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Relive last night's Strikeforce action with Daniel Cormier vs. Josh Barnett and Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thomson fight highlights, courtesy of Showtime Sports. Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier took place May 19, 2012, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA. Former Olympian Daniel Cormier (10-0) battled Josh Barnett (31-6) in the night's main event to determine the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion. In the co-main event, Gilbert Melendez (21-2) put his Strikeforce lightweight title on the line against longtime rival Josh Thomson (19-5, 1 NC). Catch the video highlights below. For more on Cormier's coming out party, check out the play-by-play from MMA Fighting's own Dave Doyle. Round 1: Josh Rosenthal is the main-event referee. Barnett with a couple quick jabs, slips throwing a kick. Quick clinch. Cormier goes inside. Cormier clearly not terribly afraid of Barnett's reach advantage. Cormier scores a knee. Another clinch. Cormier tosses Barnett aside and chases after him. Barnett with a jab, Cormier counters with several shots. Another Greco clinch. Barnett narrowly misses with a big standing elbow. Pace slows a bit. Barnett with a low kick. Two minutes left. Big right by Cormier. Cormier more active. Both guys land knees in the clinch. Cormier's punches are crisp. Barnett catches Cormier late with a nice knee and they finish the round cinched along the fence. MMAFighting scoresthe round for Cormier, 10-9. Round 2: Barnett with a jab and Cormier with a counter flurry. Barnett with a front kick. Barnett rocks Cormier backwards, but Cormier regains his footing. They clinch, and Cormier catches him with an elbow as they break. Shot to the body by Cormier registers. Cormier with a takedown midway through the round. Cormier in Barnett's guard. After a stalemate, Cormier lands an elbow that bloodies Barnett. Barnett goes for a leg lock, Cormier escapes, gets to his feet, then goes right back into Barnett's guard. Thirty seconds left. Cormier lands a couple shots as the round ends.MMAFighting scores the round for Cormier, 10--9 (20-18 overall).Round 3: They clinch along the fence in the opening minute. Barnett tries for a single-leg, abandons it. Back to center cage a minute in. Cormier lands a 1-2. Barnett misses a running knee. Cormier with a gigantic slam. Cormier has side control. Cormier tries for a choke as they get back up. They're standing. Barnett's face looks like it's been hit with a sledgehammer. He's not even showing hints of backing down, though. Slower pace. Cormier staggers Barnett with a head kick and a big knee. Barnett in trouble but won't go down. Big knee and a roundhouse by Barnett. My god, is Josh Barnett tough. Cormier behind Barnett, wants a big slam, doesn't get the leverage. Round ends with Cormier still hanging on to Barnett. MMAFighting scores the round for Cormier, 10-9 (30-27 overall). Round 4: Barnett catches Cormier with a big knee early. They clinch, Barnett throws a couple knees. Barnett with a left head kick followed by a right head kick. Barnett with a knee. Two minutes in, they clinch along the fence. Barnett whiffs on a spinning back fist. Cormier goes for a single leg and finishes it with a nifty trip. Cormier goes for either some sort of leg lock (can't quite tell what with a Showtime type standing up directly in front of me). It's very close, but Cormier slides out of danger. Cormier ends up in Barnett's guard. Rosenthal calls for a standup with 30 seconds left. Very close round, Barnett with a sense of urgency. MMAFighting scores the round for Barnett, 10-9 (39-37 Cormier overall). Round 5: Barnett with a kick to the body. A timeout called as the mat was wet, Rosenthal towels it off and we're back at it. Barnett throws a combo and we've got a positional battle along the fence. They end up back out in the center. Cormier appears content to simply not lose the fight, Barnett isn't yet doing anything to take it. Crowd gets a bit restless. Cormier with a combo. Two minutes left. Barnett with a spinning back first, Cormier scores a takedown and just misses with a slam attempt, as Barnett lands on his feet. The clinch, Barnett's back to the fence. One minute left. Both guys still standing and clinched. Down to the closing seconds. Cormier avoids contact, too many boos from the crowd at the end for a quality fight. MMAFighting scores the round for Cormier, 10-9 (49-46 overall). Strikeforce Barnett vs. Cormier results: Daniel Cormier wins via unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-45).

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In case you missed the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix final that crowned a new champion, along with the exciting lightweight title fight, here are highlights to get you up to date on Josh Barnett vs. Daniel Cormier and Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thomson. Related: Strikeforce: Barnett Vs. Cormier Results And Post-Fight Analysis Check out a recap after the jump. Here's a recap from our play-by-play of the event: Josh Barnett vs. Daniel Cormier Round 1: Barnett started out throwing jabs and slipped on a kick briefly. Barnett landed a left and looked to clinch but got sluffed off by Cormier. Cormier came forward and landed two right hooks. Both men landed big rights. Cormier landed a glancing head kick and a knee to the face. Cormier landed two more punches and a body shot. Barnett with a knee to the body. Barnett got inside and landed two punches while evading Cormier's rights. Barnett with a standing elbow. Barnett charged forward and landed a low kick. Barnett looked to clinch but Cormier pushed him off. Cormier landed four punches in a row. Cormier with a solid leg kick. Barnett with a knee to the body in the clinch. Cormier with another nice two-punch combo.Barnett caught a kick and landed a right hook. He followed it up with a knee that seemed to stun Cormier slightly. Cormier tied him up against the fence. 10-9 Cormier. Round 2: Barnier started fast with two punches and a kick, but Cormier responded with two right hooks and a combination. Barnett with a kick to the body. Barnett's counters looked crisper than in the first. Barnett landed another standing knee that backed up Cormier. Barnett with a hard kick. Cormier landed a right uppercut in the clinch, then a straight right to the body. Cormier ducked under a punch and took Barnett down halfway through the round. Cormier landed an occasional right hand in Barnett's guard, but Barnett controlled him well. Cormier landed a short elbow that hurt Barnett a bit and cut him. Barnett rolled up for a leglock then an armbar, but Cormier got out. Barnett was bleeding pretty badly. Cormier rode out the rest of the round on top. 10-9 Cormier. Round 3: Barnett came forward right away with a knee to the body. Cormier landed a right but Barnett landed a solid counter. Barnett looked for a takedown against the cage but couldn't get it. Cormier with a left hook, Barnett responded with an uppercut. Cormier went to the body again. Barnett threw a front kick and a straight right. Wow, Cormier scooped up a single leg and flipped Barnett completely upside down with a slam. Cormier worked in side control. Barnett spun out and got back to his feet. Cormier with another single right hook that got through. The pace slowed for a minute or so. Barnett landed a knee up the middle. Cormier landed a head kick that stunned Barnett and poured it on with knees against the cage. Barnett responded with a solid right hook though. Cormier with the go behind but couldn't get it to the floor. He held Josh against the cage for the rest of the round. 10-9 Cormier again. Round 4: Barnett started well with a leg kick and a right. Barnett landed a knee to the head when Cormier was leaning over a little bit. Cormier landed his left hook while Barrnett landed a leg kick. Cormier with an uppercut. Cormier went back to the head kick but it was blocked. A right head kick landed, but not solidly. Barnett rushed Cormier against the cage and landed a knee to the body. Barnett missed with a spinning backfist. Cormier took Barnett down again. Barnett looked for a kneebar and got a hold of a leg. Cormier spun out of a heel hook and worked in Barnett's closed guard.Cormier didn't do a whole lot and referee Josh Rosenthal stood the fighters up. Barnett stalked Cormier and landed another knee to the face. Barnett grinded away against the cage to end the round. This one was a lot closer. I'll go 10-9 Barnett by a hair. Round 5: The fighters shook hands to start the final stanza. Barnett threw a head kick and front kick. Cormier told the ref that there was water on the mat, and there was a brief pause to clean it up. Barnett clinched against the cage and landed a couple of weakish knees to the belly. He landed one to the chin when they separated. Barnett with a left hook. Barnett blocked a Cormier head kick. Cormier circled away from Barnett's attacks and wasn't engaging much. Cormier finally landed a two-punch combo. Barnett missed with a spinning backfist and got taken down. Cormier scooped him up for a slam but Barnett squirmed away and stayed on his feet. Cormier just grinded away against the cage, not really throwing anything, until Barnett landed a glancing elbow. Cormer continued to hold him until the 10 second warning, then circled away for the rest of the fight. 10-9 Cormier, though it was closer than the first three rounds. I've got it 49-46 Cormier. Daniel Cormier defeated Josh Barnett via unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-45) For a recap on the thrilling and controversial co-headlining bout for the lightweight title, check out our recap here, and the detailed play-by-play here.

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MMA Fighting offers Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier live play-by-play for the finals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. In the main event, former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett faces two-time Olympian Daniel Cormier in the finals of the tournament. SAN JOSE -- This is the Strikeforce undercard live blog for the Barnett vs. Cormier event from the HP Pavilion.There will be five fights on the undercard. Gesias Cavalcante vs. Isaac Vallie-FlaggVirgil Zwicker vs. Carlos Inocente, Gian Villante vs. Derrick Mehmen, Quinn Mulhern vs. Yuri Villefort, and James Terry vs. Bobby Green will be featured on the prelims.Check out the live blog below. James Terry vs. Bobby Green Round 1: Lightweight bout between former Affliction fighter Green and the AKA's Terry opens things up. Not much action in the first minute. Green throws a couple jabs, then Terry answers with a front kick. Terry barely misses with a head kick attempt. Terry more active midway through the round, but isn't doing much damage. Terry connects with a left hook. Terry connects with a left and walks into a Green counter. Green lands a combo. Green attempts a takedown and pushes Terry back to the fence. They end up center cage and Terry connects with the biggest punch of the round. MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 for Terry. Round 2: Terry connects with a left hand and a low kick after a minute of both fighters dancing. Terry finds a home with a big right hand and Green backpedals. Terry connects with a straight right. Green drops his hands and sticks out his tongue; Terry misses with a high kick in response. Terry with a combo. Green finally opening up a bit, connects with a straight left. Terry connects with a left to the jaw and follows with a right to the jaw. Green doing far more talking than fighting as the round ends. MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 for Terry (20-18 overall). Round 3: Another slow first minute. Green connects with a combo and opens a cut on the bridge of Terry's nose. Terry connects with a left and a low kick, and pushes Green into the fence. Green goes for a knee from the Thai clinch and just misses. Terry throwing with more volume, but Green's punches are landing on Terry's cut. Green lands a combo. One minute left. Terry throwing more, but Green's been more effective with his strikes in the round. Green with a pair of body kicks right before the horn. MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 for Green (29-28 Terry overall). The judges render a split-decision win for Bobby Green, as he took two out of three 29-28 scores. Quinn Mulhern vs. Yuri Villefort Round 1: Welterweight fight here. Mulhern is a Strikeforce Challengers vet. The 21-year old Villefort is 6-0 but hasn't fought in two years. An early exchange ends with Villefort throwing Mulhern to the mat. Villefort with a crisp low kick, Mulhern flicks a couple jabs. Mulhern with a takedown, briefly gets up, goes back into Villefort's guard. Villefort is clearly comfortable on his back, but Mulhern briefly gets his back. They're standing and clinching along the fence. Fight ends up back on the ground, Mulhern on the ground trying to work a shoulder lock. Villefort in Mulhern's guard as the round winds to a close. Villefort lands a late elbow. MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 for Mulhern. Round 2: Fight goes right back to the ground, Mulhern is in Villefort's half guard. They stand and Villefort drills Mulhern with a knee, which busts open Mulhern's nose. Mulhern transitions from side control to mount, but Villefort escapes. They're briefly back standing, then end back up on the ground. Villefort tries to grab a leg, but Mulhern goes for a choke. One minute left and Villefort is in Mulhern's guard. Villefort connects with several punches in the round's closing seconds. MMAFighting sores the round 10-9 for Villefort (19-19 overall). Round 3: An early scramble ends with Mulhern in side control. Three minutes left. Mulhern still in side control, but Villerfort spins out and they're both standing. Mulhern shoots, they end up on the ground again and Mulhern goes for a leg lock. Villefort escapes as they contunie scrambling on the ground. Mulhern trying for an arm bar, can't get it. He ends up in the mount with a minute left. More grappling over the final minute as the bout concludes. MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 for Mulhern (29-28 Mulhern). The judges score the bout a split decision for Quinn Mulhern, on scores of 30-27 and 29-28 for Mulhern and 29-28 for Villefort. Gian Villante vs. Derrick Mehmen Round 1: Light heavyweight bout. Villante, the former heavyweight, connects with an early uppercut, which drops Mehmen. He clinches Mehman along the fence and connects on knees to the body as Mehman tries to get up. They're back up, two minutes in. Mehmen flicking jabs. Mehmen rushes Villante but nothing comes of it. Mehmen has a mouse under his left eye. Villante pops him again and they clinch along the fence. Mehmen connects on a kick. MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 for Villante. Round 2: Not much of note in the opening minute as the two circle each other. Mehmen blocks Villante's attempted high kick. Midway through, a Mehmen counter catches Villante in the eye. Back to action after a brief break. They briefly clinch with about 90 seconds left. Mehmen picks up the pace, connects with a leg kick. Quick scramble on the ground and they're back up. Things open up in the closing seconds as both try to steal the round. MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 for Mehmen (19-19 overall). Round 3: After another slow opening minute, Mehmen comes in close and eats a couple Villante uppercuts. Villante connects with a leg kick that registers. Mehmen comes out swinging and Villante covers up and gets to safety. Mehmen walks into a jab. Villante stalking him, lands a low kick. Midway through the round. Mehmen breathing heavily. Villante landing straight lefts. The two clinch and Villante throws a knee. Villante lands a big right. Another leg kick. Mehmen shoots for a takedown and gets Villante to his knees along the fence as the fight ends. MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 for Villante (29-28 Villante overall). Gian Villante wins via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27). Virgil Zwicker vs. Guto Inocente Round 1: Marcos Rosales is your referee for this one. An early exchange ends with the fighters clinching. Inocente lands a head kick, but Zwicker shakes it off and gets a takedown. They're back up. Inocente opening up, connects with a couple kicks. Inocente just misses on a spinning back fist. Inocente lands a knee to the body and to the head. Credit Zwicker's toughness. Zkwicker with a spinning back fist of his own. Zwicker appears to be bleeding from the nose. Inocente with a knee. Zwicker with a sweet throw. They back standing late. Inocente clearly more skilled and Zwicker is clearly tough. First real crowd response of the night. MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 for Inocente. Round 2: Inocente slips going for a head kick and Zwicker ends up in his guard. We're back standing, 90 seconds in. Wild exchange of punches and kicks. Inocente lands a knee. Zwicker catches a Inocente kick and backs him into the cage. Two minutes left, standing, Inocente connects with a spinning back fist. They trade knees. Zwicker again catches a kick. Greco clinch, Inocente tries for a throw, doesn't get it. Back to their feet. Zwicker with a spinning back fist. Both fighters breathing hard, Zwicker goes for a late takedown. MMAFIghting scores the round 10-9 for Inocente (20-18 overall). Round 3: More of the same in the early going, just at a much slower pace. Zwicker really digs in for a takedown attempt but doesn't quite get it. Zwicker throws his billionth spinning back fist. Zwicker catches Inocente's kick for the billionth time. Inocente lands a knee to the head and Zwicker shakes it off. Two minutes to go. Both guys completely gassed. They clinch along the fence with about a minute left. Zwicker hits a standing elbow. Zwicker giving everything he has left in the closing minute. Thirty seconds left. Zwicker blocks an Inocente flying knee. Zwicker charges at him. Fight ends, crowd gives both guys a much deserved ovation for effort, if not technique. MMAFighting scores the round 10-9 for Zwicker (29-28 Inocente overall). Guto Inocente wins via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27). Gesias Cavalcante vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg Round 1: Cavalcante with a takedown a minute in and works for a submission. Has a guillotine, but it doesn't appear tight. They're back up. Vallie-Flagg seems to eat a kick every time he comes close, so he keeps his distance. Vallie-Flagg hits a running knee. Cavalcante pops him with a head kick, then misses with another late. MMAFighting scores the round for Cavalcante, 10-9. Round 2: Fight hits the ground. Cavalcante in Vallie-Flagg's half-guard. They're back to their feet. Cavalcante connects with a straight left and a low kick. Vallie-Flagg keeping his distance. Midway through the round. Vallie-Flagg has a streak of blood streaming below his right eye, which Cavalcante targets. Clinch work along the fence in the final minute. Cavalcante throws an elbow after the final horn. MMAFighting scores the round for Cavalcante, 10-9 (20-18 overall). Round 3: Vallie-Flagg starts with a flurry, backing Cavalcante into the fence. Back to center cage. Vallie-Flagg is fighting like someone who was told by his corner in between rounds that he's losing the fight. Vallie-Flagg connects with a standing elbow and a front kick. Cavalcante backs Vallie-Flagg into the fence, but Vallie-Flagg reverses. Vallie-Flagg's head kick lands. Two minutes left, Vallie-Flagg the more active of the two. Vallie-Flagg with a flying knee in the final minute. They finish with a flourish. Valiant third-round by Vallie-Flagg. MMAFighting scores the round for Vallie-Flagg, 10-9 (29-28 Cavalcane overall). Isaac Vallie-Flagg wins via split decision, getting two of three 29-28 scores.

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If you missed that excellent striking display that was showcased during UFC on FUEL TV 3's co-headlining bout between Donald Cerrone and Jeremy Stephens, here's a video from Fox Sports to get you updated. Related: Korean Zombie Vs. Dustin Poirier Fight Video Highlights | UFC On Fuel TV 3: Results And Post-Fight Analysis Since a minute of footage isn't enough, here's more details on the fight from our live blog of the event: Jeremy Stephens vs. Donald Cerrone - Round 1 - Stephens gets in the first shot, a little left hand counter. Big right by Stephens gets in also. Hard leg kick by Cerrone. Interesting tactical battle early. Hard leg kick by Stephens. Body kick by Cerrone. Cerrone with a head kick that gets blocked, Stephens misses the right hand counter. Good leg kick on the end of a combination by Cerrone. Cerrone gets clipped a few times by Stephens, so now he does some...dancing...shuffling thing? Good shot by Cerrone, he's going to kicks and knees to keep Stephens a little off balance. Flying knee by Cerrone. 10-9 Cerrone. Round 2 - Cerrone back to kicks up top and too the legs. Right hand by Stephens gets in a bit but it's still Cerrone dictating the fight. Cerrone trying a few spinning elbows. Uppercut hurts Stephens, Cerrone firing with more leg kicks. Stephens looks to have recovered, but this fight is getting away from him quickly. Stephens has tried from different angles, loke uppercuts from the lead hand, etc. But he can't do much at all here but cover up while Cerrone beats on him. Big leg kicks still landing for Cerrone. Another one and Stephens' legs buckle. This is a beating. 10-9 Cerrone. Round 3 - Huge groin shot by Cerrone and Stephens is in major pain. They do restart after a short break and Cerrone drills him with another leg kick. And another. Stephens has very little left here. He's terrified of taking another leg kick and covering up every time Cerrone looks like he's even thinking of throwing a punch. Stephens manages a glancing right hand. Stephens gets poked in the eye. Cerrone just destroying him here. Flying knee attempt for Stephens just misses. Stephens tries for a few last second home run swings but can't land. 10-9 Cerrone. Official Scorecards: 30-27 across the board. Donald Cerrone wins by unanimous decision.

