Paige VanZant vs. Michelle Waterson-Gomez
Tale of the tape
The read
Level of competition
Paige VanZant
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 5 | 4 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 3 | 1 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.88 · 5 tier-1/2 wins · 5 finish wins over 13 documented bouts
In the UFC: 2-3 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.8 wins over .500
Michelle Waterson-Gomez
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 6 | 9 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 12 | 4 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.47 · 6 tier-1/2 wins · 12 finish wins over 31 documented bouts
In the UFC: 3-9 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +2.1 wins over .500
Striking
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Paige VanZant
Distance 50.1% (norm 86.9%) · Clinch 26.9% (norm 7.7%) · Ground 23.0% (norm 5.0%)
Michelle Waterson-Gomez
Distance 83.0% (norm 86.9%) · Clinch 10.5% (norm 7.7%) · Ground 6.5% (norm 5.0%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Paige VanZant
Head 68.4% (norm 76.4%) · Body 22.1% (norm 14.9%) · Legs 9.4% (norm 9.1%)
Michelle Waterson-Gomez
Head 64.4% (norm 76.4%) · Body 19.4% (norm 14.9%) · Legs 16.2% (norm 9.1%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | VanZant L/A | Acc | Women's Strawweight med | Waterson-Gomez L/A | Acc | Women's Strawweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 109 / 303 | 36.0% | 38.3% | 546 / 1413 | 38.6% | 38.3% |
| In the clinch | 104 / 163 | 63.8% | 72.6% | 146 / 179 | 81.6% | 72.6% |
| On the ground | 102 / 139 | 73.4% | 75.0% | 88 / 111 | 79.3% | 75.0% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 197 / 414 | 47.6% | 35.4% | 366 / 1097 | 33.4% | 35.4% |
| To the body | 79 / 134 | 59.0% | 69.3% | 222 / 330 | 67.3% | 69.3% |
| To the legs | 39 / 57 | 68.4% | 77.9% | 192 / 276 | 69.6% | 77.9% |
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 Strawweight: 63 fighters · Women's Strawweight: 63 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 VanZant L/A | Opp acc | Women's Strawweight med | vs Waterson-Gomez L/A | Opp acc | Women's Strawweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 119 / 243 | 49.0% | 39.7% | 619 / 1447 | 42.8% | 39.7% |
| In the clinch | 79 / 118 | 66.9% | 71.5% | 239 / 302 | 79.1% | 71.5% |
| On the ground | 49 / 69 | 71.0% | 74.4% | 133 / 156 | 85.3% | 74.4% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 157 / 310 | 50.6% | 36.0% | 536 / 1292 | 41.5% | 36.0% |
| To the body | 70 / 97 | 72.2% | 68.4% | 263 / 362 | 72.7% | 68.4% |
| To the legs | 20 / 23 | too few to rate | 79.1% | 192 / 251 | 76.5% | 79.1% |
Grappling
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Waterson-Gomez has more cage time on record.