BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Valentina Shevchenko vs.
Taila Santos

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

15-3-1 Valentina Shevchenko · UFC
4-3-0 Taila Santos · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

15-3-1
UFC record
4-3-0
Women's Flyweight
Division (benchmark)
Women's Flyweight
38.4
AgeΔ 5.3 yrs
33.1
5'5"
HeightΔ 1"
5'6"
66"
ReachΔ 2"
68"
Southpaw
Stance
Orthodox
8.7
Layoff (months)Δ 26.6 mo
35.3
WWWDL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWWW
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.

Taila Santos carries real power — 0.43 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.09 Women's Flyweight norm.
Taila Santos is a submission threat — 1.29 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.32 Women's Flyweight norm.
Valentina Shevchenko hunts takedowns — 2.65 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.02 Women's Flyweight 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.

Valentina Shevchenko

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 153
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 10
Tier 3 — regional circuit 101

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.56 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 31 documented bouts

In the UFC: 12-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +3.6 wins over .500

Taila Santos

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

In the UFC: 3-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.7 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

11003.04/min · norm 3.91
Sig. strikes landed
3153.01/min · norm 3.91
7262.00/min · norm 3.81
Sig. strikes absorbed
2692.57/min · norm 3.81
52.6%norm 44.9%
Striking accuracy
45.8%norm 44.9%
63.5%norm 55.95%
Striking defense
57.3%norm 55.95%
20.08/15 · norm 0.09
Knockdowns
30.43/15 · norm 0.09

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

Valentina Shevchenko

Distance 81.0% (norm 87.6%) · Clinch 7.4% (norm 7.3%) · Ground 11.6% (norm 4.9%)

Taila Santos

Distance 80.1% (norm 87.6%) · Clinch 8.3% (norm 7.3%) · Ground 11.6% (norm 4.9%)

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

Valentina Shevchenko

Head 76.1% (norm 78.1%) · Body 10.6% (norm 14.2%) · Legs 13.3% (norm 7.7%)

Taila Santos

Head 70.6% (norm 78.1%) · Body 15.7% (norm 14.2%) · Legs 13.7% (norm 7.7%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Shevchenko L/AAccWomen's Flyweight med Santos L/AAccWomen's Flyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 790 / 1693 46.7% 39.9% 215 / 551 39.0% 39.9%
In the clinch 104 / 155 67.1% 73.3% 43 / 57 75.4% 73.3%
On the ground 206 / 242 85.1% 74.7% 57 / 80 71.2% 74.7%
BY TARGET
To the head 722 / 1590 45.4% 34.9% 167 / 486 34.4% 34.9%
To the body 150 / 221 67.9% 69.5% 65 / 108 60.2% 69.5%
To the legs 228 / 279 81.7% 82.6% 83 / 94 88.3% 82.6%

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 (Women's Flyweight: 46 fighters · Women's Flyweight: 46 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 Shevchenko L/AOpp accWomen's Flyweight med vs Santos L/AOpp accWomen's Flyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 529 / 1739 30.4% 38.8% 212 / 549 38.6% 38.8%
In the clinch 153 / 183 83.6% 74.1% 37 / 56 66.1% 74.1%
On the ground 44 / 69 63.8% 73.4% 20 / 25 80.0% 73.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 265 / 1251 21.2% 35.3% 150 / 475 31.6% 35.3%
To the body 215 / 351 61.3% 69.0% 56 / 78 71.8% 69.0%
To the legs 246 / 389 63.2% 78.7% 63 / 77 81.8% 78.7%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

6461.5% acc · 2.65/15 · norm 1.02
Takedowns landed
1575.0% acc · 2.15/15 · norm 1.02
4276.4% def · norm 58.95%
Takedowns stopped
2985.3% def · norm 58.95%
113:4931.4% of cage time · norm 19.15%
Control time
41:4439.8% of cage time · norm 19.15%
51:082:07 per 15 · norm 3:03
Time under control
23:183:20 per 15 · norm 3:03
70.29/15 · norm 0.32
Submission attempts
91.29/15 · norm 0.32

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.