BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Youssef Zalal vs.
SeungWoo Choi

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
4-7-0 SeungWoo Choi · 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
4-7-0
Featherweight
Division (benchmark)
Featherweight
29.9
AgeΔ 3.9 yrs
33.8
5'10"
HeightΔ 2"
6'0"
72"
ReachΔ 2"
74"
Switch
Stance
Orthodox
3.4
Layoff (months)Δ 13.3 mo
16.7
LWWWW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWLL
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.
SeungWoo Choi carries real power — 0.69 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.29 Featherweight norm.
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

SeungWoo Choi

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 47
Tier 3 — regional circuit 71

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.44 · 4 tier-1/2 wins · 6 finish wins over 19 documented bouts

In the UFC: 1-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.4 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

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

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4542.78/min · norm 3.54
Sig. strikes landed
3843.56/min · norm 3.54
2921.79/min · norm 3.47
Sig. strikes absorbed
3413.16/min · norm 3.47
50.9%norm 45.0%
Striking accuracy
38.9%norm 45.0%
64.9%norm 54.85%
Striking defense
47.0%norm 54.85%
20.18/15 · norm 0.29
Knockdowns
50.69/15 · 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%)

SeungWoo Choi

Distance 82.6% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 10.0% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 7.4% (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%)

SeungWoo Choi

Head 77.1% (norm 77.4%) · Body 13.6% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 9.3% (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 Choi L/AAccFeatherweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 389 / 792 49.1% 40.9% 270 / 815 33.1% 40.9%
In the clinch 28 / 38 73.7% 70.8% 67 / 99 67.7% 70.8%
On the ground 37 / 62 59.7% 69.2% 47 / 73 64.4% 69.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 288 / 677 42.5% 37.2% 230 / 761 30.2% 37.2%
To the body 76 / 107 71.0% 68.2% 84 / 134 62.7% 68.2%
To the legs 90 / 108 83.3% 80.7% 70 / 92 76.1% 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 Choi L/AOpp accFeatherweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 235 / 750 31.3% 39.2% 240 / 519 46.2% 39.2%
In the clinch 47 / 66 71.2% 70.3% 40 / 51 78.4% 70.3%
On the ground 10 / 15 too few to rate 69.4% 61 / 74 82.4% 69.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 180 / 634 28.4% 35.9% 211 / 461 45.8% 35.9%
To the body 64 / 108 59.3% 67.9% 66 / 104 63.5% 67.9%
To the legs 48 / 89 53.9% 81.5% 64 / 79 81.0% 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
654.5% acc · 0.83/15 · norm 1.19
2455.8% def · norm 61.5%
Takedowns stopped
3170.5% def · norm 61.5%
47:2529.0% of cage time · norm 16.7%
Control time
19:4118.2% of cage time · norm 16.7%
41:233:48 per 15 · norm 3:12
Time under control
27:043:45 per 15 · norm 3:12
141.29/15 · norm 0.46
Submission attempts
00.00/15 · norm 0.46

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

Next move

Let the engine settle it.