BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Rani Yahya vs.
Michinori Tanaka

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
2-3-0 Michinori Tanaka · 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
2-3-0
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Bantamweight
41.9
AgeΔ 6.1 yrs
35.8
5'6"
HeightΔ 1"
5'5"
67"
ReachΔ 0"
67"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
27.3
Layoff (months)Δ 86.7 mo
114
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.
Rani Yahya hunts takedowns — 2.66 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.12 Bantamweight norm.
Michinori Tanaka owns the mat — in control 41% of cage time, vs a 17% 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

Michinori Tanaka

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

In the UFC: 1-1 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

4401.91/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
1481.97/min · norm 3.52
4862.11/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
1491.99/min · norm 3.58
39.2%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
37.5%norm 43.4%
50.4%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
50.8%norm 56.6%
00.00/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · 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%)

Michinori Tanaka

Distance 78.7% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 1.8% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 19.5% (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%)

Michinori Tanaka

Head 87.1% (norm 77.4%) · Body 4.6% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 8.4% (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 Tanaka L/AAccBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 336 / 980 34.3% 39.0% 91 / 311 29.3% 39.0%
In the clinch 23 / 38 60.5% 68.7% 4 / 7 too few to rate 68.7%
On the ground 81 / 104 77.9% 70.2% 53 / 77 68.8% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 239 / 849 28.2% 34.9% 105 / 344 30.5% 34.9%
To the body 82 / 119 68.9% 66.8% 16 / 18 too few to rate 66.8%
To the legs 119 / 154 77.3% 79.4% 27 / 33 81.8% 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 Tanaka L/AOpp accBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 311 / 757 41.1% 39.3% 112 / 252 44.4% 39.3%
In the clinch 17 / 26 65.4% 70.4% 17 / 21 too few to rate 70.4%
On the ground 158 / 196 80.6% 72.4% 20 / 30 66.7% 72.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 340 / 790 43.0% 34.9% 102 / 239 42.7% 34.9%
To the body 95 / 121 78.5% 66.0% 23 / 32 71.9% 66.0%
To the legs 51 / 68 75.0% 79.1% 24 / 32 75.0% 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
1238.7% acc · 2.40/15 · norm 1.12
931.0% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
743.8% def · norm 66.7%
88:2338.3% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
30:3340.7% of cage time · norm 17.4%
62:554:05 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
14:482:57 per 15 · norm 2:24
231.49/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
10.20/15 · 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.