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Yves Jabouin defeats Jeff Hougland by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27) Yves Jabouin showed off his flashy striking game, dropping Jeff Hougland a few times en route to a unanimous decision victory. The bout probably should have been stopped at two different points, once in the first round and once in the third. Jabouin dropped Hougland with a spinning back kick to the body in the first and was cut off briefly by the ref when he tried to attack, yet the bout continued. A similar situation occurred in the third after Jabouin dropped Hougland with a left hook . I had the fight 30-25 for Jabouin. Jabouin was the first one to strike and landed a nice leg kick. Jabouin then got flashy with a spinning back kick. The fighters exchanged head kicks that were both blocked. The pace was fairly slow, especially for a bantamweight fight. Jabouin continued to work his kicks. Out of nowhere, Jabouin landed another spinning back kick that crumpled Hougland against the fence. Jabouin thought it was over, but the referee allowed the fight to continue. Jabouin continued to drop bombs on the floor, but he was unable to get the finish before the round ended. Hougland appeared to be recovered early in the second. Jabouin started going to the body with more frequency. Hougland couldn't get a takedown. Hougland looked for a spinning backfist but missed, and Jabouin responded with another spinning back kick that landed. It was basically all Jabouin, but there wasn't a lot being landed by either fighter. Jabouin opened the third round with a nice left hook, then another that dropped Hougland. He swarmed Hougland on the ground, but was warned by the ref for shots to the back of the head. Jabouin went for a choke for some reason and Hougland reversed. Yves ended up back on top quickly though. Jabouin worked in Hougland's guard against the cage for a while. Hougland looked for an armbar unsuccessfully. The ref stood them up with 40 seconds to go, and Jabouin dropped Hougland once again with a shot to the body. The bout ended on the ground. Jabouin entered the bout with two straight wins since he dropped to bantamweight. Hougland was 1-0 in the organization coming in. SBN coverage of UFC on FUEL TV 3

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If you missed out on the year's biggest UFC grudge match, check out Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans fight highlights, via ESPN. UFC 145 took place April 21, 2012, at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA. Reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones (16-1) defended his title against former training partner Rashad Evans (17-2-1) in the night's long-awaited main event. Catch the video highlights below. For more on Bones' dominant victory, check out the play-by-play from MMA Fighting's own Shaun Al-Shatti. Round 1: The Atlanta crowd is absolutely raucous right now. Herb Dean is the man overseeing tonight's championship fight. Jones avoids Evans' eyes in the staredown. It's on. Evans circles and Jones leaps in with a left to the body. Head kick nearly finds its mark for the champion. Evans pumps his jab but nothing lands clean. Jones lunges forward with a jumping side kick to the knee. Another head kick nearly lands for Jones. Evans backs away and regroups. Jones stalks into the pocket and wings a whizzes a wild left hand past his rival, followed by a missed superman punch and a pair of body kicks. Evans backs Jones up with a huge head kick. Jones may be hurt. Rashad storms forward but the champ regains his footing as the horn sounds. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Jones. Round 2: Evans squatting low in his stance to open the second frame. Jones briefly engages the clinch and wings a left hook on the way out. Jones slips a wild right hand and counters with a front kick. Evans circles out of a flurry and taunts the champ as he walks away. Hard body shot from Rashad. Evans starting to open up with his strikes now. Jones senses it and closes the distance with a pair of hard standing elbows. Evans is dazed but Jones fails to follow up. Jones lands another massive elbow. He's starting to feel it now. Jones storms forward with a flying knee, left hook combo as the round comes to close. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Jones. Round 3: Evans opens on the outside, looking to regroup. Big right hand lands clean for Evans. Jones retreats and gathers himself, pumping out his jab to maintain distance. Whenever Rashad presses forward he's doing well, but if he sits back Jones can pick him apart. Jones switches his stance and tosses out another jab. The champ is being the aggressor, flying in with a powerful elbow and just missing with a hard knee. Jones is stalking Evans now, and Evans seems to be unsure of himself. The champ engages the clinch but nothing comes out of it. Jones misses a switch kick at horn. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Jones. Round 4: Rashad is on the defense now. Jones is fighting his fight, keeping the action at a distance and picking Evans apart with his jab. Jones leaps in, misses a shot and stuffs a takedown attempt. Rashad hesitates and reaches in for a double leg, but Jones repels it easily. Jones gets in tight and drops his hands right but Evans doesn't attack. Jones' pressure is unbelievable right now. Rashad unleashes a flurry but Jones slips it and grabs hold of his neck, looking for a choke. Jones doesn't have it locked in, though he gives Evans a knee to the body on the way out. Evans is starting to look tired. Jones shoots in for a power double at the horn. Evans sprawls and fights it off. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Jones. Round 5: The pace picks up for the final five minutes. Jones opens up with his jab, followed by a thunderous body shot. The champ has his hands at his waist, taunting his rival. Another combination lands flush for Jones. Rashad misses wildly with a spinning back fist and Jones jumps in with a flying knee. Jones briefs clinches, throws a solid left hook then disengages. Bones flat out tosses Evans to the ground. He's looking to finish, but Rashad fights it off and stands. Thirty seconds left and Evans needs to do something desperate. Jones jumps in and pulls guard. Evans looking to land a big shot, but it's too little, too late. Jon Jones remains the UFC light heavyweight champion. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Jones. Jon Jones def. Rashad Evans via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45).

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Jon Jones beat Rashad Evans by unanimous decision to retain his UFC light heavyweight championship at UFC 145. While it may not have lived up to the expectations of many for being sold as a grudge match, it's another notch in the belt of the great Jones. Video is after the jump. Here's how Bloody Elbow described the first round of action in the live blog: They do touch gloves at the intro and both men drop to the three point stance before the opening bell. Jones walking forward. Jones to the body, Rashad with a counter but nothing really there. Head kick by Jones just misses. Knee by Jones after a missed punch by Rashad. Jumping side kick t the knee attempt by Jones. Big punches by Rashad land, nice combination. Head kick by Jones, right hand follow-up. Leg kick by Jones now. Halfway through the first round and Rashad lands a short right. Jab by Jones lands hard. Big left by Jones gets in. Leg kick by Evans. Body kick doubled up by Jones, he looks crisp early. Evans still not quite figuring out the range of the fight. Leg kick by Evans, left hook by Jones. Right hand by Evans, body shot by Jones. Head kick by Jones and Jon is hurt. Interesting first round, 10-9 Evans, but that head kick was a serious moment. You can read the whole fight description here. The video:

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Jon Jones wasn't able to finish Rashad Evans, but he controlled a large portion of the bout and easily picked up a unanimous decision victory in the main event of UFC 145. Rashad was able to get his licks in on occasion, but Jones landed stiff shots that staggered Rashad multiple times in the bout and Rashad was never really in it. His elbows were particularly effective. The judges had it 49-46, 49-46, and 50-45 for Jones, who defended his UFC light heavyweight title for the third time. Both fighters gave each other props in their post-fight interviews.Jones opened the bout with a body shot. It was Bones coming forward early, and he threw a big head kick. Rashad waded inside, but ate a good knee for his troubles. Jones missed with a looping right, and Rashad responded with two straight punches. Jones landed a head kick and a looping right, along with a leg kick. Jones again went back to the head kick, and landed a nice jab. Jones landed a left hook, but Rashad responded with a leg kick. Jones was definitely the one with more offense over the first four minutes of the fight. Jones returned to the jab and left hook, and once again Rashad responded with a leg kick. Evans landed a head kick of his own, and Jones backed off. Jones looked for a flying knee but missed, and Jones ended the first stanza with a right hook. Evans landed a few punches inside early in the second, but Jones staggered him with a left. Rashad landed a nice left, and caught Jones with a kick while Jones as wading in. Jones strafed Rashad with an elbow, and another one, which briefly dropped Evans. He popped up and clinched. Jones held him against the fence and landed a knee to the thigh, then strafed him with yet another elbow. Jones threw a head kick, while Evans looked to land to the body. Jones went back to the elbows and found success. Rashad was still there though, and landed a nice right hook. Jones looked for a flying knee with 10 seconds to go, and the fighters exchanged punches to finish the second round. Rashad landed a big overhand right thirty seconds into the third, which backed Jones off for a second. He responded with a right hook of his own. Both fighters swung and missed with right hooks. Jones was finally able to connect with a flush kick. The pace of the first half of this round was a bit slower than the second. Jones wobbled Rashad again with a kick and looked for a flying knee, but Rashad responded well. The fighters traded in the pocket a bit, with neither one getting a real advantage. Jones started to land more body and leg kicks. Evans shot in for a takedown, but it was easily stuffed by Bones. Evans connected with a nice body shot near the end of the round. The pace continued to be a bit slower in the fourth, with each fighter not connecting on much over the first minute. Jones looked for a spinning elbow but Evans was well out of the way. Jones landed a few jabs and some leg kicks. Jones caught a leg kick and hit Evans with a right hook. Evans went for a takedown, but was easily rebuffed. Jones dropped his hands to see what Rashad would do, but he didn't do anything. Jones started hopping around and changed stances, and once again stuffed a takedown attempt. He briefly thought about a guillotine, but let it go. Rashad looked for the home run right hand, but couldn't connect. Jones started throwing shoulder checks in the clinch, which was odd. Rashad landed a leg kick while Jones danced around the outside to open the fifth and final round. Jones backed Evans against the cage, then landed a big right. Rashad tried to throw, but Jones was out of range before he could ever come close to connecting. Jones winged the right again, but this time Rashad ducked out of the way. Rashad went for a spinning backfist, but it wasn't close. Jones hit a jumping knee and worked Evans against the cage. They clinched up and heard some boos from the crowd. Jones landed a left hook when they finally separate. Jones went back to the clinch shoulder checks, then threw Evans to the ground. Jones couldn't capitalize though, and Evans popped up. Evans attacked in the last thirty seconds, but Jones inexplicably pulled guard with 10 seconds to go. The bout ended with Evans trying to land punches on the ground unsuccessfully. SBN coverage of UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans

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This is the UFC 145 undercard live blog for the UFC 145 prelims from Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga.There will be six fights on the undercard. Travis Browne vs. Chad Griggs, Matt Brown vs. Stephen Thompson, John Makdessi vs. Anthony Njokuani, Mac Danzig vs. Efrain Escudero, Keith Wisniewski vs. Chris Clements and Marcus Brimage vs. Maximo Blanco will be the fights featured on FX and Facebook.Check out the live blog below. More Coverage: UFC 145 Results | UFC News Marcus Brimage vs. Maximo Blanco Round 1: Brimage lunges forward with a flurry to kick the night off, but nothing lands. Blanco shoots a body kick from inside the pocket but it's caught and countered. Brimage leaps in with another combination and backs out unscathed. He does it again, but Blanco is ready for it this time and throws Brimage to the mat. Both fighters stand back up and square off in the center of the cage. Blanco tossing out leg kicks from the outside, though Brimage is the aggressor. Thirty seconds left in the round and Brimage is staying active. A few more tentative shots and the horn sounds. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Brimage. Round 2: Brimage flashes a thumbs up and the round begins. Blanco eats a few leg kicks and answers with a front kick. Blanco hits another front kick, but Brimage powers through it and charges forward winging wild shots. Both fighters circling and staying patient, though Blanco seems to be find his range a bit better. Another trade of combinations but nothing is lands clean. Brimage slips from a leg kick but stands back up and presses forward. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Blanco. Round 3: Brimage's corner says it's 1-1 right now and they're probably right. Neither fighter seems willing to commit from the outset. Brimage finally sweeps out Blanco's legs with a counter leg kick. Blanco stands and half-heartedly shoots for a takedown, but he can't get it. The crowd is growing restless at the inaction. A minute left in the round and it's completely up for grabs. Blanco lunges for a takedown but Brimage defends and answers with a flurry. That's it. This could go either way. And now they're trading cartwheels in the cage, perhaps vying for the judges' favor. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Brimage. Marcus Brimage def. Maximo Blanco via split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29). Keith Wisniewski vs. Chris Clements Round 1: Both fighters touch gloves and we're off. Clements tosses out a pair of overhand rights that can't find their mark. Wisniewski ties up and drags the fight to the ground, landing in side control. Wisniewski latches onto Clements back in a scramble then sweeps into half guard. Wisniewski is staying busy but the referee stands up the action. Joe Rogan promptly explodes, calling the stand-up "nonsense." Wisniewski, bleeding heavily from his forehead, lunges forward and eats a huge counter shot. Clements rushes in after flooring Wisniewski with a spinning back kick, but find himself in a triangle for his troubles. Regardless, it's not deep and they trade flurries one last time before the horn sounds. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Wisniewski. Round 2: A furious pace opens the round. Both fighters wildly swing for the fences before Wisniewski drags it back to the mat and lands in side control. Clements manages to work his way back to the feet and just misses his mark with another spinning back kick. Clements is opening up now, uncorking right hand after right hand but nothing lands flush. Clements pushes Wisniewski up against the fence, but again gets tripped to the floor. Wisniewski lands in mount, then works his way to Clements' back looking for a rear-naked choke. Thitry seconds left and Clements unloads a salvo of powerful back elbows. That was totally unorthodox but those shots looked nasty. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Clements. Round 3: Clements corner says he's up two rounds to none, though I don't know. It was close. Wisniewski slips a shot and works his opponent to the fence. Clements grasps for a single leg but Wisniewski defends and disengages. Clements is wild with his strikes, throwing out everything but the kitchen sink. Wisniewski fires back with a right hand straight down the pipe. Clements hands are at his waist but the right hands keep coming. Wisniewski needs to get something going. Clements charges forward with another flurry, punctuated by a knee to the head. Wisniewski drops and Clements starts unloading heavy ground and pound. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Clements. Chris Clements def. Keith Wisniewski via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27) Mac Danzig vs. Efrain Escudero Round 1: Danzig lunges into the clinch, ending up with his back against the fence. Escudero scores with a loud short elbow, but Danzig recovers and drags the fight to the ground, landing on top. Escudero grasps for a heel hook and it's tight. Danzig staying calm, defends and scrambles out. Both men bouncing light on their feet right now. Danzig grabs double underhooks and takes Escudero's back, but he can't get him to the mat. Escudero circles out and shoots for his own takedown. Danzig keeps his balance and lands a stiff jab as the round comes to a close. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Danzig. Round 2: Danzig circles, eats a right hand and answers with a heavy leg kick. The two tie up against the fence but neither man can put together any offense. Boos are starting to rain down from the restless Atlanta crowd. Danzig is staying patient, picking his shots on the outside, though neither fighter is being overly aggressive. Danzig paws forward with his jab and a grin creeps across his face. Escudero finds himself against the cage wall, tries to reverse into a takedown but fails. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Danzig. Round 3: Danzig's right ankle is noticeably swollen, though he's still pushing the pace as the final round begins. Danzig works into the clinch and Escudero holds his ground, successfully defending the takedown. Danzig pushes the fight back against the fence, landing short shots to the body before taking Escudero's back. Escudero circles out and the referee separates the fighters. Danzig slips and counters with a straight right, followed by a sharp shot to the body. Danzig is completely controlling the pace of this fight, and strangely, doesn't seem to mind throwing kick after kick with his mangled ankle. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Danzig. Mac Danzig def. Efrain Escudero via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). John Makdessi vs. Anthony Njokuani Round 1: Njokuani fires out a leg kick and Makdessi answers with a wild shot. Both fighters trades kicks, looking to gauge their range, but Makdessi is the one pressing forward. Njokuani is working hard to chop down the lead leg of Makdessi. Njokuani almost eats a side kick, then turns up the pace and charges forward with a volley of shots. Nothing lands clean and Makdessi gathers his bearings. Njokuani finds his mark with another pair of sharp kicks, finishing off with a clean shot to the body before circling away. Makdessi is stalking his opponent but can't put together any offense. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Njokuani.Round 2: Makdessi continues to walk forward, tossing out side kicks and trying to get inside the pocket of his larger opponent. Njokuani slips and counters, barely avoiding a spinning back kick. Njokuani catches a leg and hunts for a trip but can't get it. Makdessi's left thigh is starting to turn a dark shade of red after eating another pair of kicks. Makdessi swings wildly with a head kick but it's nowhere close. So far neither fighter is committing to combinations, instead throwing out one shot at a time. Makdessi misses high with an ax kick. Njokuani catches another kick but Makdessi scrambles back to safety. The round comes to a close as the crowd continues to voice their disapproval. MMA Fighting scores it 10-10. Round 3: Makdessi's corner tells their fighter to turn up the pace and it's probably good advice. Each fighter trades shots, but nothing lands clean and the Atlanta crowd voices their disapproval. Makdessi eats another body kick, charges forward and just misses with a wild spinning back fist. Njokuani is pummeling his opponent's leg and body with kicks, though Makdessi continues to stalk forward. 90 seconds left in the fight and neither man is showing any sense of urgency. Njokuani blocks a body shot and answers with another sharp kick to the ribs. Makdessi spins and misses a heel kick. Again the boos rain down and the horn sounds. Makdessi's left leg is going to look horrible tomorrow. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Njokuani. Anthony Njokuani def. John Makdessi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Matt Brown vs. Stephen Thompson Round 1: Wonderboy opens immediately with a front kick. Brown leaps in for a single leg but Thompson scrambles out. Thompson's hands are down at his waist as Brown grasps for another single leg and gets it this time. Brown postures up and rockets a hard shot down the pipe, before working to half guard. Brown stands looking for some more ground and pound, but Wonderboy successfully keeps him at bay and stands. Brown stays inside the clinch and takes Thompson's back, eventually working the fight to the mat. Brown sweeps looking for a calf crank and he nearly gets it, but Wonderbody manges to scramble back to top position. It's short lived though, and Brown closes out the round unloading body shots from the top. MMA Fighting scores is 10-9 Brown. Round 2: Round 3: Travis Browne vs. Chad Griggs Round 1: Round 2: Round 3:

