BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Takashi Sato vs.
Belal Muhammad

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

2-5-0 Takashi Sato · UFC
15-6-0 (1 NC) Belal Muhammad · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

2-5-0
UFC record
15-6-0 (1 NC)
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
36
AgeΔ 2 yrs
38
5'10"
HeightΔ 1"
5'11"
73"
ReachΔ 1"
72"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
38.6
Layoff (months)Δ 36.6 mo
2
LLLLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLWW
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.

Belal Muhammad hunts takedowns — 1.98 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.
Takashi Sato rarely shoots — 0.76 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.
Belal Muhammad outworks the Welterweight division — 4.36 sig. strikes landed per minute, vs a 3.17 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.

Takashi Sato

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

In the UFC: 1-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.4 wins over .500

Belal Muhammad

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 176
Tier 3 — regional circuit 70

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.39 · 17 tier-1/2 wins · 6 finish wins over 31 documented bouts

In the UFC: 11-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.5 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

1312.21/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
15154.36/min · norm 3.17
2213.73/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
13623.92/min · norm 3.06
41.6%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
42.4%norm 44.9%
44.1%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
55.2%norm 55.25%
20.51/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · norm 0.38

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

Takashi Sato

Distance 76.5% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 7.3% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 16.2% (norm 8.1%)

Belal Muhammad

Distance 91.5% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 3.5% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 5.0% (norm 8.1%)

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

Takashi Sato

Head 86.0% (norm 78.2%) · Body 11.1% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 2.9% (norm 8.4%)

Belal Muhammad

Head 86.6% (norm 78.2%) · Body 9.1% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 4.3% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Sato L/AAccWelterweight med Muhammad L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 76 / 241 31.5% 38.6% 1324 / 3270 40.5% 38.6%
In the clinch 17 / 23 too few to rate 67.8% 72 / 124 58.1% 67.8%
On the ground 38 / 51 74.5% 67.2% 119 / 178 66.9% 67.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 101 / 271 37.3% 37.2% 1166 / 3095 37.7% 37.2%
To the body 23 / 35 65.7% 70.7% 219 / 324 67.6% 70.7%
To the legs 7 / 9 too few to rate 82.9% 130 / 153 85.0% 82.9%

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 (Welterweight: 182 fighters · Welterweight: 182 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 Sato L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Muhammad L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 133 / 291 45.7% 39.0% 1257 / 2896 43.4% 39.0%
In the clinch 33 / 41 80.5% 68.9% 68 / 86 79.1% 68.9%
On the ground 55 / 63 87.3% 68.0% 37 / 57 64.9% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 126 / 267 47.2% 35.6% 780 / 2308 33.8% 35.6%
To the body 71 / 102 69.6% 69.6% 245 / 350 70.0% 69.6%
To the legs 24 / 26 92.3% 82.1% 337 / 381 88.5% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

337.5% acc · 0.76/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
4635.9% acc · 1.98/15 · norm 1.27
1460.9% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
4890.6% def · norm 63.9%
3:295.9% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
76:1821.9% of cage time · norm 18.5%
23:305:57 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
18:530:48 per 15 · norm 3:15
00.00/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
30.13/15 · norm 0.45

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.