Michinori Tanaka vs. Joe Soto

UFC 2-3-0 vs. 3-5-0

Tale of the tape

Green = edge on that line
2-3-0
UFC record
3-5-0
Bantamweight
Division (benchmark)
Bantamweight
35
AgeΔ 4 yrs
39
5'5"
HeightΔ 1"
5'6"
67"
ReachΔ 2"
65"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
114.1
Layoff (months)Δ 12 mo
102.1
LLWLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLWWW

The read

Stats 25%+ off the division median
Joe Soto is a submission threat — 1.91 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.28 Bantamweight norm.
Michinori Tanaka owns the mat — in control 41% of cage time, vs a 17% Bantamweight norm.
Michinori Tanaka hunts takedowns — 2.40 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.12 Bantamweight norm.

Level of competition

Full-career record by tier of opposition

Michinori Tanaka

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 23
Tier 2 — LFA / Cage Warriors (feeder belts) 11
Tier 3 — regional circuit 130

Tier-weighted record quality: 0.96 · 3 tier-1/2 wins · 6 finish wins over 20 documented bouts

In the UFC: 1-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.0 wins over .500

Joe Soto

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 76
Tier 3 — regional circuit 111

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.01 · 7 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 25 documented bouts

In the UFC: 2-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.1 wins over .500

Striking

Career totals · norms = own-division medians

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

1481.97/min · norm 3.52
Sig. strikes landed
2383.36/min · norm 3.52
1491.99/min · norm 3.58
Sig. strikes absorbed
3805.37/min · norm 3.58
37.5%norm 43.4%
Striking accuracy
41.8%norm 43.4%
50.8%norm 56.6%
Striking defense
67.1%norm 56.6%
00.00/15 · norm 0.30
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · norm 0.30

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

Michinori Tanaka

Distance 78.7% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 1.8% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 19.5% (norm 6.5%)

Joe Soto

Distance 94.0% (norm 87.4%) · Clinch 1.6% (norm 5.7%) · Ground 4.4% (norm 6.5%)

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

Michinori Tanaka

Head 87.1% (norm 77.4%) · Body 4.6% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 8.4% (norm 8.4%)

Joe Soto

Head 88.6% (norm 77.4%) · Body 4.0% (norm 12.8%) · Legs 7.4% (norm 8.4%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

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

Zone Tanaka L/AAccBantamweight med Soto L/AAccBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 91 / 311 29.3% 39.0% 211 / 536 39.4% 39.0%
In the clinch 4 / 7 too few to rate 68.7% 3 / 9 too few to rate 68.7%
On the ground 53 / 77 68.8% 70.2% 24 / 25 96.0% 70.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 105 / 344 30.5% 34.9% 195 / 505 38.6% 34.9%
To the body 16 / 18 too few to rate 66.8% 17 / 23 too few to rate 66.8%
To the legs 27 / 33 81.8% 79.4% 26 / 42 61.9% 79.4%

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 (Bantamweight: 117 fighters · Bantamweight: 117 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 Tanaka L/AOpp accBantamweight med vs Soto L/AOpp accBantamweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 112 / 252 44.4% 39.3% 338 / 1082 31.2% 39.3%
In the clinch 17 / 21 too few to rate 70.4% 20 / 38 52.6% 70.4%
On the ground 20 / 30 66.7% 72.4% 22 / 34 64.7% 72.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 102 / 239 42.7% 34.9% 294 / 1037 28.4% 34.9%
To the body 23 / 32 71.9% 66.0% 56 / 80 70.0% 66.0%
To the legs 24 / 32 75.0% 79.1% 30 / 37 81.1% 79.1%

Grappling

Takedowns, control, submissions vs. division norm
1238.7% acc · 2.40/15 · norm 1.12
Takedowns landed
421.1% acc · 0.85/15 · norm 1.12
743.8% def · norm 66.7%
Takedowns stopped
1470.0% def · norm 66.7%
30:3340.7% of cage time · norm 17.4%
Control time
7:3110.6% of cage time · norm 17.4%
14:482:57 per 15 · norm 2:24
Time under control
8:191:45 per 15 · norm 2:24
10.20/15 · norm 0.28
Submission attempts
91.91/15 · norm 0.28

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