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Anthony Njokuani and John Makdessi were expected to engage in a an elite striking fight and they definitely threw some flashy stuff. Not a lot of it landed though. Njokuani did get the better of it throughout the fight and hurt Makdessi with a left hook in the first to pick up a unanimous decision victory. All three judges had it 30-27 for the former WEC fighter. Unsurprisingly, both fighters opened the fight with some kicks. Makdessi continually walked down Njokuani, but wasn't able to land any of the side kicks he was throwing. Njokuani stumbled Makdessi with a left and became the aggressor briefly. Makdessi cleared the cobwebs quickly though and started coming forward again. Njokauni caught Makdessi with a nice head kick, then a body kick. Njokuani threw an awkward kick that had him reeling backwards in defense at the end of the round, but Makdessi couldn't take advantage. Makdessi was the one coming forward again in the second, landing his side kick a little more while Njokauni looked for a head kick. Njokuani caught a kick, but was unable to kick Makdessi's other leg out. Makdessi finally got inside and landed a good combination halfway through the round. Both fighters whiffed on some fancy kicks, but landed was some more traditional punches. Njokuani caught another kick, and chased Makdessi across the cage while winging punches. Makdessi looked for a takedown at the horn. Despite his corner telling him to be more aggressive, Makdessi didn't exactly come out with a lot in the third. He landed a nice spinning back kick and some slapping leg kicks, but Njokuani was able to back off well. Makdessi landed a spinning backfist with three minutes to go. Njokuani threw a nice combination with 90 seconds to go, and Makdessi didn't have much to respond with. He tried to cut off the cage and land a spinning back kick, but it wasn't there.Njokuani just circled away for the last 20 seconds. Makdessi was looking to erase the memory of his first-round submission loss to Dennis Hallman at UFC 140. He came in two pounds overweight and forced to forfeit 20% of his purse. Njokuani was looking to rebound from his split-decision loss to Danny Castillo at UFC 141. SBN coverage of UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans

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The fight was pretty dull, but Marcus Brimage managed to pull off a split decision victory over the debuting Maximo Blanco in the first fight at UFC 145. Neither fighter engaged much, which made the fight quite hard to score. Two judges had it for Brimage, one with a 29-28 score and the other 30-27, while one judge gave it to Blanco with a 29-28 card. Blanco got off to a fast start with an inside leg kick and nice head kick, but Briamage eventually responded with a charging combination. The fighters were tentative for the first half of the round, mainly just using feints. Brimage was the one that was coming forward though, and landed a few nice strikes. Blanco briefly got a takedown, but Brimage popped up immediately. Blanco landed a nice right hook and leg kick after another lull in the action. Brimage continued to be the aggressor for the last minute, occasionally landing some strikes. Blanco was the fighter coming forward early in the second, landing a variety of shots including a nice front kick and a switch kick. He followed that up with a big jumping knee and looked for a head kick, but Brimage escaped unscathed. The fighters went back to being cautious in the middle of the round, with not much going on. Brimage finally landed a left, while Blanco countered with another front kick. Blanco landed a nice hook in the last few seconds of the round. The third opened cautiously as well. Blanco caught Brimage in the cup with a knee, but Brimage didn't even need a time out. Brimage landed a couple of nice inside leg kicks, while Blanco looked to land the left hook unsuccessfully. The crowd finally started to boo midway through the third. Blanco looked for a takedown, but but Brimage stuffed it and come forward with a good combination. Brimage continued to be the aggressor late in the round, but there weren't a lot of strikes landed by either man. The most interesting thing about the fight was the tumbling competition they engaged in after the final bell. Seriously. This was Blanco's debut at featherweight and in the UFC. He was coming off a loss to Pat Healy in his only Strikeforce appearance. Brimage was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 14 and won his only official UFC bout over Stephen Bass at the TUF 14 Finale in December. SBN coverage of UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans

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Over the near 20 year history of the UFC, one of the dominant trends has been the relative ineffectiveness of more traditional stand-up martial arts forms. Once wrestling and jiu jitsu entered the picture, disciplines like karate, taekwondo, and aikido seemed out of place and outdated. But in recent years we have seen a change in this area. Led by the highly successful karate of Lyoto Machida, more and more traditional striking arts are making their way back into MMA, and they're having great success. At UFC 145 this weekend, we'll see some of those disciplines in action as three of the company's most interesting strikers compete. Kenpo karate practitioner Stephen Thompson takes on Matt Brown, and two fascinating strikers meet as taekwondo representative John Makdessi faces Muay Thai stylist Anthony Njokuani. All three men bring something unique to the table in terms of stand-up, and it will be intriguing to see them all together on one card. Related: UFC 145 Judo Chop: Just How Good Is The Striking Of Jon Jones?| UFC 145: Jones Vs. Evans - Preliminary Card Dissection | The Techniques Of Jon Jones And Rashad Evans | Can Rashad Evans Stand With Jon Jones? Makdessi's fight with Dennis Hallman showed that stand-up alone can't carry you to UFC gold, though Machida proved that it can be the cornerstone of a complete game. As we watch these three fighters this weekend, I have to ask - are these the new faces of MMA striking? Is this return to traditional martial arts what will carry MMA striking forward in coming years? It's too early to say at the moment, but these men could be on the vanguard, and I look forward to seeing how each one responds to the moment this weekend. To get you excited about seeing these strikers in action, read the full article for a breakdown of each man's stand-up skill. SBN coverage of UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans John MakdessiStyle: Taekwondo The 9-1 Makdessi started his martial arts training at an early age, focusing on Taekwondo at first. He's since added both shotokan karate and kickboxing to his skill-set, but taekwondo remains the basis for his MMA stand-up game. Makdessi is a shotokan karate black belt, a USA Kick-Boxing Association Gold Medalist, and trains under Firas Zahabi. He made an impressive UFC debut in 2010, taking Pat Audinwood apart with a beautiful array of Taekwondo strikes, which Kid Nate and I examined in a Judo Chop. Here's a portion of that Chop: Judo Chop: John Makdessi Brings Taekwondo Kicks to the UFC One of the chief techniques Makdessi employs is the side kick. You see this kick used from time to time, but it's rare in MMA that you see anyone use it as effectively as Makdessi does here. The side kick is typically thrown from the lead leg, turning your body so that you are perpendicular to your opponent's body. Often it's used almost like a jab, or a front kick, as a way to keep your opponent back. Makdessi uses it in the much more aggressive style. The key to his technique is in his rear leg. Note the way Makdessi jumps forward with his rear leg before throwing the kick. He brings that back leg all the way up to where his front leg was, while at the same time throwing that front leg as the kick. This gives him the momentum to kick through Audinwood, so that the point of impact on his kick is far past Audinwood's body. Stephen ThompsonStyle: Kenpo Karate Thompson is the new kid on the block here, fighting in just his 2nd UFC bout at UFC 145. He's competed in Kenpo karate and kickboxing events for years, picking up a wide array of accolades along the way. He made his UFC debut at UFC 143, immediately turning heads with his KO of Dan Stittgen. Again, KJ Gould and I covered this in a Judo Chop, and here's what we had to say: UFC 143 Judo Chop: The Instep Roundhouse Kick Of Stephen Thompson In Karate and other Japanese arts, the names for moves are often descriptive of the entire process and end result. For example, Geri means 'Kick', Mawashi can refer to 'circular' or 'roundhouse', and the part of the body that's used such as Haisoku meaning 'instep'. The technique Thompson used then can logically be called an instep roundhouse kick or Haisoku Mawashi Geri. As it was aimed at and hit the head or Jodan, it could also be called a Haisoku Jodan Mawashi Geri. It's been debated by some that Thompson threw his kick low first and switched it to kick high much like the Brazilian / Question Mark Kick. However after a closer look I myself believe the kick was simply 'chambered' in the karate style, and through Thompson's hip mobility he was able to bring it up and over the shoulder. Some kickboxing coaches are against chambering - the bending at the knee before the extension - due to the decrease in power that can be achieved compared to a straight roundhouse which is like an iron bar coming up from the ground. The benefit of chambering though is the smaller space and closer proximity a kick to the same target can be executed within, and sometimes the surprise element makes up for the lack of power. Power is great, accuracy with enough power is better. In the case of Thompson it appeared it was his lead leg that landed, rather than an all out power kick from the rear you'd usually associate with Muay Thai. However on closer look after he retracted his kick he brought it down rather than back and switched stances to compensate, so his right leg became his lead. In other words at the beginning of the sequence he was in orthodox stance, and by the end he was in southpaw stance. Anthony NjokuaniStyle: Muay Thai WEC veteran Njokuani is not quite the same traditional striker as Thompson and Makdessi, but he's still incredibly skilled and entertaining. He uses Muay Thai as his base, though I would consider it more of the MMA style of Muay Thai rather than the pure style used in Muay Thai fights. He's had mixed success, going just 5-5 in the WEC and UFC combined, but he puts on very fun fights every time, earning 4 separate bonuses. Here's a bit more on his style from Dallas Winston's UFC 141 and UFC 132 Dissections: UFC 141 On Spike TV: Pearson vs. Assuncao, Njokuani vs. Castillo Dissection UFC 132 Fight Card: Dissection of Facebook Preliminary Matches Anthony Njokuani, a student of Muay Thai legend Saekson Janjira, is a dynamic and aggressive striker with fan-friendly kickboxing tactics. Vicious low kicks, punches and spinning-everythings have become an expected delicacy when he finds his range and rhythm....Anthony Njokuani's creativity and unpredictability are probably his best assets. Drawing from an extensive array of Thai-based techniques, Njokuani weaves together a cryptic assembly of everything but the kitchen sink. Elbows, spinning back-elbows, straight and roundhouse kicks (from every direction and landing at every level), and the whole enchilada of punches make him extremely difficult to plan for. Instead of trying to anticipate what clever amalgam of strikes he might braid together, it's easier to expect anything and everything, with shooting for a takedown being the only affront to scratch off the list.

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He won the belt in brutal fashion and defended it for the first time in an equally dominant regard. Two former number one light heavyweights stood in front of him and they each were stopped, one by punches and the other by submission. Jon Jones went through a trial by fire when he stepped inside the Octagon against Mauricio Rua and Quinton Jackson, one after the other, and emerged with nary a nick or bruise. In doing so, he became the youngest champion in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) history and one of only a handful of men to successfully defend the 205-pound title, the pinnacle achievement in a division that had become a game of musical chairs since Chuck Liddell lost the belt in 2007. "Bones" looked to retain his title against Lyoto Machida at UFC 140, yet another match up against a former champion and universally recognized number one Light Heavyweight. In Jackson, Jones simply needed to avoid the PRIDE Fighting Championship veteran's heavy hands. "The Dragon" was a different beast altogether. Mixing karate, judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu with a little sumo thrown in for good measure, Machida is just about the picture perfect example of what mixed martial arts (MMA) can be. We'll take a look at this fight on the eve of UFC 145: "Jones vs. Evans," an event in which former teammates (Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans) collide and a grudge looks to be brought to an end. Let's go: Jones momentarily repeats his behavior from his previous fight with Jackson, almost crawling towards his opponent. He straightens out seconds later and begins stalking his opponent, perhaps playing right into Machida's gameplan. The two fighters begin trading leg kicks with Jones adding a couple to the front of "The Dragon's" knee as he had against "Shogun" and "Rampage." Unsportsmanlike? Possibly. Legal? Absolutely. A solid kick to the body for the challenger lands with a smack and he immediately tries to follow it up with a punching combination but can't get close enough to the lanky champion. A huge overhand right from Jones misses and "The Dragon" opens up with a flurry. The champion then begins to walk Machida down and throws a leg kick which the challenger counters perfectly. A left straight from the challenger finds its way to Jones' jaw and "Bones" staggers back as the crowd erupts. Machida pounces but the champion recovers quickly and soon squares up against his opponent. Machida lands another solid body kick and as the opening round ends, many are wondering if the young prodigy has finally met his match. The second stanza opens and "Bones" immediately takes the center of the Octagon as he did five minutes prior. The two light heavyweights trade leg kicks while Jones also unsuccessfully throws a spinning kick to the body and a kick aimed directly at Machida's head. The champion and his challenger stand in front of each other, both almost waiting for the other to make the slightest mistake. They both move their hands around, slide their feet on the canvas and subtly shift their body in hopes of forcing the other to open themselves up to a possible killing blow. The young champion throws a body kick which "The Dragon" catches and counters upon, following it up with a flurry of strikes, almost none of which connect with any consequence. Despite this, Jones continues to hold the center of the Octagon, unwilling to let the challenger dictate the pace of the fight. Jones connects with a solid punch but Machida fails to react. Seconds later, "Bones" shoots in for a takedown which the challenger seems to defend. A slight adjustment from the champion and Machida is dumped onto his back. Many fighters have been in this position before, against the mat with Jones on top of them, and each bears the scars of the champion's almost deadly elbow strikes. "The Dragon" is no different. One swing of Jones' arms and his machete-like elbow slices Machida open and the canvas begins to turn a crimson red. The fight is momentarily stopped to allow a doctor to check the tiny chasm on the challenger's forehead and upon restart, the former champion is able to work his way off the cage and back to the center of the Octagon. In an absolutely beautiful display of technical striking, Jones raises his leg causing "The Dragon" to think a leg kick is coming his way. Machida had done well and scored points countering the leg kick and was hoping to do so again. Instead, "Bones" put into place the gameplan that Rashad Evans was hoping to do when he faced off against Machida: Counter the counter. As the challenger comes forward with his strike, a left straight from Jones barrels its way into Machida's jaw and the former champion nearly faceplants onto the mat. As Jones lifts up his opponent, he throws a knee to the skull as he wraps his arms around "The Dragon's" neck. Try as he might, the challenger is unable to escape the modified guillotine submission and seconds later, the oxygen supply to his brain is cut off and he passes out. As the referee breaks the hold to end the fight, Machida is unceremoniously dumped onto the canvas by the champion like a sack of potatoes. Tomorrow (April 21, 2012), Jones takes on his third consecutive former champion in Evans. This bout is different from his previous three, however. There is bad blood between the two former teammates and a lot of trash talk has been thrown around in the months leading up to the bout. Can Evans become the second two-time light heavyweight champion in UFC history? Or will Jones make it a clean sweep -- three for three -- on former champions? We'll find out soon enough.

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Many people questioned Dennis Siver's drop to featherweight, but he made a big splash in the division with a win over top-five fighter Diego Nunes at UFC on Fuel 2. The fight was contested on the feet, with both guys getting their licks in and using some unique offense in an entertaining bout. It was a close fight but the judges sided with Siver, giving him a unanimous decision victory with three 29-28 scores. The fighters started a bit cautiously early, throwing a few kicks but not really engaging. Nunes whiffed on a kick and Siver got him to the mat with a single leg, but only for a few seconds. Back on the feet, Nunes landed a nice combination and Siver replied with a couple of left body kicks. The fighters both threw a wide arsenal of kicking attacks with varying success, and Nunes landed his left hook a few times. Both fighters found their range a little better late in the round, but it was a very measured pace in the first five minutes. Nunes opened the second with a nice spinning wheel kick, and landed a spinning back kick. Siver clinched up and looked for a takedown but Nunes fought it off. Nunes went back to the spinning attacks, which seemed to confuse Siver a bit. Siver caught Nunes low with a kick, but Diego was ready to go again in just a few seconds. Siver landed a kick and went for a takedown, but Nunes got away again. Siver then threw a spinning back kick, which glanced off Nunes' body. Nunes clinched up, and Siver landed a big right hook when they separated. They exchanged more unique offense as the horn sounded to end the round. Nunes gave Siver a little hug to start the final round. Siver opened with a couple of big shots, but Nunes countered nicely. Nunes rocked Siver with a left hook, but Siver responded with a hard one of his own. They really upped the tempo in this round, with Siver putting together some really nice combinations and solid leg/body kicks while Nunes landed some nice knees with the thai clinch and hard hooks. Siver had a small cut opened over his left eye with about two minutes to go. Siver looked for a takedown off of a Nunes spinning kick, but Nunes held him off. Both fighters battered each other in the cage, with Nunes falling down for a second but getting up and responding with a solid spinning back kick. The fight ended with blood pouring down Siver's face. Siver was making his featherweight debut in this bout after a long run at 155. He's coming off a loss to Donald Cerrone at UFC 137. Nunes is coming off a decision win over Manny Gamburyan at UFC 141. SBN coverage of UFC on Fuel 2: Gustafsson vs. Silva

Posted in: ufc, fighter, kick, nune, siver

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Jason Young picked up his first win in the UFC with a solid unanimous decision victory over Eric Wisely in the first preliminary bout of UFC on Fuel 2. The scores were 30-28, 29-28, 29-28. Young landed a bunch of takedowns and spent over half the fight on top, landing some varied offense. Wisely did manage to look fairly good on the feet, but his constant feinting didn't work out too well because he wouldn't follow it up with much. The first round opened with Wisely throwing feints, trying to get Young to commit to something. After exchanging some high kicks, Wisely moved in and landed a nice left, but Young responded with a solid counter left. Wisely attempted to throw a spinning back kick, but Young clamped onto "Little Lee"s back.He attempted to get the slam, but there was nothing there. After a few knees to the butt, the referee separated the fighters. Young landed some solid shots after the break, then cauught a kick and got the takedown into Wisely's full guard. Young returned to his feet and landed a barrage of kicks to a downed Wisely. After landing a nice body kick, Wisely tried a straight kick and was taken down once again. Young finished the round with some nice ground and pound. Young opened the second stanza with some momentum, and was the fighter coming forward early. After about 30 seconds, Young scored a nice trip takedown. "Shotgun" worked patiently in Wisely's full guard for a while, and landed a big falling shot as well. After tenderizing Wisely with some ground and pound for over half the round, Young finally backed out of Wisely's guard and allowed Eric to stand. It didn't stay on the feet for long though, and Young landed another nice trip off a missed Wisely kick. The round ended with Wisely looking for some offense from his back, but there was nothing there. Wisely heeded his corners advice in between rounds and came out with a big kick, then clamped onto Young's back immediately. Young got loose though, and the fighters traded strikes in the center of the cage. Once again, Wisely's feints cost him as Young grabbed a leg and got the takedown. Young opened up with the GnP again, and continually stood up out of guard, looking to drop a big right hand on him. The referee eventually stood them up, but Wisely ran out of time. Young clearly won the fight. Young entered the fight on a two-fight losing streak and was probably fighting to continue his UFC tenure here. Wisely dropped his UFC debut to Charles Oliveira at UFC on Fox 2. SBN coverage of UFC on Fuel 2: Gustafsson vs. Silva

Posted in: ufc, round, guard, kick, wisely

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Almost out of nowhere, Alexander Gustafsson has become a top 10 light heavyweight. He sports a 5-1 UFC record, with eight more wins overall, and has stopped the likes of Cyrille Diabate and Matt Hamill. In fact, he's never needed the judges while fighting inside the Octagon. Many thought that streak would end when he was booked against Vladimir Matyushenko. The veteran's grinding wrestling acumen was thought to be a great style match-up against the young Swede's crisp stand-up. The experience "The Janitor" had under his belt was another talking point as some felt it might have been enough to give Gustafsson fits because surely, anything the youngster could throw at "Vladdy," the veteran has seen before. This Saturday (April 14), "The Mauler" takes on Thiago Silva, a fighter more in line with his own skill set and experience range. The Brazilian is known to stand and bang with his opponent and only has three more fights than the Swede which is almost nothing compared to the near 20 "The Janitor" had on the Swede going into their UFC 141 bout. While those facts may come into play when the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) rolls into Sweden this weekend for UFC on Fuel TV 2: "Gustafsson vs. Silva," the disparity in facts and figures in Gustafsson's bout with Matyushenko didn't matter one bit. Before "The Mauler" looks to extend his winning streak to five, we'll take a look at his impressive knockout win over "The Janitor." Are you ready? Both men begin their campaign in the center of the Octagon. As Gustafsson begins to employ his superior reach, he quickly takes the center of the cage as Matyushenko is kept at bay by the Swede's long reach. A front kick from the younger of the two men fighters connects with little else but air and the Belarusian answers back with two huge hooks, the second of which nearly causes him to slip when it, too, hits nothing but air. "The Janitor" regains his footing quickly and Gustafsson begins to circle around the veteran, looking to employ his youthful speed as a means towards victory. "The Mauler" misses with a leg kick but connects on a second attempt which is very nearly countered by Matyushenko. The Swede then begins throwing his jab, keeping his opponent at a very long arm's length. Matyushenko lunges forward and very nearly gets cracked with an uppercut counter but Gustafsson misses his mark. A second punch from the younger fighter also misses but it's a good sign for his corner and his supporters that he's looking to put together combinations instead of depending on the one-punch knockout. On the other end of the spectrum, "The Janitor" is having an impossible time figuring out the riddle of "The Mauler's" reach. Gustafsson then looks ready to reel off a high kick as his hips turn but his foot never leaves the mat as his opponent bounces backwards. Seconds later, he does it again but instead slams his leg into Matyushenko's body. The Belarusian, despite being over 40 years old, still has the instincts of a well-travelled veteran and is able to catch the kick and begins to open up with his fists. He clinches the Swede and delivers a few punches to the body and a few to the head before Gustafsson is able to shrug him off. The younger fighter quickly learns muscle memory slows down much slower than reflexes do. Another high kick is dodged by "The Janitor" and the follow-up front kick smacks against the veteran's arm. Flat-footed and mostly stationary, Matyushenko is a stark contrast to Gustafsson's constant movement, bouncing on his feet and constantly feinting strikes. A leg kick from the Swede smacks against the veteran and it seems at the moment, we may see more of them. If it was to be Gustafsson's gameplan, we'll never know since seconds later, the two fighters exchange punches and Matyushenko finds himself crumbling to the mat. "The Janitor" lunges forward and "The Mauler" needs to do little else than stick his fist in front of his opponent's chin. Matyushenko immediately falls to the canvas and covers up. There's no other choice for the referee than to stop the fight. Thiago Silva represents Gustafsson's stiffest test since losing to Phil Davis almost exactly two years ago. Has "The Mauler" evolved enough in the past 730 days to get past the light heavyweight contender? Or will the Swede's homecoming party be ruined by the Brazilian knockout artist?

