Willie Gates vs. Yuta Sasaki
Tale of the tape
The read
Level of competition
Willie Gates
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 1 | 4 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 11 | 9 |
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
Yuta Sasaki
| Competition tier | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin | 7 | 9 |
| Tier 3 — regional circuit | 17 | 1 |
Tier-weighted record quality: 0.79 · 7 tier-1/2 wins · 14 finish wins over 36 documented bouts
In the UFC: 2-4 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.8 wins over .500
Striking
Significant strikes — landed & absorbed
Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)
Willie Gates
Distance 79.1% (norm 85.1%) · Clinch 10.5% (norm 6.0%) · Ground 10.5% (norm 7.3%)
Yuta Sasaki
Distance 77.1% (norm 85.1%) · Clinch 5.7% (norm 6.0%) · Ground 17.3% (norm 7.3%)
What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)
Willie Gates
Head 73.3% (norm 75.9%) · Body 17.4% (norm 13.3%) · Legs 9.3% (norm 9.3%)
Yuta Sasaki
Head 73.8% (norm 75.9%) · Body 15.5% (norm 13.3%) · Legs 10.7% (norm 9.3%)
Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone
Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.
| Zone | Gates L/A | Acc | Flyweight med | Sasaki L/A | Acc | Flyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 42 / 136 | 30.9% | 40.0% | 95 / 259 | 36.7% | 40.0% |
| In the clinch | 9 / 18 | too few to rate | 70.4% | 13 / 19 | too few to rate | 70.4% |
| On the ground | 16 / 18 | too few to rate | 69.7% | 31 / 58 | 53.4% | 69.7% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 36 / 126 | 28.6% | 37.6% | 83 / 248 | 33.5% | 37.6% |
| To the body | 23 / 30 | 76.7% | 68.5% | 33 / 52 | 63.5% | 68.5% |
| To the legs | 8 / 16 | too few to rate | 80.0% | 23 / 36 | 63.9% | 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 Gates L/A | Opp acc | Flyweight med | vs Sasaki L/A | Opp acc | Flyweight med |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BY POSITION | ||||||
| At distance | 31 / 109 | 28.4% | 40.1% | 91 / 225 | 40.4% | 40.1% |
| In the clinch | 26 / 34 | 76.5% | 68.8% | 26 / 37 | 70.3% | 68.8% |
| On the ground | 102 / 117 | 87.2% | 71.1% | 44 / 60 | 73.3% | 71.1% |
| BY TARGET | ||||||
| To the head | 108 / 193 | 56.0% | 35.2% | 102 / 249 | 41.0% | 35.2% |
| To the body | 31 / 39 | 79.5% | 68.2% | 24 / 34 | 70.6% | 68.2% |
| To the legs | 20 / 28 | 71.4% | 80.3% | 35 / 39 | 89.7% | 80.3% |
Grappling
Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Sasaki has more cage time on record.