BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Sirwan Kakai vs.
Frankie Saenz

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

1-1-0 Sirwan Kakai · UFC
5-5-0 Frankie Saenz · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

1-1-0
UFC record
5-5-0
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Bantamweight
36
AgeΔ 9 yrs
45
5'5"
HeightΔ 1"
5'6"
Reach
66"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
132
Layoff (months)Δ 59.8 mo
72.2
LW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWWL
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.

Sirwan Kakai hunts takedowns — 4.00 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.12 Bantamweight norm.
Sirwan Kakai carries real power — 0.50 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.30 Bantamweight norm.
Frankie Saenz hunts takedowns — 1.74 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.

Sirwan Kakai

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

In the UFC: 0-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.0 wins over .500

Frankie Saenz

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

In the UFC: 2-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.6 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

1073.57/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
5093.94/min · norm 3.52
1394.63/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
4523.50/min · norm 3.58
41.3%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
47.4%norm 43.4%
62.1%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
52.2%norm 56.6%
10.50/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
20.23/15 · norm 0.30

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

Sirwan Kakai

Distance 84.2% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 14.7% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 1.2% (norm 6.5%)

Frankie Saenz

Distance 70.2% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 22.2% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 7.6% (norm 6.5%)

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

Sirwan Kakai

Head 85.3% (norm 77.4%) · Body 8.9% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 5.8% (norm 8.4%)

Frankie Saenz

Head 65.9% (norm 77.4%) · Body 18.7% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 15.4% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Kakai L/AAccBantamweight med Saenz L/AAccBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 79 / 218 36.2% 39.0% 287 / 753 38.1% 39.0%
In the clinch 25 / 38 65.8% 68.7% 174 / 238 73.1% 68.7%
On the ground 3 / 3 too few to rate 70.2% 48 / 82 58.5% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 77 / 221 34.8% 34.9% 238 / 707 33.7% 34.9%
To the body 17 / 23 too few to rate 66.8% 129 / 201 64.2% 66.8%
To the legs 13 / 15 too few to rate 79.4% 142 / 165 86.1% 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 Kakai L/AOpp accBantamweight med vs Saenz L/AOpp accBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 90 / 287 31.4% 39.3% 322 / 771 41.8% 39.3%
In the clinch 45 / 74 60.8% 70.4% 95 / 132 72.0% 70.4%
On the ground 4 / 6 too few to rate 72.4% 35 / 42 83.3% 72.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 83 / 291 28.5% 34.9% 295 / 745 39.6% 34.9%
To the body 47 / 67 70.1% 66.0% 114 / 150 76.0% 66.0%
To the legs 9 / 9 too few to rate 79.1% 43 / 50 86.0% 79.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

842.1% acc · 4.00/15 · norm 1.12
Takedowns landed
1531.9% acc · 1.74/15 · norm 1.12
583.3% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
3761.7% def · norm 66.7%
7:1324.1% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
26:5820.9% of cage time · norm 17.4%
2:481:24 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
16:081:52 per 15 · norm 2:24
00.00/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
10.12/15 · norm 0.28

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.