Posted in: matyushenko, gustafsson, kick, swede, janitor

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Bas Rutten has become one of the best known personalities in MMA for his humorous and insightful color commentary, coaching and his anchor role on the popular mixed martial arts TV show, InsideMMA. Before he became a recognizable pundit, however, Rutten was the three times King of Pancrase, and the UFC heavyweight champion - becoming arguably the most successful striker in MMA up to that point. Beginning in Kyokushin Karate, then moving to Muay Thai, Rutten went undefeated in his first fourteen professional fights before being approached by Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki to join their newly formed Pancrase organization. Pancrase, touting "hybrid wrestling" rules, sought to bolster their roster with a credible kickboxer among the many grapplers in the organization. Unfortunately for Bas Rutten, the rules of Pancrase heavily favored grapplers; knees to the head were forbidden without knee pads, knockdowns resulted in a referee's count, and ground and striking on the ground was heavily frowned upon. Further to this, no gloves were worn and hand attacks to the head were only permitted with the palms - effectively shortening the range of straight punches, the traditional weapon of a striker against grappler. Having no sprawl to speak of, Rutten quickly learned to fight from his back, and utilize a savage guillotine to submit opponents while they attempted to take him down. Further to this he developed several tactics to limit the number of exchanges and damage his opponents as much as possible in doing so. Rutten's use of his trademark "Liver Shot" has been discussed many times before and will be dealt with in the second installment of this series, but what has received little attention is Bas Rutten's handy work along the ropes. Bas Rutten was not a gifted boxer. A great puncher, certainly, but he lacked the versatile jab and footwork of the world's other premier strikers. It was Rutten's spleen burstingly strong punching salvos at close range which won him standing exchanges, particularly in Pancrase - where the insistence on palm strikes limited his range anyway. One can watch a highlight of Bas Rutten and will see a great many seemingly wild rushes of the opponent against the ropes. It is certainly true that Rutten's style was aggressive and swarming, but it did not lack science. Despite his inferior boxing game, and a reach disadvantage, Rutten was able to get the better of both Guy Mezger and Maurice Smith - much more accomplished pure kickboxers - on the feet in his Pancrase matches. Rutten landed telling power shots on both men which better known names in the kickboxing world were not able to, simply through his unique strategy of bullying men on to the ropes. A quick glance through this excellent highlight will allow you to notice just how much of Bas' offense was done against the ropes. Due to his opponent's compromised stance: They could not get power in to their strikes, meaning that Rutten was never seriously troubled by his lack of head movement. His opponent had no base to stand up to the force of Rutten's own strikes without being thrown to and fro. Rutten could often apply his excellent Thai Plumm clinch against opponents who were off balanced by his powerful strikes. Bas Rutten did much to popularize this clinch as one of the most dangerous areas in modern MMA. Rutten's success on the feet against men who were desperate to take him down and against elite strikers, using many of the same methods, stemmed from his effective kicking game. It is no secret that Bas Rutten's roundhouse kicks were some of the hardest in MMA, certainly the hardest in Pancrase - and he used this to intimidate his adversaries routinely. The disadvantage of using roundhouse kicks is that they can often be caught, even if successful, and a winded opponent can take the kicker down and lay there until he feels healthy again (this is exactly what happened in the second half of Rutten's fight with Randleman). Rutten knew this, and often used the front kick to wind his opponents, dictate where the match took place, and to place them at the mercy of his whirling palm strike dervish. It should be noted that front kicks are much harder to catch if they are successful, due to their forcing the opponent away from oneself. Even if the kick is caught, the extended leg makes it much harder to reach for the kicker's standing foot. Rutten landed a great many hard, fight changing palm strikes from a position of hopping on one leg, following such a caught kick. Rutten's front kick was not like that of Anderson Silva or Lyoto Machida - a snap front kick - but rather an extremely powerful push kick. By slamming this in to his opponents chest, he was able to throw them against the ropes. This not only bounced the opponent, professional wrestling style, off of the ropes to meet Bas' lunging straight, but collapsed their stance, nullifying their ability to throw powerful punches against him. Rutten had also had success in Muay Thai with this same strategy and it remained one of his go to offensives throughout his career. The teep on to the ropes, followed by a flurry of punches, and then in to clinch work. At the beginning of this clip, against the best kickboxer America has ever produced, Maurice Smith, Rutten fakes a low kick and throws a front kick which forces Smith along the ropes. Rutten proceeds to land the most meaningful strikes of the match and forces the K-1 veteran and kickboxing world champion to take him down. Much of Rutten's finest work was done in toe to toe flurries with the opponent's back to the ropes. This translated to his match with Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in the UFC as well. After spending much of the fight on his back against the judoka, Rutten began to pile on the pressure in the final minute of the fight, before he stopped Kohsaka with a familiar salvo againt the cage. The use of gloves had allowed Bas to show better boxing out in the open, but it was collapsing his opponent's stance against the cage which still let him do the most damage. Watch from 0:52 for Rutten to start forcing the exhausted Japanese fighter's back to the cage. Look out for Jack Slack's full length ebook, out next weekend, the details (and brand new cover) of which can be viewed HERE. This piece is from Jack Slack's blog, www.fightsgoneby.com Follow Jack on Twitter @JackSlackMMA

Posted in: opponent, ba, rutten, kick, rope

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On March 21, UFC president Dana White was asked about fighting in hockey during a fan Q&A. His answer somehow turned into an opportunity to randomly bash soccer, as he declared it "the least talented sport on Earth"based on the large goal size and low scoring games. That led to former MLS star Jimmy Conrad issuing a challenge to Dana: Some quotes: Why would a tough guy like you feel so threatened by soccer that you needed to go off on it unprovoked? Is it maybe cause you know the one thing any three year old can do is fight? Hell, mine spent a whole year fighting me. ... Have you ever even played soccer, Dana? Can you pass a ball, like to a teammate, instead of some guy in the 3rd row? Can you run at top speed, while holding off a defender, and aiming for the corner of the goal being guarded by a massive 6'4" goal keeper? Yeah, probably not. So listen, here's what I'm going to do. Because I like you, I'm going to give you the opportunity to join me and a few friends for a game of soccer. Since you believe playing soccer requires no talent, I'm sure you'll be the star. Unless you scared. Well let me know. I look forward to hearing from you. Dana White quickly took to Twitter to say "I'm in bro!!!" JakesJournal Jake's Journal This could be fun. MT @kick: So @JimmyConrad_com addressed UFC Pres @danawhite comments on soccer. #ChallengeExtended. http://t.co/zb9fLn7m Apr 02 Favorite Retweet Reply JimmyConrad_com Jimmy Conrad @JakesJournal @kick @danawhite Agreed. I need Dana's people to talk to my people and do something fun here in NYC. Dana, what say you? Apr 02 Favorite Retweet Reply in reply to @JimmyConrad_com↑ @danawhiteDana White @JimmyConrad_com @jakesjournal @kick I'm in bro!!! Apr 02 via Twitter for iPhone Favorite Retweet Reply happykappy7 Jonathan Kaplan If only @DanaWhite had the guts to say Challenge Accepted! "@Kick: Check out @JimmyConrad_com challenge to UFC pres http://t.co/wiJpuv3Y" Apr 02 Favorite Retweet Reply in reply to @happykappy7↑ @danawhiteDana White @happykappy7 @kick @jimmyconrad_com I said yes you soccer freaks. I'm in LOL, calm down. Apr 02 via Twitter for iPhone Favorite Retweet Reply I think we all know how this ends. Dana will go, Jimmy and his friends will run circles around Dana and then Dana does the smiling "man, I was wrong. These guys are f**kin' talented. I just got my ass kicked!" And the world keeps on spinnin'.

Posted in: dana, kick, soccer, im, reply

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The UFC has released a new video giving the behind the scenes goings on at UFC 143 when Stephen Thompson made his debut against Dan Stittgen. The video shows some behind the scenes moments with Thompson and Stittgen as they prepare for battle as well as Thompson's friend and training partner Georges St. Pierre and UFC matchmaker Joe Silva. The 28-year-old Thompson (6-0) came to the UFC with more hype than the usual undefeated prospect due to his amazing run in karate and kickboxing competitions where he racked up more than 62 victories to no defeats. He was a champion in Chuck Norris' World Combat League. More Bloody Elbow Stories on Stephen ThompsonUndefeated Stephen Thompson Hopes To Make Case For Karate In MMA | Judo Chop: The Instep Roundhouse Kick Of Stephen Thompson BE's resident striking specialist Fraser Coffeen dissected Thompson's KO kick over Stittgen: When you really break it down, this is essentially just a straight roundhouse kick. Because Thompson comes from a karate background, he chooses to land the kick with the instep of his foot as opposed to the shin, as you more commonly see with fighters from a Muay Thai background, but aside from that small change, what you have is a roundhouse kick. Where Thompson really shines is the set-up. He has two nice elements to his set-up - one common, and one that is a bit more unique. First, he hides the head kick by beginning it as a leg kick. If you watch his thigh, you can see that he is at first aiming towards the leg, but then brings it up to the head at the last minute. This is a relatively common technique in various kickboxing styles, as it lulls your opponent into letting their head defenses down a bit. You don't see it as much in MMA, and Thompson does it very well here.

Posted in: ufc, kick, stephen, thompson, roundhouse kick

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"I am teaching Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida. I show them, you know, a lot. Not everything I know, but I show them punches and what we call Ashi Sabaki, which means how you move with your feet, how you enter, hand angles, joints, but mostly I'm teaching them kicks and punches. There is a signature kick that I've taught them that they've knocked champions out with and won world championships with. I'm asking them to kick to the face and the head with that kick. I don't think it hurts because you're asleep. It might hurt when you wake up." It's asylum day here at MMAmania, as I've worked hard to bring you consecutive posts from delusional fighters who may have suffered one too many blows to the head. That includes aging Aikido master Steven Seagal, who recently told Jimmy Kimmel Live he's still training Brazilian butt-kickers Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida. While both "The Spider" and "The Dragon" have famous front kicks on their resumes (Vitor Belfort and Randy Couture, respectively), neither fighter has secured the gold using Seagal's secret kick. Nevertheless, it hasn't stopped him from getting some more mileage out of his association with Blackhouse MMA, but it will be interesting to see if he makes an appearance at UFC 147 for Silva's title defense against Chael Sonnen on June 23 in Brazil.

Posted in: silva, anderson, kick, seagal, machida

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Last year, UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva turned in one of MMA's all-time great jaw-dropping KO's when he knocked out Vitor Belfort at UFC 126 with a front kick. Then, just a few months later, Lyoto Machida took it a step further withe his jumping switch front kick KO over Randy Couture. In the aftermath of those incredible knock-outs, one rather surprising name kept coming up: Steven Seagal. The action movie star, modern day reality TV figure, and Aikido black belt was in the corner of both Silva and Lyoto. After both fights, Seagal claimed credit for the kicks, claiming they were techniques he had long worked on and had taught to these two UFC fighters. Then his connection with Silva, Machida, and in turn the UFC faded, and we have not heard much from him in MMA circles since. Now, he's back. Recently, Seagal appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and took the opportunity to once again assert his role in the Silva and Machida KO's: I am teaching Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida... I show them, you know, a lot. Not everything I know, but I show them punches and what we call Ashi Sabaki, which means how you move with your feet, how you enter, hand angle, joints, but mostly I'm teaching them kicks and punches... There is a signature kick that I've taught them that they've knocked champions out with and won world championships with. Fascinating to see Seagal still holding strong to these older, pre-MMA conceptions of martial arts techniques and the idea that a front kick is some sort of deadly art that only a true Aikido master like Seagal can know. It's a very outdated view of martial arts, but then again, what else do you expect from the fading action star? Watch the full video below.

Posted in: ufc, silva, kick, front kick, seagal

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In our efforts to provide you with the best MMA analysis we can, we have added two new writers to the Head Kick Legend staff. Please welcome Elliot Matheny and Patrick Wyman (formerly known as "fightinghistorian") to the site. Elliot is making his return after some time away from us, while Patrick is something of a new face on the block. Both have a wealth of combat sports knowledge and I hope all of you are as excited as we are to have them working with us.With the new additions, we now have a fairly robust staff of nine, which will allow us to provide you with a bit more content than in the recent past. As such, it's my pleasure to introduce two new features to the blog: 1. Group Discussions. Up to this point, collaboration between the Head Kick writers has been limited to picking winners for the various big events and those aren't really that collaborative, since everyone makes their own picks. With the new additions to the team I thought now would be the perfect time to introduce a series featuring group collaboration along every step of the way. As such, we will be having a weekly discussion covering a hot button topic in the world of combat sports. The format will be fairly similar to the round table discussions that occasionally take place at some of the other SB Nation combat sports blogs. You might have seen our first discussion, which is regarding the use of testosterone replacement therapy in mixed martial arts, which always seems to be in the news but has received more attention as of late due to Rampage Jackson's admission that he used the treatment prior to his UFC 144 bout with Ryan Bader. 2. The Daily News Of The MMA World. One of the areas that Head Kick Legend has fallen behind in is acting as a source for up to date news, whether it be breaking fight announcements, new video interviews and training footage or, of course, good old smack talk. It would be nearly impossible to immediately jump into the field of breaking news, as there are many other blogs and media sources that already have a solid presence when it comes to that. That being said, with so many other outlets for news, it can be a bit of a task to get yourself up to date, which is where we are going to come in. Starting Sunday, April 1st, we will be introducing a new feature: Daily News Of The MMA World. The piece will be published every morning at 8:00 Eastern Time, just in time for your morning coffee and toast, commute to work, wake n bake, whatever it is that you do while digesting the latest MMA headlines. It'll consist of all the headlines from the past 24 hours, as well as a short editorial on the story of the day. And the best part about it? We are getting interactive: Every Sunday, the fanpost we judge to be the best from the past seven days will be featured in the News Of The MMA World. This is our way of shining a spotlight on some of the less heralded work on the website and who knows, if you show up a couple times, it could lead to something a little more permanent. That's all for now. I look forward to hearing your feedback on both these new additions to the writing staff and the new features we'll be giving you in the upcoming weeks and months!

Posted in: mma, time, news, mma world, kick

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Longtime mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran Mirko Filipovic, who competed in PRIDE Fighting Championship as well as DREAM and K-1 in Japan, knows a thing or two about squaring off against opponents who may have gone the extra mile in training camp. And by "extra mile" I mean "needle in the buttocks." Steroid use and abuse, which has plagued combat sports for years (especially in unregulated markets), is starting to lose its place in the headlines thanks to the rise of Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT), now legally available to athletes who can secure a prescription from their physician. And keep it under wraps when the time comes. Unfortunately that doesn't include Quinton Jackson, who blabbed to media members following his UFC 144 loss to Ryan Bader that he was receiving TRT injections prior to their fight -- which not coincidentally took place last month in Japan. So what does "Cro Cop" have to say about all of that? Well, it's simple: No amount of testosterone, or any other performance enhancing drug for that matter, can save you from a knockout punch (or kick). The Croatian breaks it down for Fighters Only after the jump. "I know guys have used this and used that, so many other things… I don’t know if any of it really helps, in martial arts anyway. One punch, one kick to the head, the liver, can end the fight. And secondly its a death, its a death for the body. For a few years of glory you are going to die at the age of 40, 45? Or your liver turns to cancer and you search for a new liver? I don’t know. I think its too dangerous. And for MMA I think you can prepare with everything natural, all natural substances. Nutrition, BCAA, protein shakes and glutamine. Four things I use. Every sportsman in every sports is taking this, or should. Plus vitamin B-complex, vitamin C, lots of fruit, lots of rest. I never liked all that other stuff, its dangerous to play with. As far as I am concerned, its too dangerous ... But, its not my concern, whoever wants to take anything can take anything - one punch or kick can solve the problem. It's dangerous, its not healthy, you can be caught, you can be suspended and you can be shamed. It is disgrace for your whole career to be caught with things you shouldn’t take. But most important thing, it is too dangerous. Thanks but no thanks." Filipovic, who said goodbye to MMA with a technical knockout loss to Roy Nelson at UFC 137 last October, has returned to the kickboxing circuit overseas. He most recently decisioned fellow aging striker Ray Sefo at "Final Fight" earlier this month. Cro Cop expects to compete again later this year and has reportedly fielded recent offers from K-1. Let's get some thoughts on this hot-button issue Maniacs. Is Cro Cop right in his assessment? Does skill overcome chemical enhancements? Opinions, please.

