% 134 / 384 34.9% 34.9%
To the body 95 / 121 78.5% 66.0% 88 / 118 74.6% 66.0%
To the legs 51 / 68 75.0% 79.1% 53 / 57 93.0% 79.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

4131.1% acc · 2.66/15 · norm 1.12
Takedowns landed
330.0% acc · 0.71/15 · norm 1.12
931.0% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
1672.7% def · norm 66.7%
88:2338.3% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
11:1117.8% of cage time · norm 17.4%
62:554:05 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
4:571:10 per 15 · norm 2:24
231.49/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
10.24/15 · norm 0.28

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.