BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Sean O'Malley vs.
Aiemann Zahabi

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

12-3-0 (1 NC) Sean O'Malley · UFC
8-3-0 Aiemann Zahabi · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

12-3-0 (1 NC)
UFC record
8-3-0
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Bantamweight
31.8
AgeΔ 6.9 yrs
38.7
5'11"
HeightΔ 3"
5'8"
72"
ReachΔ 4"
68"
Switch
Stance
Orthodox
1.7
Layoff (months)Δ 0 mo
1.7
WWLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LWWWW
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.

Aiemann Zahabi rarely shoots — 0.12 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.12 Bantamweight norm.
Sean O'Malley carries real power — 0.55 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.30 Bantamweight norm.
Sean O'Malley rarely shoots — 0.24 takedowns 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.

Sean O'Malley

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 133
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 10
Tier 3 — regional circuit 60

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.75 · 14 tier-1/2 wins · 14 finish wins over 24 documented bouts

In the UFC: 8-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.1 wins over .500

Aiemann Zahabi

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 83
Tier 3 — regional circuit 60

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.44 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 8 finish wins over 17 documented bouts

In the UFC: 5-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.3 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

11315.97/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
5824.47/min · norm 3.52
6333.34/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
5354.11/min · norm 3.58
60.3%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
48.1%norm 43.4%
59.8%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
68.2%norm 56.6%
70.55/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
30.35/15 · norm 0.30

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

Sean O'Malley

Distance 96.3% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 1.3% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 2.4% (norm 6.5%)

Aiemann Zahabi

Distance 93.5% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 2.6% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 3.9% (norm 6.5%)

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

Sean O'Malley

Head 74.7% (norm 77.4%) · Body 19.4% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 5.9% (norm 8.4%)

Aiemann Zahabi

Head 78.8% (norm 77.4%) · Body 11.5% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 9.7% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone O'Malley L/AAccBantamweight med Zahabi L/AAccBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1074 / 1805 59.5% 39.0% 529 / 1131 46.8% 39.0%
In the clinch 20 / 25 80.0% 68.7% 21 / 32 65.6% 68.7%
On the ground 37 / 45 82.2% 70.2% 32 / 47 68.1% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 759 / 1401 54.2% 34.9% 403 / 954 42.2% 34.9%
To the body 269 / 364 73.9% 66.8% 91 / 139 65.5% 66.8%
To the legs 103 / 110 93.6% 79.4% 88 / 117 75.2% 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 O'Malley L/AOpp accBantamweight med vs Zahabi L/AOpp accBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 517 / 1402 36.9% 39.3% 519 / 1658 31.3% 39.3%
In the clinch 33 / 57 57.9% 70.4% 9 / 18 too few to rate 70.4%
On the ground 83 / 115 72.2% 72.4% 7 / 7 too few to rate 72.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 301 / 1088 27.7% 34.9% 333 / 1353 24.6% 34.9%
To the body 93 / 180 51.7% 66.0% 110 / 208 52.9% 66.0%
To the legs 239 / 306 78.1% 79.1% 92 / 122 75.4% 79.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

342.9% acc · 0.24/15 · norm 1.12
Takedowns landed
114.3% acc · 0.12/15 · norm 1.12
3759.7% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
2683.9% def · norm 66.7%
2:031.1% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
5:334.3% of cage time · norm 17.4%
32:472:35 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
3:100:21 per 15 · norm 2:24
30.24/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.28

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.