Posted in: punch, kick, cro cop, cop, cro

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In the UFC, 2011 was the year of the front kick. A weapon that has long been underutilized in MMA, the front kick took center stage last year thanks to two astounding, jaw-dropping performances. First was Anderson Silva's front kick KO of Vitor Belfort at UFC 126. Then, Silva's friend and occasional teammate Lyoto Machida upped the ante with his memorable Karate Kid style jumping switch front kick KO over Randy Couture at UFC 129. Watching MMA in 2011, the impact of these kicks was immediate. Right away you saw numerous fighters trying to emulate Silva and Lyoto, throwing their own fancy front kicks in an effort to earn their own highlight reel KO. At the last Strikeforce show, Josh Thomson became the latest fighter to follow the Silva/Lyoto model, attacking opponent K.J. Noons with not just one, but both variations of those famous front kicks. In this Judo Chop, we'll take a look at Thomson's technique. What did he do well? And why didn't he get the KO? First things first, it has to be said - Josh Thomson has an exceptional front kick. He's long used the Muay Thai style teep kick as one of his primary striking weapons, and he's used it very effectively (he's long been my go-to example of an MMA fighter who knows how to use a teep). So his decision to use the Silva and Lyoto kicks is not without precedent. To start, we'll take a look at the basic Thomson teep, then move on to the front kicks. More on the front/push kick: Judo Chop: George Roop's Front Push Kick Flattens Josh Grispi at UFC's TUF Finale 13 My Muay Thai Training Diary: The Push Kick At its most basic level, the teep is essentially the jab of kicks. It can be thrown from either the front or rear leg. In a teep, the fighter lifts his leg straight up, and drives his foot into his opponent's abdomen, sending the momentum forward and through the opponent like a piston. This contrasts most kicks, where the energy comes in sideways at an angle. The teep (like the jab) is straight on, and can either be used to simply create distance, to stop an incoming opponent, or, if thrown with power, to cause real damage. More analysis, plus gifs, in the full entry: On the left is a series of three teeps thrown in quick succession by Thomson. He starts in orthodox stance with his right leg back and throws a rear (right) leg teep. This creates distance as both men circle away from the cage, forcing the boxer Noons outside of punching range. He then throws a lead (left) leg teep that again pushes Noons back. When thrown with the lead leg, the kick creates greater distance between the two men, and Thomson uses it accordingly. Note the way he turns his body to the right slightly with this kick, maximizing the reach on his left leg. Once his left leg returns to stance, he quickly follows up with another right leg teep, using the forward momentum from the previous kick to add to his momentum here. None of these are thrown with tremendous force, and seemed designed to both move Noons back, and get him to drop his defenses. Note the way Noons keeps bringing his hands low to block the kicks, which is a bad habit that leaves his chin exposed. Again, because Noons is a boxer, these teeps don't allow him to get inside and work his own game, keeping things squarely in Thomson's zone. These aren't the most vicious kicks, but they are doing the job. Now, from the opening seconds of the round, here's Thomson's Silva-style front kick. Again, he's in orthodox, and throws the kick with his rear right leg. He brings the knee straight up, then snaps up the foot, looking to use the bottom half of his leg like a whip and drive the momentum into Noons's jaw. Unfortunately for Thomson, it doesn't work. Noons sees the kick coming and steps back while using his hands to block the kick. Part of the trouble here is that Thomson doesn't really set the kick up at all. He offers a small stutter step to confuse Noons, but then simply throws the kick. Noons has his hands up and is keeping them very active, ready to deflect any incoming shots, and he is not fooled by Thomson. Two little details I do like here. First, note how Thomson always keeps a hand close to his face while kicking - first the left, then the right. This keeps him safe from a Noons counter. Second, I love how he strings together kicks. When the front kick doesn't land, he uses the forward motion from the kick to step towards Noons and throw a nice left body kick. Now, let's contrast that kick with Silva's. The big difference clearly is that Silva's lands clean, but why? At first glance, it would seem Silva does even less to set up the kick than Thomson, and while this is true, I would argue it's actually a better set-up. The shuffle Thomson uses draws Noons's attention to his feet, which is exactly where the strike then comes from. Silva on the other hand becomes completely still before the strike, leaving Belfort to wonder what will come next. It's also a better choice for Silva because of Belfort's stance. Vitor has his legs wide, and he's slightly bent down, bringing his head to a lower point. Contrast that with Noons, who is standing high and straight, moving his head further away from Thomson. Silva also has long legs and a high waist, meaning that his foot does not have to move up as high as Thomson's. He is able to both bring it up and drive it forward at the same time, more like a teep. Because Noons has his head so high above Thomson's hip, Thomson is forced to send all his momentum up in an arc. Silva can send it both up and forward into Belfort, which makes it much more effective. So the difference makers for Silva - better set-up and better positioning to make it a higher percentage strike. On we go to Thomson's Machida-esque crane kick. Thomson starts with his right leg back, and at first looks like he will throw a jumping knee with that right leg. Then, in mid-air, he switches from the right leg to left leg, and from the knee to the kick. It's similar to the flying knee Carlos Condit used to KO Dong Hyun Kim, just with the knee turned into a front kick. As you can see more clearly in the slowed down replay (below), the faked right knee does an excellent job catching Noons off guard. As Thomson jumps, Noons brings down his left hand to block what he perceives to be an incoming knee on that side. Once Thomson switches to the left kick, that dropped hand gives him perfect access to Noons's jaw, and the kick lands clean. I also love the way Thomson uses his arms to add to his momentum here, first dropping the right in order to add to the right knee, then switching to the left when he switches to the left kick. Nice detail there that adds to the kick. Comparing this with the Lyoto vs. Couture KO, the two kicks are very similar. Lyoto begins with his left leg back, so his motions are reversed (faked left knee, followed by a right front kick), but everything else is, as Mike Goldberg would say, virtually identical. In fact, Couture manages to keep his hands tighter than Noons, giving Lyoto less of an opening, yet it's The Dragon's kick that earns the KO. Why? Honestly, unlike the Silva comparison, it's hard to say. Both Thomson and Lyoto land clean, both Couture and Noons have their heads snapped back, but only one is down and out, while the other is simply briefly staggered. There are a lot of intangibles that come into play here - Counture's chin vs. Noons's chin, Lyoto's power vs. Thomson's power, the exact positioning of the points of impact - so it's hard to isolate any one. If forced, I would say two things. First, Couture is holding his head low, his shoulders up, and steps down and somewhat into the kick when Lyoto throws. Noons on the other hand is high and away from Thomson. Second, Lyoto catches Couture just a bit more on the side of the face, which causes his head to not just snap back, but also to twist slightly (whereas Noons is caught dead on and just has his head snap straight back). That twisting of the neck is a big factor in KO's. Add in the fact that Couture was 47 years old and at the end of a long career, and you can see why it did more damage. Again the difference makers for Lyoto - his opponent's positioning, his target, and his opponent's chin. This contrast between these two remarkably similar kick is, to me, part of what makes this such a fascinating sport - one man's career ending KO is another man's momentarily successful kick that is quickly forgotten. And what separates those two kicks, and in turn the two kickers, is sometimes the merest fraction of inches.

Posted in: leg, front, kick, noon, thomson

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On a day full of upsets as Mizzou and Duke fell to lower-ranked teams in March Madness action, Team Cruz pulled off a third as lanky boxer James “The Executioner” Vick knocked out Daron Cruickshank with a big knee in the first round.“I thought he [Vick] lost his fight to get into the house, and I think that's a guaranteed win for us,” said Cruickshank's coach, Urijah Faber, when announcing the fight pairing earlier in the week. Cruz admitted his fighter was the underdog – in last week’s elimination bouts, Vick had eked out a split decision in a tough scrum with Dakota Cochrane, while Cruickshank’s kickboxing had dominated Drew Dober.Inside the TUF Gym in Las Vegas, the two started slowly, circling one another to test their distance. Cruickshank – a kickboxer trained by his father in striking and pro kickboxer mom – threw a few kicks, but struggled to connect on the fighter 7 inches taller and with a 6.5-inch reach advantage. Vick threw a some jabs and range-finding kicks, gaining confidence as the seconds wore on. Cruickshank exploded with a big left kick to the body and a spinning-back foot. But the 6’3” Vick’s height spelled the end for the 5’8” “Detroit Superstar” as Cruickshank shot for a takedown at the same time that Vick launched another kick. Vick adjusted, threw low, and his right knee knocked Cruickshank out at 2:16 of the first round. "That move was very planned, it was a right hand, left hook, two-three combination to a kick," said Vick. "It was meant to be a full-on kick but I could not get it extended in time. He came in and hit the knee. He shot in and it hit him right on the button. He went out."Vick also credited Team Cruz with giving him the mindset and tools to win the fight. "I heard my coaches screaming throw this combination. As soon as I threw it it landed. Magic, you know?"“I think Urijah completely underestimated this kid,” said UFC president Dana White after the bout. 

Posted in: kick, vick, tuf gym, cruickshank, advantage vick

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Kazuo Misaki defeats Paul Daley by Split decision. The judges provided the follow score cards: 30-27 Misaki, 29-28 Daley, 29-28 Misaki. Paul Daley landed a cutting leg kick to open the first. Paul pawed out his jab to try and find his range. Misaki backed Paul up with an overhand right. Misaki came forward with a left hand and Paul Daley responded with a leg kick. Misaki caught the leg and took Dalye to the mat. Daley regained his feet. Paul missed a left hand and Misaki attacked the midsection with punches. Daley had difficulty finding his range while Misaki teed off with punches. Misaki slipped a punch and then opened up with punches to the body. Daley tackled Misaki to the mat and almost got caught in a guillotine. Daley stood up and landed punches to the face as the round ended. Misaki landed a kick to the body to start the second stanza. He followed up with punches and rocked Daley against the fence. Misaki initiated a clinch and hip tossed Daley to the mat. Daley does well to keep his balance and regained his feet. Misaki stalked with jabs. Daley shot another takedown and ended up in Misaki's guard. Daley had difficulty with throwing punches and tried to take Misaki's back. Misaki quickly swept and ended up in Paul Daley's guard. The referee stood the fighters up with ten seconds to go. Daley wiffed on every punch to close the round. Kazuo landed a chopping leg kick in the start of the third. Daley unable to find his range with almost all of his punches short by an inch. Misaki attacked the body and Daley responded with a left hook to the head. Daley took Misaki down with four minutes left in the round. A punch from Daley opened up a cut on the forehead of Kazuo Misaki. Daley told the referee and the fight is stopped for the doctor to inspect the cut. The fight continued and Daley landed a left hook to the jaw. Another left hook from Daley. Misaki with a jumping knee. Daley was throwing single shots with two minutes left in the fight. Misaki continued to press forward against a retreating Paul Daley. Daley caught a kick and hit a takedown but couldn't keep position. Misaki throwing punches with thirty seconds left. Impressive fight for Misaki. Paul Daley fought a very conservative fight. SBN coverage of Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey

Posted in: punch, daley, kick, paul, misaki

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[div class="notice" class2="icon"]The following is from an article on LiverKick.com, part of the MiddleEasy Network.[/div] SuperKombat had their first show of the year yesterday and in a surprising result, Catalin Morosanu won the four man tournament, beating Utley Meriana and Anderson "Braddock" Silva. I certainly didn't expect Morosanu to pull it off, and he deserves a lot of props. He looked better than he ever has before, but that's not exactly what this post is about. Anthony Pettis scored a stoppage with a high kick and punches on the ground tonight at UFC 144, but Morosanu also knocked his opponent, Utley Meriana, down with a high kick - except Meriana was completely out. Check out this impressive performance by Catalin Morosanu, capped off with a devastating high kick KO. Watch The Knockout

Posted in: kick, morosanu, meriana, catalin, year yesterday

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After finishing Joe Lauzon at UFC 144 in Tokyo, Japan, with a beautiful head kick in the first round tonight (Feb. 25, 2012), Anthony Pettis feels he is ready for a title fight. The former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) lightweight champion -- who missed out on a title shot when Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard fought to an unsatisfying draw early last year -- connected with a hellish head kick, which turned out Lauzon's lights almost immediately. "Showtime" breaks it down: "Right when I landed the kick I felt what part of this shin I hit him with, then I saw his eyes roll back, and I knew it was a done fight. To set it up, I came out in the southpaw stance and was just working the jab. I thought he was going to shoot sooner, so I kind of keep my range and stay far, but he was biting on the jab. I threw up the high kick and it was just his mistake." Indeed. Pettis goes on to explain that he has proven in his two last fights that he's worthy of being a contender. Prior to stopping Lauzon, Pettis battled Jeremy Stephens for three rounds to earn a split decision victory. He hopes that his quick finish of "J-Lau" to kick-off the pay-per-view (PPV) card will push him over the edge. "I felt this fight was somewhere close to a [number one title contender eliminator match]. He just beat Melvin Guillard, who was coming off a huge winning spree. And I finished him quickly -- I knew I had to finish this fight fast to get a title shot, so hopefully the UFC gives me my shot." With top division contenders Jim Miller vs. Nate Diaz squaring off at the upcoming UFC on Fox 3 show, Pettis might have a little competition when it comes to determining the next in line to challenge newly-minted champion Ben Henderson. However, he has what both of them do not, which is a recent win over "Smooth," as well as a "Showtime Kick" kicker.

Posted in: fight, title shot, title, petti, kick

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Benson Henderson defeats Frankie Edgar by Unanimous Decision. The score cards were 49-46, 48-47, 49-46. Inside leg kick landed for Frankie to open the round. Ben Henderson threw his own leg kick and jumped up with a flying round house which missed. Edgar took Ben down momentarily but was unable to keep him on the mat. Henderson doubled up the kicks and Frankie hit another takedown. Ben threw a superman punch/low kick that landed low. Another Ben Henderson kick was caught and Frankie punished him with kicks to the thigh. Frankie timed Ben's kicks well, catching numerous shots to the body. Frankie completed a double and on the way up Ben attempted a standing kimura. Knee to the body from Ben. Frankie tossed Ben to the ground in the final seconds of the round. Frankie Edgar caught another kick and punished Ben's thigh with kicks. Another kick caught and the two trade punches. Henderson punched on one leg. Knee from the clinch landed for Benson. Another knee from Benson landed which caused Frankie to take a deep breath. Frankie missed a spinning back fist. Edgar with another takedown and Henderson defended with a standing kimura. Leg kick by Frankie found its target. Both fighters traded in the pocket with a minute left and Frankie hit a takedown with thirty left. Edgar stayed active and was dropped by an upkick. Benson tried a guillotine to finish the fight but time ran out. Frankie was leaking blood walking back to his corner. They traded in the pocket to start the third. Big right for Edgar landed as he moved in and out. Edgar with a four punch combination to the body and head. Benson defends two takedown attempts. Henderson countered Frankie's combination with a right hand. Frankie slipped and Henderson drove him down to keep the fight grounded. Frankie wall walked back to his feet and pushed off to escape. Edgar's eye almost swollen shut with a minute thirty left in the round. Edgar threw Benson but couldn't keep the fight on the ground. Frankie closed the round with a takedown. Double jab and kick from Henderson at the start of the championship rounds. Jab from Henderson is countered with a kick to the leg. Three punch combination landed for Edgar. Henderson's kick to the body landed low directly on Frankie's cup. Henderson wiffed an uppercut and Frankie countered with a right hand. Frankie with a takedown and Henderson dropped for a guillotine. It was very tight but Edgar survived. Edgar attempted to take Ben's back but again gave up when Henderson grabbed for a kimura. Frankie had timed Henderson's leg kicks. Takedown attempt from Frankie is defended and Henderson threw a kick to the body on the break. Benson was surprisingly fresh entering the final round. Edgar stepped in for a right hand and was countered with a straight left. Frankie failed on a takedown attempt but landed an uppercut on the break. A big left hand landed for Edgar. Frankie tripped Benson to the ground and attempted to take his back but again gave up when Henderson grabbed the kimura. Edgar landed a combination and Henderson countered with a right hand. Frankie dropped Ben with right hook but Henderson didn't look stunned. Head kick from Benson was partially blocked. The fight ended with Henderson landing a jumping knee and dragging Edgar down with a guillotine. SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson

Posted in: ben, henderson, kick, edgar, frankie

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Tim Boetsch defeats Yushin Okami by TKO. The stoppage came at :54 in the third round. Tim Boetsch landed an early leg kick and straight right hand. Okami with a straight left that landed flush. Tim responded with a high left kick. A beautiful jab from Okami backed Boetsch up. Another and Boetsch put his back against the cage. One of the jabs opened a cut on Tim's cheek. Tim attempted to keep distance with teeps. Boetsch dropped for a takedown but Okami stepped out. Okami's boxing looked incredibly crisp early in the first. Two kicks to the body land for Tim Boetsch as does a leg kick. Okami with a head kick with may be the first time he's gone high with a kick in his UFC career. Boetsch countered with an overhand right but ate a heavy knee to the body as the first round ended. Tim Boetsch's cheeks were both cut as the second round began. Okami landed several straight punches before another heavy kick to the body. Boetsch clinched up but was muscled around the cage by the much stronger Okami. Okami dropped for the takedown but fell into a guillotine. Okami did well to survive allowing Boetsch to burn out his arms. Okami worked to pass to side control and set up a double wrist lock. Okami used the submission to pass to mount and threw punches to an arm triangle attempt. Dominant second round by Yushin Okami. The two fighters clinched to open the final round trading in the clinch. Tim Boetsch pushes forward with kicks and Okami is moving backwards. Boetsch kept the pressure and knocked Yushin Okami out with a ridiculous uppercut. Okami was OUT COLD! This was arguably one of the biggest comebacks in UFC history. It was also a huge upset. Tim Boetsch came back from adversity to steal the win in the final round. SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson

Posted in: round, boetsch, tim, kick, okami

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Posted in: spoiler, kick, collinstm link, collinstm, pettislauzon

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Anthony Pettis is the man who delivered the greatest kick in MMA history, and on Saturday night he added another highlight-reel kick to his resume: Pettis delivered a sensational head kick to knock Joe Lauzon out at UFC 144. Pettis landed a picture-perfect kick to the jaw of Lauzon to knock him down, then landed a couple of punches to the face on the ground to finish it before the referee could jump in. The fight lasted just 1 minute, 21 seconds. More Coverage: UFC 144 Results | Pettis vs. Lauzon Live Blog "I feel awesome," he said. "I'm the best in the lightweight division. I'm going to come for my title shot." Pettis threw hard kicks from the get-go, landing right from the start. Although Lauzon landed a couple of punches of his own, it was Pettis who was in control in the early going, and afterward Pettis said he wants the winner of the Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson fight next. "Hopefully whoever comes out tonight, I get the winner," Pettis said.

