BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Themba Gorimbo vs.
Takashi Sato

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

4-4-0 Themba Gorimbo · UFC
2-5-0 Takashi Sato · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

4-4-0
UFC record
2-5-0
Welterweight
Division (benchmark)
Welterweight
35
AgeΔ 1 yrs
36
6'1"
HeightΔ 3"
5'10"
77"
ReachΔ 4"
73"
Orthodox
Stance
Southpaw
3.2
Layoff (months)Δ 35.4 mo
38.6
LLLWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLW
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.

Themba Gorimbo hunts takedowns — 4.52 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight norm.
Themba Gorimbo owns the mat — in control 53% of cage time, vs a 18% Welterweight norm.
Takashi Sato rarely shoots — 0.76 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.27 Welterweight 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.

Themba Gorimbo

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 44
Tier 3 — regional circuit 103

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.62 · 4 tier-1/2 wins · 8 finish wins over 21 documented bouts

In the UFC: 1-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.2 wins over .500

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

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

2242.70/min · norm 3.17
Sig. strikes landed
1312.21/min · norm 3.17
1451.75/min · norm 3.06
Sig. strikes absorbed
2213.73/min · norm 3.06
56.7%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
41.6%norm 44.9%
51.5%norm 55.25%
Striking defense
44.1%norm 55.25%
20.36/15 · norm 0.38
Knockdowns
20.51/15 · norm 0.38

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

Themba Gorimbo

Distance 65.1% (norm 81.2%) · Clinch 18.0% (norm 9.4%) · Ground 17.0% (norm 8.1%)

Takashi Sato

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

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

Themba Gorimbo

Head 68.4% (norm 78.2%) · Body 21.8% (norm 12.4%) · Legs 9.9% (norm 8.4%)

Takashi Sato

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

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Gorimbo L/AAccWelterweight med Sato L/AAccWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 123 / 257 47.9% 38.6% 76 / 241 31.5% 38.6%
In the clinch 56 / 71 78.9% 67.8% 17 / 23 too few to rate 67.8%
On the ground 45 / 67 67.2% 67.2% 38 / 51 74.5% 67.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 117 / 270 43.3% 37.2% 101 / 271 37.3% 37.2%
To the body 69 / 86 80.2% 70.7% 23 / 35 65.7% 70.7%
To the legs 38 / 39 97.4% 82.9% 7 / 9 too few to rate 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 Gorimbo L/AOpp accWelterweight med vs Sato L/AOpp accWelterweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 86 / 222 38.7% 39.0% 133 / 291 45.7% 39.0%
In the clinch 31 / 35 88.6% 68.9% 33 / 41 80.5% 68.9%
On the ground 28 / 42 66.7% 68.0% 55 / 63 87.3% 68.0%
BY TARGET
To the head 103 / 239 43.1% 35.6% 126 / 267 47.2% 35.6%
To the body 32 / 41 78.0% 69.6% 71 / 102 69.6% 69.6%
To the legs 10 / 19 too few to rate 82.1% 24 / 26 92.3% 82.1%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

2562.5% acc · 4.52/15 · norm 1.27
Takedowns landed
337.5% acc · 0.76/15 · norm 1.27
1973.1% def · norm 63.9%
Takedowns stopped
1460.9% def · norm 63.9%
43:5152.8% of cage time · norm 18.5%
Control time
3:295.9% of cage time · norm 18.5%
20:113:38 per 15 · norm 3:15
Time under control
23:305:57 per 15 · norm 3:15
20.36/15 · norm 0.45
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.45

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.