BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Sean O'Malley vs.
Song Yadong

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
12-4-1 Song Yadong · 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
12-4-1
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Bantamweight
31
AgeΔ 3 yrs
28
5'11"
HeightΔ 3"
5'8"
72"
ReachΔ 5"
67"
Switch
Stance
Orthodox
1.8
Layoff (months)Δ 0.5 mo
2.3
WWLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
WLWLW
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.

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.
Song Yadong carries real power — 0.48 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.30 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

Song Yadong

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 125
Tier 3 — regional circuit 114

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.04 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 34 documented bouts

In the UFC: 8-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.6 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

11315.97/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
9584.34/min · norm 3.52
6333.34/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
8423.81/min · norm 3.58
60.3%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
43.7%norm 43.4%
59.8%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
55.0%norm 56.6%
70.55/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
70.48/15 · 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%)

Song Yadong

Distance 91.5% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 3.6% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 4.9% (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%)

Song Yadong

Head 76.6% (norm 77.4%) · Body 12.4% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 11.0% (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 Yadong L/AAccBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 1074 / 1805 59.5% 39.0% 824 / 2007 41.1% 39.0%
In the clinch 20 / 25 80.0% 68.7% 57 / 79 72.2% 68.7%
On the ground 37 / 45 82.2% 70.2% 77 / 108 71.3% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 759 / 1401 54.2% 34.9% 587 / 1681 34.9% 34.9%
To the body 269 / 364 73.9% 66.8% 182 / 272 66.9% 66.8%
To the legs 103 / 110 93.6% 79.4% 189 / 241 78.4% 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 O'Malley L/AOpp accBantamweight med vs Yadong L/AOpp accBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 517 / 1402 36.9% 39.3% 763 / 1771 43.1% 39.3%
In the clinch 33 / 57 57.9% 70.4% 38 / 52 73.1% 70.4%
On the ground 83 / 115 72.2% 72.4% 41 / 50 82.0% 72.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 301 / 1088 27.7% 34.9% 485 / 1383 35.1% 34.9%
To the body 93 / 180 51.7% 66.0% 172 / 263 65.4% 66.0%
To the legs 239 / 306 78.1% 79.1% 185 / 227 81.5% 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
1241.4% acc · 0.81/15 · norm 1.12
3759.7% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
4873.8% def · norm 66.7%
2:031.1% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
29:2713.3% of cage time · norm 17.4%
32:472:35 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
19:111:18 per 15 · norm 2:24
30.24/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
30.20/15 · norm 0.28

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.