Posted in: ufc, petti, head kick, lauzon, kick

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Anthony Pettis defeats Joe Lauzon by knockout. The stoppage came at 1:21 in the first round. Early head kick from Anthony Pettis. He followed it up with a leg kick. Joe Lauzon came forward with punches but wasn't able to land anything. Anthony Pettis landed a side kick to the body and then followed up with a left high kick that came out of nowhere. Joe Lauzon was dropped and Pettis followed up with punches until the referee dove in to stop the fight. Joe Lauzon expected the kick to land low and left his head wide open. Anthony Pettis was the last WEC lightweight champion and was expected to be the number one contender when the company folded. Injuries to Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard forced him to take a fight against Clay Guida. Pettis lost his title shot in the loss. Joe Lauzon made his UFC debut with a knockout win over Jens Pulver. Since that win he has been unable to string together a group of wins to break into the top of the division. SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson

Posted in: petti, joe, lauzon, kick, anthony

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The UFC 144: "Edgar vs. Henderson" main card on pay-per-view tonight (Sat., Feb. 25, 2012) in Japan kicked off with a lightweight battle pitting former WEC champion Anthony Pettis against longtime contender Joe Lauzon. The winner wasn't promised a title shot but would most certainly be making their case for one, especially with Ben Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar going down later in the night. An impressive victory by either man would give them the leverage needed for a call out. It's no surprise, then, that when Pettis knocked Lauzon on his ass with a huge left head kick and finished him with punches he immediately climbed the cage and mock wrapped a belt around his waist. After a knockout victory in just over one minute, he's got every right to be doing so. Pettis opened up the offense by firing off a kick that slapped the side of Lauzon and sounded much worse than it was. His hope, I believe, was to use that as a pace-setter but Lauzon didn't back off in the slightest, maintain his aggressive stance and pressing the action. Big mistake. Pettis, a Duke Roufus trained kickboxer, unleashed a monster left high kick that fooled "J-Lau" bad enough to catch a knockout. Lauzon thought he was going low, and paid a heavy price for it. Anyone think Pettis should earn a title shot on this win? Remember, too, to check out our ongoing live coverage of the UFC 144 main card action by clicking here.

Posted in: title shot, petti, lauzon, kick, duke roufus

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Chris Cariaso defeats Takeya Mizugaki by Unanimous Decision. All three judges scored the fight 29-28. As the round opened Chris Cariaso attempted a high kick. He was countered quickly by Takeya Mizugaki. Cariaso again attempted a high kick and couldn't find his target. Cariaso initiated a clinch and landed an inside hook on the break. Cariaso landed and staggered Mizugaki. Takeya came forward with punches and then completed a trip takedown. Mizugaki threw punches and Cariaso threw his legs up for an omoplata. Mizugaki escaped and dove back into guard. Mizugaki worked from guard with short punches to the head and body but wouldn't posture up. The round ended with neither fighter really committing to an attack. Round two opened with Takeya landing a leg kick and punches as he backed Cariaso against the cage. The American threw a head kick but it landed to the arm pit which could be because of the massive size difference. Takeya clinched agains the cage and tripped Cariaso to the ground. Takeya was unable to pass the guard but he was content to work from the American's guard. Mizugaki postured up and landed several punches before breaking posture and throwing body punches. Cariaso used a neck crank to sweep and Mizugaki quickly regained his feet. The rounded ended with the fighters battling in the clinch. Chris Cariaso attempted a head kick as the third round opened but it was blocked by Takeya Mizugaki. Takeya clinched quickly but Cariaso turned him and dropped for a single leg takedown. Cariaso broke and landed a punch. He then drove forward with another clinch attempt but was unable to muscle Mizugaki. Cariaso attempted a head kick but slipped onto his back. Mizugaki followed him to the ground and was content to fight from Cariaso's guard. Mizugaki didn't posture up, instead he played the shoulder pressure game. Cariaso regained his feet and landed a right as the round ended. SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson

Posted in: mizugaki, punch, takeya, kick, cariaso

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On December 16th, 2010, with one minute remaining in a hotly contested five round WEC lightweight championship bout that would also be the final fight of the company’s storied tenure, arguably the most sensational athletic move was attempted and successfully delivered: the ‘Showtime kick.’ After 24 minutes of back and forth action with the title on the line, then challenger Anthony Pettis seemingly defied all known laws of physics by leaping towards the cage, spring boarding off of that cage with his right foot, and delivering a mid-air whip kick with that same right foot, which caught then champion Benson Henderson in the face. It didn’t knock the champion out, but it did drop Henderson and was the declarative statement that Pettis won the epic contest. About the only person in the entirety of the MMA community who is not still hypnotized by that captivating moment is the man who did it. “I don't want the ‘Showtime kick’ and the WEC belt to be the highlight of my career,” affirms Pettis, who understandably is working towards a long, successful career as a professional fighter, and not resting on his 23-year old self’s accomplishments - as great as they were. “I want to be the UFC champ. I want to do well in this and I believe in myself. I want to show the fans that I am a skillful fighter and I can be the best at 155.”If UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones had the most impressive year in MMA history in 2011, then there’s a case to be made that Pettis had the second best in 2010. Coming off a split decision loss to Bart Palaszewski at WEC 45, which was also the first loss of his career, Pettis entered 2010 a relative no name 155er who found himself being followed around by a yet-to-debut documentary television show while preparing for his third WEC bout. At WEC 47 against Danny Castillo, Pettis scored an opening round head kick knockout, which earned him “Knockout of the Night” and provided a scintillating ending to the World of Jenks MTV show. But that was only the beginning to his year, as Pettis would win three more fights, a “Submission of the Night”, a “Knockout of the Night”, and was crowned the last WEC lightweight champion. An added stipulation to the Pettis/Henderson bout was that the winner would face the winner of the UFC lightweight championship fight between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard at UFC 125. The title fight ended in a draw, which earned Edgar and Maynard a rematch with each other, but left Pettis without a dance partner for the foreseeable future. Instead of waiting for the eventual winner of Edgar/Maynard (which was finally decided last October), Pettis chose to take on another top contender. Long story short, six months later, Pettis debuted in the UFC against veteran grinder Clay “The Carpenter” Guida and suffered a unanimous decision loss. “It sucked,” tells Pettis. “Going from fighting pretty much every two months to having six months off - I didn't like it at all. A lot of stuff changed. Having Mr. Andrew Jenks follow me around, my popularity definitely went up, and having six months off I didn't have anything to look forward to. My fight camp and I decided I should take a fight and luckily we did because I wouldn't have been fighting until this year. Taking that fight didn't turn out how I was hoping, but there were a lot of factors - time off, gameplan, and a lot of stuff factored into why I lost that fight.”It wasn’t the UFC debut Pettis expected, but he is a professional, and four months later he was inside the Octagon for a second time looking for that first win. “The biggest thing for me was to not get another loss,” says Pettis, who took on the heavy-handed Jeremy Stephens at UFC 136, a bout which did not go as expected either. “Going into the Stephens fight, we were expecting a standup war. He was talking big stuff like he was going to knock me out and welcome me properly to the UFC, so I was expecting a standup fight. It didn't turn out that way.”No one would have guessed the ultra, dynamic striking of Pettis and the 14 knockouts, power punching of “Lil’ Heathen” would end up in a wrestling match in Houston. “He goes and takes me down in the first round, twice I think, but I wasn't expecting him to shoot on me - I was expecting him to throw big bombs,” divulges Pettis, who didn’t start the grapple-thon, but definitely ended it by showing off his takedowns in the later rounds. “He takes me down and he goes up on the judges’ score cards right away. In the corner, Duke [Roufus] told me, ‘if you can take him down then take him down and grind him out.’ In the second and third round, I came out and I did just that.”Although, 2011 was slow for the Milwaukee, Wisconsin native, going 1-1 in two wrestling matches in the UFC, 2012 is shaping up to be very exciting. At UFC 144, in the UFC’s first event in Japan in over a decade, Pettis faces five-time Submission of the Night winner Joe Lauzon at the Saitama Super Arena. The submission magician from Massachusetts is entering the bout on a two fight win streak capped off by a huge 47 second upset victory over Melvin Guillard at UFC 136. At 20-6, the Ultimate Fighter season 5 alum is in the mix for a title shot, and Pettis knows a win over him would put him back near the top of the lightweight pack hunting for gold.“He’s a very intelligent fighter and very dangerous,” says Pettis. “He's got some good striking, he's getting better all the time, he's been around a long time, he's got the experience factor on me, and he's very good on the ground. He's one of those fighters who is dangerous everywhere. I wanted someone of his caliber and of his skill set. He's coming off a huge win against Guillard. He's going to put me right back where I need to be. A win over Lauzon will be huge for my career. Coming off of a win you have better mental preparation going into a fight. You're not doubting yourself, you're not thinking about your last loss. I'm coming off of a win, so I'm better mentally. I know that I can go out there and do what I usually do. I can't go out there and play it safe. I need to go out there and bring the fight and break his will.”The type of fight that only “Showtime” can bring is a uniquely flashy, but effective, one that is fan-friendly and knockout-centric. It’s a style that is as atheistically pleasing as it is deadly for Pettis’ opponents. Nevertheless, Pettis fights with a controlled chaos, as seemingly high risk maneuvers like the ‘Showtime kick’ are actually thoughtfully practiced with legendary kickboxing coach Roufus, and they come naturally to Pettis because of his background in traditional martial arts like Taekwondo (3rd degree black belt). “People ask me all the time, ‘am I trying to go out there and be ‘Showtime’ or am I trying to go out there and show off a new kick?’ Nah, this is the way I practice,” states Pettis. “I practice flashy because I've been doing it my whole life. Jump kicks, spin kicks, I've been doing them my whole life and they're second nature to me. For a boxer to throw a 1-2 is nothing for them because they've been doing it their whole life. For me to throw a spin kick is nothing to me because I've been doing it my whole life. A jump spin kick has been something I've using in my whole martial arts career and it's just something that carries over into my fighting. When someone is getting ready to fight me as an opponent, they definitely have to bring in some sparring partners who throw crazy moves. But the thing is I have very good basics, which allow me to go out there and throw spin kicks. I don't just go out there and throw spin kicks and spin kicks and spin kicks. I set them up with a 1-2 and a low kick, mixing in with a high kick, and I'll see the opening and then I'll go for it. The kicks that people have seen in the WEC are kicks that I've done my whole life - the spin kicks, the capoeira kicks - that all comes second nature.”For the training required to make himself elite, Pettis doesn’t even need to leave his hometown of Milwaukee because of Roufusport Mixed Martial Arts Academy. Within the hallowed walls are the gym’s namesake, Roufus, who is both head coach and striking coach, as well as a cast of steadily growing up-and-coming talent like UFC featherweight Erik Koch. One of the newest members of the fight team is the highly decorated, former 2x NCAA Division I National Champion wrestler from the University of Missouri, Ben Askren, who is 9-0 as a pro in MMA. Also, Pettis’ younger brother, Sergio, is a 3-0 flyweight on the Roufusport team. “It's huge,” says Pettis about the motivation he gets from training with his brother. “For me and my brother training together we have a bond, we're both pushing each other to the limit because we want the best for each other, but we're competitive. I don't want to lose, and I don't want my little brother whooping my ass, so I have to stay on top of my game. I know he looks up to me, so I know I have to do the right things and set the right examples.”Lastly, out of all the fans that he earned from the TV show, the exciting finishes, the kick, and the title, Pettis’ biggest fan didn’t get to see any of that happen because she’s only seven months old: his daughter Aria. “You hear it all the time that when you have kids that they're your ultimate motivation, but it doesn't really make sense until you have one and you see,” says Pettis, who is going to have to work harder than ever to outdo what he’s already done, but with his daughter in his corner he’s ready for the task. “I have a baby girl, she's amazing, and I'm more focused than ever.”On February 25th at UFC 144, Pettis is bringing “Showtime” to Japan and Lauzon better be prepared for that arsenal of creativity. “I have a fight style that is different from everyone else’s and from what everyone has ever seen,” asserts Pettis, who wants to eclipse his previous WEC accomplishments and the best way to start doing that is a win over Lauzon. “I think coming out here and having a great performance shows that I'm one step closer to my goals. I've got the basics, I've got the flash, and I'm trying to be the most well-rounded fighter in the UFC.”Who knows, maybe it's possible to jump off the cage into a flying triangle choke, back flip kick. If anyone is going to do it, Pettis can.

Posted in: ufc, fight, petti, wec, kick

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Imagine the ribbing this guy is going to have to endure from his friends and family for the rest of his life. At the gym one of his compatriots will offer him a drink and then ask him if he wants more, to go to the fridge and 'knock himself out'. When he's walking down the street and see's a particularly attractive human he will search for adjectives to describe them, but he will be met my a punch in the shoulder from his friends and be told to look at the 'knockout'. Then people will ask him about that time he knocked himself out attempting a switch kick at Empire Fight league 4 in Montreal, and 'what was he thinking'. It will be a trial for the rest of life for this man in the blue gloves if he lets it be. What we are witnessing here is a major psychological fork, literally seeing where part of this guy dies right there in the middle of a ring in Montreal while attempting a switch kick that got him knocked out. Maybe he will adopt a dog, maybe he will buy train tickets to random destinations on the weekend, just to get away from the time he knocked himself out attempting a switch kick in Montreal. Whatever life may bring you from this point on, we wish you Godspeed, man in the blue gloves. We hope you never knock yourself out again. [Source]

Posted in: life, kick, montreal, switch kick, switch

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Nevada State Athletic Commission Keith Kizer has been a popular man in regards to the last UFC pay per view on February 4th. Most people just wanted his opinion and insight on the Nick Diaz positive test issue, but one thing that confused a lot of fans sort of flew under the radar - why did referee Herb Dean take two points at one time from Alex Caceres for an illegal groin kick on Edwin Figueroa? Could he even do that? MMA Fighting tracked down Kizer and asked him about it. Here's what he had to say: "That's something I asked him about afterward," Kizer said. "We went through that at the post-fight meeting for UFC 143 and he explained himself from that point of view. It was a situation where [Caceres] had done it, [Dean] gave him a hard warning, the low blow wasn't just an accident -- it was gross negligence, to use a legal term. Sometimes accidental fouls happen, but he thought the fighter was being very negligent or very sloppy, so he gave him a very hard warning and then very soon afterward he did it again. This was a straight-on kick where the fighter had a lot of control over it, he kicked him very hard, the guy was very hurt, you could hear the kick, you could see his reaction when he landed the kick so you could see he was really hurt. The kick was one he could very easily control and the fighter didn't seem to care." ... "If you want to take two points away you can as a ref, you have that discretion. It's very rarely used -- I think it was only Herb's second time ever," Kizer said. Kizer discusses more of his interaction with referees in the piece, which is quite interesting. You can check it out here. SBN coverage of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit

Posted in: ufc, kick, kizer, dean, herb

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submitted by LeKicks [link] [7 comments]

Posted in: kick, heel, heel kick, lekick

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Posted in: knockout, kick, kick knockout, marvinnash

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Welcome back to my online diary documenting my very amateur experience training in Muay Thai. If you missed the previous entries on Bloody Elbow, read them here. My ongoing battle with kicks continued this week, though with positive results. Our main focus was leg kicks, which is something I have addressed in recent entries. They continue to not quite come naturally to me, but I felt better this time around. But after that, we moved on to a favorite of mine - the push kick. In last week's comments, reader the jewish conquistador mentioned that he is not a fan of the push kick, which I find so surprising. I find this to be a great kick that is not utilized nearly enough in MMA. Since the famous Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort KO, there has been no shortage of front kicks, but the push kick, or teep, remains rather elusive. To clarify, what Silva threw was a front kick where the force moved upwards in an arch. Think of it as the kicking equivalent of an uppercut. You see a lot of these now, with MMA fighters looking to replicate Silva's highlight reel KO. The push kick is different as the momentum goes straight into and through your opponent's body - the kick equivalent of a jab to the body. And you don't see them as much in MMA. Josh Thomson has long had a solid push kick, as has Carlos Condit, and other fighters use them at times, but it is not that common. The complaint I guess I can see about this kick is that it is not always a high impact kick, and is more used to create distance. But like a jab, that's only as true as you want it to be. If you commit to the push kick and dig it in, there's no reason you can't do real damage. In our drills we worked a nice double push kick combo - starting in orthodox, through a left push kick with your lead leg. When it lands, use that forward momentum to step in and throw a second kick with your right leg. By taking a good step on the left and adding a bit of extra hop to my right, I was able to solidly connect with that second kick and drive it into my opponent's belly. The end result is a kick that both gets my opponent out of range, while also working his body and taking away his energy. Is it an instant KO? No. And maybe that's the problem - much of MMA striking is focused on the big KO so a long-term strategy like working the body with punches and push kicks doesn't get used as much. With fans angry that Carlos Condit dared try and use strategy against Nick Diaz instead of go all out for the KO, is this a problem with MMA striking. Is it too KO-focused? Perhaps a good question for next week... Question of the week: In your opinion, how effective are push kicks? I train Muay Thai under Andre Madiz at Conviction Martial Arts, 4430 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL. www.convictionfitness.com. If you are in the Chicago area, come join us, and be sure to say hello.

Posted in: mma, ko, week, body, kick

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Posted in: head kick, opponent, head, kick, avertr

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(This is a collaboration between KJ Gould and Fraser Coffeen. Main text and diagrams by KJ Gould, additional insight by Fraser Coffeen where stated.) South Carolina's Stephen Thompson made his debut at UFC 143 last night where he displayed his Kempo Karate skills on a world stage. His unorthodox stance and movement bewildered opponent Dan Stittgen who could only remain flat footed while throwing haymakers in an attempt to catch the undefeated Mixed Martial Artist and Kickboxer. Fraser Coffeen gives his insight into the Kick and setup used by Thompson: When you really break it down, this is essentially just a straight roundhouse kick. Because Thompson comes from a karate background, he chooses to land the kick with the instep of his foot as opposed to the shin, as you more commonly see with fighters from a Muay Thai background, but aside from that small change, what you have is a roundhouse kick. Where Thompson really shines is the set-up. He has two nice elements to his set-up – one common, and one that is a bit more unique. First, he hides the head kick by beginning it as a leg kick. If you watch his thigh, you can see that he is at first aiming towards the leg, but then brings it up to the head at the last minute. This is a relatively common technique in various kickboxing styles, as it lulls your opponent into letting their head defenses down a bit. You don’t see it as much in MMA, and Thompson does it very well here. The second way he sets it up is by brilliantly incorporating it into a combo. The kick comes fast behind a right cross. That punch turns Stittgen’s body and head slightly to his own right, away from Thompson’s right side. With Stittgen turned aside, he doesn’t even see the kick coming or know to defend it, and as a result he completely drops his left hand down to his waist. Thompson brings the kick over Stittgen’s shoulder, landing clean on his now totally exposed head, and that is that. Really great timing and combination work from Thompson to use the punch in order to move his opponent into position to properly set up the kick. After the jump, a closer illustrated look at the setup and kick that ended the fight and netted Thompson the $65k Knock Out of the Night bonus. SBN coverage of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit In Karate and other Japanese arts, the names for moves are often descriptive of the entire process and end result. For example, Geri means 'Kick', Mawashi can refer to 'circular' or 'roundhouse', and the part of the body that's used such as Haisoku meaning 'instep'. The technique Thompson used then can logically be called an instep roundhouse kick or Haisoku Mawashi Geri. As it was aimed at and hit the head or Jodan, it could also be called a Haisoku Jodan Mawashi Geri. Here is an animation of this move from KarateTest.com It's been debated by some that Thompson threw his kick low first and switched it to kick high much like the Brazilian / Question Mark Kick. However after a closer look I myself believe the kick was simply 'chambered' in the karate style, and through Thompson's hip mobility he was able to bring it up and over the shoulder. Some kickboxing coaches are against chambering - the bending at the knee before the extension - due to the decrease in power that can be achieved compared to a straight roundhouse which is like an iron bar coming up from the ground. The benefit of chambering though is the smaller space and closer proximity a kick to the same target can be executed within, and sometimes the surprise element makes up for the lack of power. Power is great, accuracy with enough power is better. In the case of Thompson it appeared it was his lead leg that landed, rather than an all out power kick from the rear you'd usually associate with Muay Thai. However on closer look after he retracted his kick he brought it down rather than back and switched stances to compensate, so his right leg became his lead. In other words at the beginning of the sequence he was in orthodox stance, and by the end he was in southpaw stance. Thompson slips the left jab of Stittgen while landing a left jab of his own, and then throws a right straight. Stittgen throws a wild left hook that misses as Thompson leans back, raising his chambered leg and extends so it lands past the shoulder and the instep striking Stittgen in the jaw. Thompson pivots on his supporting leg to help drive the power into his striking leg and keep himself stable while balancing. He turns the hip over on his striking leg so that he is able to clear Stittgen's shoulder as he extends - without this hip mobility and stability that comes from years of conditioning his muscles to work in a certain way, Thompson would be unable to land as precisely and risks hitting the back or arm instead. Because Stittgen over committed on his wild hook he left himself open for an attack he would never see coming. Even if he had tucked his jaw behind his left shoulder, the dexterity in Thompson's kick meant it would still have landed though a bit higher, at the ear-line or temple.

