BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Youssef Zalal vs.
Calvin Kattar

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

8-4-1 Youssef Zalal · UFC
7-8-0 Calvin Kattar · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

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

8-4-1
UFC record
7-8-0
Featherweight
Division (benchmark)
Featherweight
29.9
AgeΔ 8.5 yrs
38.4
5'10"
HeightΔ 1"
5'11"
72"
ReachΔ 0"
72"
Switch
Stance
Orthodox
3.4
Layoff (months)Δ 9.4 mo
12.8
LWWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLLL
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.

Youssef Zalal is a submission threat — 1.29 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.46 Featherweight norm.
Calvin Kattar absorbs 6.55 sig. strikes per minute, well above the 3.47 Featherweight norm — hittable.
Youssef Zalal owns the mat — in control 29% of cage time, vs a 17% Featherweight 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.

Youssef Zalal

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 84
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 42
Tier 3 — regional circuit 60

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.33 · 12 tier-1/2 wins · 14 finish wins over 25 documented bouts

In the UFC: 4-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.7 wins over .500

Calvin Kattar

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 168
Tier 3 — regional circuit 72

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.25 · 16 tier-1/2 wins · 13 finish wins over 33 documented bouts

In the UFC: 5-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +4.7 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4542.78/min · norm 3.54
Sig. strikes landed
9774.41/min · norm 3.54
2921.79/min · norm 3.47
Sig. strikes absorbed
14536.55/min · norm 3.47
50.9%norm 45.0%
Striking accuracy
38.0%norm 45.0%
64.9%norm 54.85%
Striking defense
54.8%norm 54.85%
20.18/15 · norm 0.29
Knockdowns
50.34/15 · norm 0.29

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

Youssef Zalal

Distance 88.8% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 4.3% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 7.0% (norm 6.5%)

Calvin Kattar

Distance 95.5% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 1.2% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 3.4% (norm 6.5%)

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

Youssef Zalal

Head 75.9% (norm 77.4%) · Body 12.0% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 12.1% (norm 7.8%)

Calvin Kattar

Head 87.8% (norm 77.4%) · Body 8.1% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 4.0% (norm 7.8%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Zalal L/AAccFeatherweight med Kattar L/AAccFeatherweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 389 / 792 49.1% 40.9% 908 / 2456 37.0% 40.9%
In the clinch 28 / 38 73.7% 70.8% 16 / 30 53.3% 70.8%
On the ground 37 / 62 59.7% 69.2% 53 / 87 60.9% 69.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 288 / 677 42.5% 37.2% 760 / 2260 33.6% 37.2%
To the body 76 / 107 71.0% 68.2% 131 / 209 62.7% 68.2%
To the legs 90 / 108 83.3% 80.7% 86 / 104 82.7% 80.7%

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 (Featherweight: 126 fighters · Featherweight: 126 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 Zalal L/AOpp accFeatherweight med vs Kattar L/AOpp accFeatherweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 235 / 750 31.3% 39.2% 1416 / 3148 45.0% 39.2%
In the clinch 47 / 66 71.2% 70.3% 24 / 39 61.5% 70.3%
On the ground 10 / 15 too few to rate 69.4% 13 / 27 48.1% 69.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 180 / 634 28.4% 35.9% 859 / 2446 35.1% 35.9%
To the body 64 / 108 59.3% 67.9% 325 / 450 72.2% 67.9%
To the legs 48 / 89 53.9% 81.5% 269 / 318 84.6% 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

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

2031.7% acc · 1.84/15 · norm 1.19
Takedowns landed
529.4% acc · 0.34/15 · norm 1.19
2455.8% def · norm 61.5%
Takedowns stopped
3477.3% def · norm 61.5%
47:2529.0% of cage time · norm 16.7%
Control time
6:222.9% of cage time · norm 16.7%
41:233:48 per 15 · norm 3:12
Time under control
13:230:54 per 15 · norm 3:12
141.29/15 · norm 0.46
Submission attempts
10.07/15 · norm 0.46

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.