John Moraga vs. Willie Gates

UFC 8-6-0 vs. 1-3-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
8-6-0
UFC record
1-3-0
Flyweight
Division (benchmark)
Flyweight
42
AgeΔ 3 yrs
39
5'6"
HeightΔ 2"
5'8"
66"
ReachΔ 6"
72"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
95.4
Layoff (months)Δ 27.6 mo
123
LWWWL
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWL

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Willie Gates carries real power — 0.81 knockdowns per 15 minutes, vs a 0.18 Flyweight norm.
Willie Gates rarely shoots — 0.00 takedowns per 15 minutes, vs a 1.30 Flyweight norm.
John Moraga is a submission threat — 1.07 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.58 Flyweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

John Moraga

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 86
Tier 3 — regional circuit 111

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.08 · 8 tier-1/2 wins · 11 finish wins over 26 documented bouts

In the UFC: 5-6 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.0 wins over .500

Willie Gates

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 14
Tier 3 — regional circuit 119

Tier-weighted record quality: -0.21 · 1 tier-1/2 wins · 9 finish wins over 25 documented bouts

In the UFC: 0-2 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.0 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

4332.57/min · norm 3.49
Sig. strikes landed
671.80/min · norm 3.49
4292.55/min · norm 3.24
Sig. strikes absorbed
1594.28/min · norm 3.24
43.5%norm 44.6%
Striking accuracy
39.0%norm 44.6%
56.4%norm 56.4%
Striking defense
38.8%norm 56.4%
20.18/15 · norm 0.18
Knockdowns
20.81/15 · norm 0.18

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

John Moraga

Distance 77.3% (norm 85.1%) · Clinch 11.4% (norm 6.0%) · Ground 11.4% (norm 7.3%)

Willie Gates

Distance 79.1% (norm 85.1%) · Clinch 10.5% (norm 6.0%) · Ground 10.5% (norm 7.3%)

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

John Moraga

Head 72.3% (norm 75.9%) · Body 17.1% (norm 13.3%) · Legs 10.7% (norm 9.3%)

Willie Gates

Head 73.3% (norm 75.9%) · Body 17.4% (norm 13.3%) · Legs 9.3% (norm 9.3%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Moraga L/AAccFlyweight med Gates L/AAccFlyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 254 / 769 33.0% 40.0% 42 / 136 30.9% 40.0%
In the clinch 82 / 113 72.6% 70.4% 9 / 18 too few to rate 70.4%
On the ground 97 / 113 85.8% 69.7% 16 / 18 too few to rate 69.7%
BY TARGET
To the head 242 / 719 33.7% 37.6% 36 / 126 28.6% 37.6%
To the body 109 / 170 64.1% 68.5% 23 / 30 76.7% 68.5%
To the legs 82 / 106 77.4% 80.0% 8 / 16 too few to rate 80.0%

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 (Flyweight: 73 fighters · Flyweight: 73 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 Moraga L/AOpp accFlyweight med vs Gates L/AOpp accFlyweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 278 / 778 35.7% 40.1% 31 / 109 28.4% 40.1%
In the clinch 52 / 81 64.2% 68.8% 26 / 34 76.5% 68.8%
On the ground 99 / 126 78.6% 71.1% 102 / 117 87.2% 71.1%
BY TARGET
To the head 220 / 707 31.1% 35.2% 108 / 193 56.0% 35.2%
To the body 99 / 147 67.3% 68.2% 31 / 39 79.5% 68.2%
To the legs 110 / 131 84.0% 80.3% 20 / 28 71.4% 80.3%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
723.3% acc · 0.62/15 · norm 1.30
Takedowns landed
0— acc · 0.00/15 · norm 1.30
2944.6% def · norm 62.5%
Takedowns stopped
1967.9% def · norm 62.5%
24:2614.5% of cage time · norm 17.0%
Control time
6:4017.9% of cage time · norm 17.0%
53:354:46 per 15 · norm 2:44
Time under control
18:307:27 per 15 · norm 2:44
121.07/15 · norm 0.58
Submission attempts
10.40/15 · norm 0.58

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