Posted in: leg, kick, thompson, stittgen, roundhouse

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Roy Nelson was bleeding all over the Octagon after taking a hard knee during his UFC 143 bout against Fabricio Werdum. He tweeted a photo of that large cut he sustained, and it came with this message: Here is the cut from me head butting Werdum's knee in the 1st. My face is fine, forehead is a little sore. Here's the play-by-play of the entire fight from our live blog of the event: Roy Nelson vs. Fabricio Werdum - Round 1 - Werdum has Nelson's back incredibly quickly and takes it to the mat. Nelson is able to get to his feet. Werdum with some knees. Nelson working an uppercut while Werdum has him in the plum. Knees to the body and now the head by Werdum. Nelson turns Werdum now and is landing some left hands. Werdum working the knees again but now Nelson is grabbing a body lock and just holding it. Nelson is bleeding very badly from somewhere around his nose. They break and time is called to check the cut on Nelson. Doctor immediately says he is fine and they continue. Leg kick by Werdum and another knee. Leg kick by Werdum now. Right hand by Werdum and another leg kick. Nelson catches a kick from Werdum and takes him down. Nelson follows him and almost gets armbarred but pops out. 10-98 round for Werdum and Nelson looks gassed already. Round 2 - Leg kick by Werdum. Big knee to the body by Werdum and Nelson falls briefly. Leg kick by Nelson. Huge leg kick by Werdum now. Werdum really trying to pour it on but Nelson flails some punches to back him off. A few punches land for Nelson but another big knee to the body by Werdum. Leg kick by Werdum. Werdum with a hard leg kick and Nelson misses a punch. Head kick by Werdum, Nelson with a hook. Front kick by Werdum. Things are slowing down a bit. Leg kick by Werdum and Nelson misses with a right hand. Body kick by Werdum. Right hand and a knee by Werdum. Nelson lands a big left and Werdum has to move away for a second. Few punches by Nelson. And that's it for that round. 10-9 Werdum. Round 3 - Nelson with a standing guillotine attempt early in the round. It's pretty deep and Nelson is really going for it but his arms weren't going to cooperate. Werdume with a nice flurry of strikes, punctuated with a knee to the chin. Big right hand and a knee by Werdum. Werdum jabbing now. Big front kick to the face and Nelson walks forward. Leg kick by Werdum. Werdum just worked Nelson over in this fight. 10-9 Werdum.

Posted in: leg, kick, werdum, knee, nelson

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It took five erratic months and a slew of last-minute lineup switches, but Carlos Condit earned a date with Georges St. Pierre after all. The former WEC kingpin defeated Nick Diaz to claim the UFC interim welterweight strap at the main event of UFC 143, snatching the judge's nod after 25 grueling minutes in front of the packed Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Full video highlights of Condit's stunning upset can be seen below. For more, catch the play-by-play by MMA Fighting's own Luke Thomas. ROUND 1 - Diaz opens southpaw while Condit is orthodox. Diaz starts out doing the stalking while Condit doing a lot of moving. Two outside leg kicks from Condit land. Diaz backing Condit into the fence, but he manages to circle out. Left straight from Diaz finds the mark. Brazilian kick from Condit whiffs over the head of Diaz. Condit with two more outside leg kicks to Diaz's lead leg. Diaz begins talking to Condit now. Spinning back fist from Condit misses and Diaz lands a right against the fence and a hard body shot. Left straight now from Diaz. Right hook to the body from Diaz and Condit misses on another spinning back elbow. MMA Fighting scores this round 10-9 Diaz. ROUND 2 - Condit whiffs again on a Brazilian kick, but Diaz is still pressing. Outside leg kick from Condit lands, but he misses on a flying. Diaz backs Condit into the fence, but can't get much. Spinning back fist from Condit partially lands, but not with a ton of authority. Diaz switching stances and taunting Condit with a slap. He eats several front leg kicks, but nothing major. Body kick now from Condit. Left straight to the body, right hook to the head lands for Diaz with Condit on the fence. Middle kick again for Condit but eats a jab for his efforts. Against the fence both fighters exchange in the pocket and now Condit is landing a bit more. Diaz rips several hard shots to the body, but works his way off the fence. Condit more active and more mobile this round. Diaz reaches for a takedown, but is stuffed. MMA Fighting scores this round 10-9 Condit. ROUND 3 - It's more of the same to start round three and Condit lands a hard body shot and inside leg kick. Now a head kick finds the mark for the New Mexico native. Diaz lands a three punch combination to the body and head. Right hand now for Condit, though not with a ton of authority. Right hook to the body from Condit and he moves out of the pocket. Diaz still stalking, but hitting nothing but air. Now Diaz eats a short outside leg kick. And another. Condit lands a punch-kick combo, but Diaz retaliates with two hard left hands. Hard right knee from Condit plus a right to the body. Condit lands an outside leg kick, but slips in the process. MMA Fighting scores this round 10-9 Condit. ROUND 4 - Condit again sticking and moving, mostly with leg kicks. Diaz tries to clinch, but Condit breaks it and circles away. Front kick from Condit, but not with much power. Diaz presses Condit into the fence and changes levels, but eats two punches for his efforts. Diaz's offensive output has slowed consideriably. Outside leg kick from Condit. Body kick from Condit partially lands and he circles away. Body shot and outside leg kick from Condit, plus a head kick on a second combination. Condit is opening up now. Diaz tries to grab a single, can't and eats a knee to the middle. Jab now from Condit. Diaz again trying to get Condit against the fence, but can't do it. MMA Fighting scores this round 10-9 Condit. ROUND 5 - Condit sticking with the game plan and landing lead outside leg kicks. Diaz misses with a hook to the body and Condit circles out. Diaz lands his own inside leg kick, but Condit is still strong in the pocket. Condit throwing kicks to stay busy, but not landing anything big. Condit misses on a spinning back elbow. The fighters trade leg kicks, but Condit lands harder. Then Condit fires a left hook and a hard head kick. Diaz gets double underhooks, but Condit escapes. Diaz lands a right hook, but eats a knee to the middle from Condit. Diaz gets Condit's back standing and drags him to the floor. He's got Condit's back and is working feverishly to get something going. Diaz locks up the rear naked choke grip, but Condit pushes him off. Condit escapes. The round ends. MMA Fighting scores this round 10-9 Diaz and the fight 48-47 Condit. UFC 143 results: Carlos Condit defeats Nick Diaz by unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)

Posted in: diaz, round, leg, condit, kick

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Moving into the fourth round of UFC 143's main event between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit, we've got the former WEC champion ahead two round to one. In the third round the Greg Jackson product used better movement, angles and combinations to keep Diaz guessing. The story of this fight so far is Condit getting better with each passing round. ROUND 4 - Condit again sticking and moving, mostly with leg kicks. Diaz tries to clinch, but Condit breaks it and circles away. Front kick from Condit, but not with much power. Diaz presses Condit into the fence and changes levels, but eats two punches for his efforts. Diaz's offensive output has slowed consideriably. Outside leg kick from Condit. Body kick from Condit partially lands and he circles away. Body shot and outside leg kick from Condit, plus a head kick on a second combination. Condit is opening up now. Diaz tries to grab a single, can't and eats a knee to the middle. Jab now from Condit. Diaz again trying to get Condit against the fence, but can't do it. MMA Fighting scores this round 10-9

Posted in: diaz, round, condit, kick, leg kick

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We have even with each fighter taking one round a piece for Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit (the main event of UFC 143). Diaz took the first round on our score cards. Condit claimed the second and did so with better movement and more volume striking. ROUND 3 - It's more of the same to start round three and Condit lands a hard body shot and inside leg kick. Now a head kick finds the mark for the New Mexico native. Diaz lands a three punch combination to the body and head. Right hand now for Condit, though not with a ton of authority. Right hook to the body from Condit and he moves out of the pocket. Diaz still stalking, but hitting nothing but air. Now Diaz eats a short outside leg kick. And another. Condit lands a punch-kick combo, but Diaz retaliates with two hard left hands. Hard right knee from Condit plus a right to the body. Condit lands an outside leg kick, but slips in the process. MMA Fighting scores this round 10-9 Condit.

Posted in: diaz, round, condit, kick, leg kick

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In the first round of Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit at UFC 143, it was Diaz who the slightly more effective of the two. MMA Fighting scored the first frame for Diaz, but it was by no means a blow out. ROUND 2 - Condit whiffs again on a Brazilian kick, but Diaz is still pressing. Outside leg kick from Condit lands, but he misses on a flying. Diaz backs Condit into the fence, but can't get much. Spinning back fist from Condit partially lands, but not with a ton of authority. Diaz switching stances and taunting Condit with a slap. He eats several front leg kicks, but nothing major. Body kick now from Condit. Left straight to the body, right hook to the head lands for Diaz with Condit on the fence. Middle kick again for Condit but eats a jab for his efforts. Against the fence both fighters exchange in the pocket and now Condit is landing a bit more. Diaz rips several hard shots to the body, but works his way off the fence. Condit more active and more mobile this round. Diaz reaches for a takedown, but is stuffed. MMA Fighting scores this round 10-9 Condit.

Posted in: diaz, round, condit, fence, kick

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Heavyweight Fabricio Werdum picked apart Roy Nelson to earn a clear-cut unanimous decision victory in his return to the Octagon in the co-main event of UFC 43 on Saturday night in Las Vegas. MMAFrenzy.com’s play-by-play of Werdum vs. Nelson by Chris Leslie is below: Round 1 – Josh Rosenthal is our referee. Touch of gloves and we’re off. USA chant starts already… sigh… Nice knee by Werdum. Wicked combo by Werdum answered by a body kick. Quick takedown by Werdum and he quickly takes Nelson’s back. Nelson works back up along the cage but Werdum is blasting way with muay thai knees that are landing brutally. Nelson manages to reverse position along the cage and is working some short punches. More nasty knees by Werdum, yikes. Nelson manages to reverse along the cage but Werdum is still landing hard knees to Nelson. Nelso is just holding Werdum against the cage with occasional knees and the ref breaks them apart. Holy crap Nelson’s nose is bleeding horribly. Doctor let’s it go though. Werdum with another knee off the restart. Legkick by Werdum is countered by an overhand right and knocks him down. Nelson chases and almost makes the same mistake Fedor did. Nelson backs out of the expert guard. Nice body kick to knee combo by Werdum. Werdum barely misses a wheel kick as the round ends. Impressive round by Werdum wow. MMAFrenzy scores it 10-9 Werdum. Round 2 – Fighters touch gloves again. Werdum with a nice legkick. Brutal knee by Werdum briefly knocks down Nelson but he survives. Nelson with a good legkick. Nice legkick by Werdum. Nice combo by Werdum. Nelson is bleeding badly. Nice knee to the body by Werdum. Another good legkick by Werdum. Another legkick to Nelson’s thigh. Headkick by Werdum. Nelson is staggering like a bar room brawler in a 45 minute fight now and is loading up like one too. Front kick by Werdum. Body shot by Werdum. Nice legkick by Werdum as Nelson advances. Overhand right from Werdum barely misses. Nice leg kick by Werdum. Nelson catches Werdum but Werdum evades. Werdum with another legkick. Fighter’s end clinched and Nelson lands an overhand right that lands just as the bell ends. Closer round as Werdum appeared to put it on cruise control. MMAFrenzy scores the round 10-9 Werdum (20-18). Round 3 -Nelson struggled a bit off his stool. Fighters touch gloves again. Another leg kick by Werdum. Takedown attempt by Werdum but Nelson goes for a standing guillotine. Nelson is put a lot of energy into it but the Abu Dhabi champ defended it well. Fighters break and Nelson moves the fight against the cage. Thai clinch by Werdum and Nelson eats a wicked left. Another left and knee crush Nelson again. Nice jab by Werdum. Nelson looks like he’s been beaten with a 2×4. Front kick to the face by Werdum. Two minutes left. Legkick by Werdum. Werdum is using good movement as Nelson is just looking for the KO. Nice knee by Werdum. Nelson is struggling with a minute left now, he’s taken a beating. Headkick by Werdum. Nice combo by Werdum with :40 left. Body shot by Werdum. Slow spinning kick by Nelson. Front kick by Werdum as the round ends. Nelson kept coming but he took a serious beating and his body shows it. MMAFrenzy scores the round and the fight for Werdum 10-9 (30-27). Fabricio Werdum def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27,30-27,30-27) More UFC 143 coverage: UFC 143 Results: Josh Koscheck Edges Mike Piece in Split Decision UFC 143 Results: Renan Barao, Ed Herman Claim Main Card Victories UFC 143 Results: Poirier, Brown, and Thompson Score Finishes on Preliminary Card UFC 143 Results and Live Play-by-Play for “Diaz vs. Condit”

Posted in: kick, werdum, knee, nelson, legkick

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Renan Barao used crisp boxing, solid leg kicks, and great takedown defense to pick up a unanimous decision win over Scott Jorgensen in the second main card bout at UFC 143. Jorgensen didn't look bad, but he couldn't get Barao to the floor and was frequently countered by Barao's fast hands. All three judges had it 30-27 for Barao. The bout opened with an quick pace, as expected. The fighters exchanged leg kicks, and Barao landed with a spinning kick. He attempted a flying knee, but Jorgensen caught him and looked for a takedown. Barao stayed upright though, and landed a stiff jab. Scott shot in again, but again was stuffed. Barao continued to kick the leg, while Jorgensen countered with jabs and right hands. Barao attempted another spinning kick, but only landed partially. It was a solid first round for Barao overall. Jorgensen immediately went for a takedown at the start of the second, but got stuffed. Once again, Barao started to land leg kicks with incresing frequency. He also started to land counter rights a lot more. Jorgensen attempted another takedown, then pulled guard. Barao worked in Scotty's guard while Jorgensen looked for a kimura or a sweep, but couldn't get anything going. Jorgensen got back to his feet with 90 seconds to go, but couldn't get much going on the feet. Barao landed a spinning back kick to the body and multiple right hands to close out the round. Barao looked slightly slower early in the last stanza, while Jorgensen looked completely fresh. It didn't really matter though. After Jorgensen would land a glancing blow, Barao would counter with a strong right on Scott's chin. Jorgensen got a little bit of blood out of Renan's nose and pushed the pace as much as he could, but the more solid strikes were coming from Barao once again. There wasn't a lot going on for the last minute or so, but Barao landed more than Scott did. Barao entered the bout coming off a dominant win over Brad Pickett at UFC 138, and hadn't been defeated in over six years. Jrgensen had picked up two wins in a row since dropping a decision to UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz in December 2010. SBN coverage of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit

Posted in: ufc, kick, barao, jorgensen, scott

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The prelims are for UFC 143 have completed. Here they are. Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson destroyed Dan Stittgen with a head kick knockout @ 4:13 of the first round. Stittgen stood with him for some odd reason and damn, he paid a serious price for it. This will be your Knockout Of The Night. I don't care what else happens. Rafael Natal won a Unanimous Decision over Michael "Judo?" Kuiper (30-27x2 and 29-28). This one turned out to be pretty entertaining. Natal completed 5 takedowns in the first round alone prompting Joe Rogan to praise Michael Kuiper for his takedown defense (seriously). The second round was pretty much Natal landing absurd haymakers while Kuiper plodded forward and landed a number of strikes on his own. The third opened up with Kuiper crushing Natal with a right uppercut and nearly finishing the fight before Natal turned the tide and got Michael back to the ground, nearly submitting him with an arm triangle. I enjoyed this fight quite a bit. Matt Riddle defeated Henry Martinez by a garbage split decision. Martinez, despite a HUGE size disadvantage absolutely lit Matt Riddle up on the feet for the first round and a half. He landed crisp counters and dominated the fight until Riddle discovered body kicks and started mashing buttons at the very end of the second. Riddle clearly dominated the 3rd round but in no way deserved that decision. Martinez should get another chance and hopefully at his real weight of 155. Martinez got flat out jobbed here. Someone needs to make sure that isn't Leonard Garcia inside a Matt Riddle suit. Matt Brown put Chris Cope to sleep with a right-left combo in the second round. The first round was on the close side but a clear 10-9 for "The Immortal". Brown really started to get loose in the 2nd frame and it felt like a matter of time before he landed the deathblow and that was certainly the case as he dazed Cope with a right hand and then put him down with a left to the temple. A few shots on the ground and that was all she wrote. Edwin Figueroa defeated Alex Caceres via Split Decision in the LONGEST THREE ROUND FIGHT EVER!!! Caceres absolutely jackhammered Figueroa with a penis head kick (hat tip to Dennis Bermudez) in the first round. After a long recovery period and a "strong warning" from Herb Dean, Edwin came back and dropped Alex with a MASSIVE head kick (to the correct head) and nearly stopped him. Alex ended up getting out of it and taking his back before the round ended. Then in the 2nd round, Alex lands yet another vicious penis head kick on Figueroa. After another long recovery period, Herb Dean takes *2* points from Caceres. The third round was full of more back and forth action with Figueroa being vulnerable to infinite submissions but surviving due to Alex's inability to lock up a choke. After the fight, Caceres can't believe that there is not one more round. That head kick really scrambled his brains. I can't even get too mad at the judges decision, though. The fight was a complete cluster and easily one of the more bizarre fights I have ever watched. Dustin Porier submitted Max Holloway @ 3:23 1st round in what should be YOUR Submission of the Night. Porier got the takedown and went straight to mount. He locked up a tight armbar, transitioned to a triangle choke and rolled into mount. He finally got the tap from a nasty mounted triangle/armbar. Holloway is apparently only a white belt in bjj so that kind of stuff is likely to happen when you are in there with a monster like Porier. That was fantastic stuff. Thanks for stopping by!

Posted in: fight, round, head, kick, alex

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Matt Riddle started slow but finished fast, picking up a come-from-behind split decision victory over Henry Martinez on the first FX-aired fight of the UFC 143 preliminary card. Riddle had no answer for Martinez early, but managed to turn it around at the end of the second and dominated the third. It was a solid performance from both men and despite the loss, Martinez definitely looks to have a future in the UFC in his natural weight class, lightweight. Martinez opened the fight with some solid shots, which seemed to surprise Riddle a little. Riddle tried to respond, but Martinez showed off some solid counterstriking. Riddle attempted to land some kicks, but he continued to have trouble with Henry's fast hands. Martinez opened up a small cut over Riddle's eye. Riddle looked for a huge knee to close out the round, but just missed. The fighters traded a little at the start of the second, and Riddle missed with a telegraphed takedown attempt. Once again, Riddle couldn't come up with an answer for Henry's counterstriking for the first couple of minutes, and Martinez landed a huge counter shot to the jaw. Riddle landed a solid kick to the body, and a jab, but Martinez responded with another good shot. Riddle finally loosened up a bit in the last ninety seconds of the round, throwing a bunch of kicks and landing his jab more frequently. Riddle landed a bunch of big shots to close out the round, and was very fired up. Riddle opened the third with a body kick and switch kick, and looked to finally have found his groove. Martinez was finding it a lot harder to counter with the kicks thrown in, and it opened up Riddle's game a lot. Martinez still managed to land some punches though. Riddle caught a kick and took the fight to the ground, where he managed to take Henry's back. Martinez got back to his feet facing the cage, and Riddle landed a big head kick from the side. Riddle got another takedown and opened up with some big strikes, but Martinez took them well. The fight ended with Riddle reigning down blows.Riddle entered the bout on a two-fight losing streak. He was expected to compete against Luis Ramos at UFC 141, but got sick at the last minute and the bout was scrapped. Martinez, a Greg Jackson-trained fighter, was a late replacement for Jorge Lopez. He last fought just two weeks ago, winning with a reverse triangle choke. SBN coverage of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit

Posted in: ufc, riddle, henry, martinez, kick

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UFC 143, Las Vegas Nevada. Undefeated kickboxing prodigy Stephen Thompson come into UFC 143 behind a lot of hype and backed it up by knocking out Dan Stittgen with an incredible high kick. Thompson started training karate at age 3 and racked up a 57-0 kickboxing record before moving to MMA where he's 6-0. Here's how Brent Brookhouse detailed the one round fight at the Bloody Elbow UFC 143 Live Blog: Thompson with a beautiful two punch combo with a head kick at the end and Stittggen is out. That was beautiful. He faked a leg kick and then whipped the kick to the face and Stittggen was out cold. Stephen Thompson wins by KO (head kick), 4:13 of round 1. Animated gif of the KO after the jump.SBN coverage of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit Gif by Grappo. Above we see Thompson landing a beautiful front leg roundhouse kick to the head -- brilliantly faking low then firing way way high, all the way over Stittgen's left shoulder. Coming on the heels of a 1-2 punching combination, he had Stittgen completely pre-occupied with other attacks and oblivious to the doom coming over the top. We'll be Judo Chopping this ASAP. Stay tuned for more analysis of Thompson's unique karate style at Bloody Elbow.

Posted in: ufc, ko, kick, thompson, blog thompson

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Stephen Thompson entered the octagon with a lot of expectations on his shoulders due to his vaunted karate and kickboxing skills. He didn't disappoint, landing a brutal head kick on opponent Dan Stittgen and winning via knockout at 4:14 of round one. The first round started off somewhat cautiously, with Stittgen trying to figure out Thompson's unique stance and dealing with Thompson's arsenal of kicks. Stittgen tried to work leg kicks for a while, but ended up eating kicks from Thompson instead. And then out of nowhere, Thompson nailed Stittgen with a head kick that put him out cold. Thompson had landed a punch before that, and the kick came from such an angle that Stittgen didn't even see it coming. Very impressive. Both men were making their UFC debuts in this welterweight bout. Thompson entered the bout undefeated with a 5-0 MMA record and a 57-0 kickboxing record. He specializes in karate. Stittgen entered the bout with a 7-1 record, and had finished six of the seven wins inside the distance. SBN coverage of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit

Posted in: head kick, kick, thompson, stittgen, kickboxing skills

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There is a certain beauty to a head kick knockout that takes place less than ten seconds into a fight, wouldn't you agree? It isn't every day we get to see the MMA equivalent to a plastic bag floating in the wind, but thank the omniscient being hanging out in the clouds above us for sending this pulchritudinous (synonym for beautiful, thesaurus.com ftw) amateur head kick knockout for us to gaze upon. Last weekend Robert Reese (Bob to his friends) made Cro Cop smile with this left leg head kick knockout at an CNY Battleground 5. Enjoy. [Source]

Posted in: head, knockout, kick, mma equivalent, fight wouldnt

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Welcome back to my online diary documenting my very amateur experience training in Muay Thai. If you missed the previous entries on Bloody Elbow, read them here. When I first started training, a friend of mine shared with me a very helpful and fascinating quote (one that was, in turn, shared to him when he first started training under Carlson Gracie): Before I studied the art, a punch to me was just like a punch, a kick just like a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick no longer a kick. Now that I've understood the art, a punch is just like a punch, a kick just like a kick. -Bruce Lee Now, I am not a fanatic Bruce Lee disciple, but I've always held onto this quote as a perfect encapsulation of what training is all about. At first, you actually kind of think you know, then you realize you have no idea, then you actually kind of start to get it again. For me, punches have, at least to some degree, made their way through this cycle. Clearly there is plenty of room to improve, and I still have a few specific commands I keep in my head when punching (Get that elbow up on the hook! Rotate the right side on that cross! Stick the jab!), but for the most part, when I punch, I can let go somewhat and trust in my form. A punch is, once again, just a punch. A kick on the other hand... These continue to pose a challenge. For every kick, there is so much going through my head that it becomes difficult to just relax and execute the move. A list of the things I think about when kicking: Get the correct range and land with the shin Pivot those hips Turn so my belly button is perpendicular to my opponent Get up on the toes of my lead leg And rotate on those toes Get the leg back to position Now get the leg back to positions faster Watch my balance Chop with my arm But don't chop so much that I leave myself exposed for the counter It's a lot. And so, with all of this in my head, a kick is not just a kick. It's a complex, and at some times inscrutable set of directions, all of which must be executed in a second, and then done again, and again, and again. And that can, at times, be both frustrating and disheartening. When you work with people who have moved through this and who can make all of these things happen with what looks like no effort, it's easy to get down on your technique. But when I do, I try my best to remember 2 things. First, that "effortlessness" on their part is only because they put in this same effort I am putting in now and came out the other side. Second, in the end, a kick is still just a kick. And it will be for me once again, just as long as I keep at it. Question for any other trainees (in any discipline): how long did it take for your punches to be just a punch, for your kicks to be just a kick? And was it a frustrating journey at times? I train Muay Thai under Andre Madiz at Conviction Martial Arts, 4430 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL. www.convictionfitness.com. If you are in the Chicago area, come join us, and be sure to say hello.

Posted in: punch, muay, training, kick, art

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Posted in: ko, head, kick, niche, gildenlol

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Filed under: UFCCHICAGO -- This is the UFC on FOX undercard live blog for all the preliminary bouts on tonight's card from the United Center. The opening bout kicks off at 4:30 p.m. ET with Chris Camozzi vs. Dustin Jacoby. After, the rest of the six preliminary bouts will happen at 5:00 p.m. on FUEL TV. The main card will begin at 8:00 p.m. on FOX. The live blog is below. More Coverage: UFC on FOX 2 Results | Latest UFC News Chris Camozzi vs. Dustin Jacoby The United Center looks about 70% packed already. Round 1: Jacoby opens with a leg kick followed by one to the body. Camozzi throws to est up a takedown but Jacoby grabs his next and throws Camozzi towards the cage. Camozzi catches Jacoby with a kick below the belt and Jacoby takes a breather. Camozzi, the southpaw, lands a hard leg kick. Camozzi with a nice uppercut followed by a right hand. Jacoby connects with a kick to the body. Camozzi is now hit low with a kick and he takes a rest. Jacoby lands with left hooks. Camozzi tries to rush Jacoby. Camozzi lands a nice left hand. Evan Dunham vs. Nik Lentz Round 1: Michael Johnson vs. Shane Roller Round 1: Jon Olav Einemo vs. Mike Russow Round 1: George Roop vs. Cub Swanson Round 1: Charles Oliveira vs. Eric Wisely Round 1: Joey Beltran vs. Lavar Johnson Round 1: Follow Us on Twitter Friend Us on Facebook Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: round, vs, kick, jacoby, camozzi

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We are just one show into the UFC's 2012 but already have a strong candidate for KO of the year. At UFC 142 last weekend, Edson Barboza unleashed the full power of his striking arsenal and landed a beautiful spinning wheel kick, knocking Terry Etim out cold and forever earning himself a spot on UFC highlight reels. You don't have to know much about striking to appreciate a moment like that, but in this Judo Chop, we'll try to dig a little deeper. What makes this a wheel kick, not a back kick? Why was it so damaging? And what is this "Lekobuster" people keep comparing it to? Let's sort it all out. We start with the fundamentals and an important question - what exactly is a spinning wheel kick? It's not a strike too commonly seen in MMA, and I believe this is actually the first time it has ever scored a knock out in the UFC. And the answer to this seemingly simple question is actually a matter of some debate. Depending on your martial arts background, you might call Barboza's kick a number of different things and, to be honest, there is not always a tremendous differentiation between these various names. The best simple description of a spin wheel kick that I have found comes from this brief video featuring Jeff Sidner of the South Minneapolis National Karate School. He demonstrates a basic wheel kick, followed by a spin wheel kick. Two things to note here. First, Sidner is in a southpaw stance, which means he strikes with his left leg. Since Barboza was in orthodox and struck with the right leg, the motion is reversed. Second, this is a decidedly karate based view on the kick, though the fundamental idea is the same. Video, plus much more, in the full entry. Video of the wheel kick starts at 1:04. That video calls it a wheel kick, but again, depending on your background, that could be called a hook kick or heel kick. I anticipate some good debate over this distinction in the comments. Barboza comes from a Muay Thai background, and Muay Thai tends to be much more utilitarian in their names, so rather than quibble much more over names, let's take a look at exactly what he did with the kick. Barboza starts in orthodox stance, with his right leg in the rear power position. To throw the kick, he turns in the direction of that power leg - to his right. He brings the leg up as he is turning, and throws it like a whip into the right side of Etim's face. Now, there is a lot to unpack from Barboza here, so let's work through some specifics. The left foot - Baboza's left leg is his base, providing the power for the kick, and that power starts all the way down in the foot. As Barboza throws the kick and turns, he pivots on that left foot (which, obviously, he has to do in order to turn). In that pivot you can see his Muay Thai background. Barboza comes up on the toes of his foot as he turns, which is the common method of kicking in Muay Thai, but not seen quite as much in MMA. I'm a big fan of this simple motion, and will be talking about it more in the coming weeks. The hook on the right leg - As Barboza brings the right leg around, he keeps it slightly bent at the knee. This allows him to straighten out the kick at the last second, increasing the whip-like effect and the power in the final blow. You can see the way the leg is bent through the majority of the turn, only to whip straight at the point of impact. Because of that slight bend, it would be fair to describe this as a spinning hook kick. Direction of impact - Barboza is kicking through Etim here, sending his force through Etim's head in a side to side, right to left direction. It's similar to a roundhouse kick or hook punch as opposed to a straight kick or jab. The point is to whip your opponent's head to the side, shutting off the brain momentarily. And that is exactly what happens. Barboza does a terrific job with this momentum. Watch the way his contact with Etim barely interrupts the flow of the kick - he is not simply targeting the head, he is kicking through the head. Take a look at the picture on the right to see this follow through. Point of impact - When landing a kick, especially from the side, you can use various parts of your foot as the striking point. Barboza lands with a combination of the heel and the outside edge of the foot - two of the best striking points for a kick like this. Return to stance - At the end of the kick, because he has followed through so well, Barboza's right leg lands back on his right side. Once the leg lands, he quickly switches legs to get back to orthodox stance, insuring that if Etim had not been KO'd, Barboza would be in position to keep fighting. With all those elements together - the lift on the left leg, the whipping motion of the right leg, the follow through, the edge of the foot - this is a devastating kick. What makes it such a clean KO is that these elements combine with Etim seeming to read it as a body kick, which causes him to just slightly drop his hands. This is a fatal error, as it brings his right hand down from his head, giving Barboza a clear path to the KO. Beautiful kick, executed flawlessly. So that's the idea of the wheel kick, plus why Barboza's worked so well. Which just leaves us with one point to discuss - the Lekobuster. The Lekobuster (right) is the name commonly given to a kick executed by Badr Hari on Stefan Leko in K-1 back in 2005. It's one of the greatest KO'd in the history of K-1 - and when you are talking about a kickboxing organization with 20 years of history, that's saying something indeed. For more about this legendary kick, check out this article I wrote about the entire Hari vs. Leko fight back in my Head Kick Legend days. Almost immediately after the Barboza kick, comparisons to Hari's kick began cropping up, and for good reason. Both are spinning reverse kicks to the head, and both result in spectacular KO. But Hari's kick has a fundamental difference from Barboza's - take a close look. At first glance, Hari's appears to be more of a spinning back kick (a technique I covered in this Cung Le vs. Wanderlei Silva Judo Chop). The key difference is in the direction of force on impact. In the wheel or hook kick, as we covered above, the force is traveling parallel to your opponent's body, moving through your opponent side to side like a whip. In a back kick, the force is moving perpendicular to your target, pushing through them from front to back. One indication of the force's direction is the attacker's momentum after impact. When Barboza connects, his foot keeps going, returning to its original position and leading Barboza to turn a full 360 degrees. In a spinning back kick, you connect with your back to your opponent, then turn back to return to your stance - note how Hari only turns 180 degrees, then rotates back the way he came after hitting the kick. That is more indicative of a back kick. But then there's this picture (right), which clearly shows Hari's leg coming around the side en route to Leko's jaw. If it were a true back kick, you would see the leg cocked at the hip, not whipping around. In the end, Hari's Lekobuster somewhat splits the difference. It's a hook kick, but Hari bases his body positioning more on a traditional back kick. So while it is close to the Barboza KO, I would classify them as slightly different. As to which one is better? That's a debate we may be having for some time. But for now, it's safe to say that it will take something special indeed to top Barboza's masterful strike as the KO of the year.

Posted in: right, barboza, leg, kick, wheel kick

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Posted in: ufc, spoiler, kick, stupidnewb

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Posted in: spoiler, kick, onelung link, kick spoiler, onelung

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Every once in awhile one of our beloved fighters will land something that looks like it came straight out of a Van Damme movie. Edson Barboza did just that tonight when he knocked out Terry Etim with a picture-perfect spinning back kick. It doesn’t get any prettier than that. I’m not sure which is cooler… Barboza’s kick or Jose Aldo bolting out of the Octagon to celebrate his first round knockout victory over Chad Mendes with his fellow countryman in the crowd. Gifs via IronForgesIron

Posted in: barboza, kick, terry etim, crowd gifs, fellow countryman

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Edson Barzoa scored one of the best knockouts in UFC history to open UFC 142′s pay-per-view main card on Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro, as the Brazilian knocked out England’s Terry Etim with a spinning head kick in the third round. The finish came 2:32 into the final round and was the first spinning heel kick knockout in UFC history. MMAFrenzy.com’s play-by-play of Barboza vs. Etim is below: Round 1 – Dan Miraglotta is our referee and we are underway. Neither fighter wastes anytime as Etim looks to grapple immediately but Barboza has none of it. Action slows as both fighters look for an opening. Barboza lands a wicked leg kick off a fake. Another powerful legkick from Barboza in response to a light combo from Etim. Etim with a lazy left that gets countered twice by Barboza. Etim with a nice left hook and he attempts a takedown. Barboza defends using the cage and we’re centered now. Barboza doubles up with some inside legkicks and Etim replies with one of his own to Barboza’s thigh. Short time now, and both fighters look for opening until the bell rings. Etim looked good early, but Barboza took the round late with more effective striking, MMAFrenzy scores the round 10-9 Barboza. Round 2 – Barboza picks right back up from where he started with more leg kicks. Etim attemps a legkick to headkick combo but Barboza defends. Barboza with another crushing kick. Etim is stuffed on another takedown attempt. Etim stalks forward but Barboza is still finding openings as he evades Etim. Barboza starts off a nice combo with a body shot that he seals with a kick to the body. Most effective combo of the round so far. Etim finally lands a takedown with 1:40 left but Barboza bounces right back up and we’re centered again. Nice body shot by Barboza. Outside legkick by Barboza lands again. Barboza lands a body kick right before the round ends. Barboza is controlling the fight with his striking and takedown defense. MMAFrenzy scores the round 10-9 Barboza (20-18) Round 3 – Barboza opens the round with another strong kick. Etim fakes a shot and looks for a duck under but Barboza snuffs it out quickly. Fighters trade but nothing of significance lands. Etim fails on another takedown attempt. Barboza with an amazing spinning wheel kick that lands flush and Etim is out before he hits the mat! Etim was gone on impact and Barboza just walks away. Edson Barboza defeats Terry Etim via KO (spinning heel kick) at 2:32 of Round 3

Posted in: round, barboza, kick, land, etim

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The UFC 142: "Aldo vs. Mendes" pay-per-view main card opened with a lightweight battle pitting native son Edson Barboza against British banger Terry Etim. Barboza, the 25-year-old Muay Thai specialist, was hoping to remain undefeated while Etim simply wanted to establish a winning streak. Who got their way? That would be Barboza, who may have recorded one of the greatest knockouts in UFC history. The Brazilian landed a wheel kick that hit Etim flush on the chin and stiffened him up, leaving him falling lifelessly to the mat. That makes "Junior" 10-0 in his fighting career with this latest win being the best one. The fight opened with both men coming out quick and looking to strike. That is until Etim shot in for a takedown, quite the surprise considering his strengths are his hands. Another takedown attempt came a short while later but Barboza executed a beautiful reversal that took the fight back to the feet, where it remained for the rest of the round. That's when the two engaged in a glorified kickboxing bout, matching each other with kicks and punches. The second stanza opened with commentators Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan repeatedly driving home the point that Barboza's leg kicks had taken a lot out of Etim, who seemed to be walking labored. This was only partially true, as Etim was tentative but certainly wasn't falling over with no use of his limbs. The leg kicks were nasty, though, there's no denying that. Etim got aggressive late in the round in an attempt to striking with the brash Brazilian but was unsuccessful. Barboza was putting together just enough combinations to frustrate the Brit while scoring plenty of points. And then, suddenly, Barboza landed a wheel kick that put Etim out. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am. Be sure to hit up MMAmania.com's live UFC 142 post for up to the minute results and blow-by-blow coverage of the rest of the night's action by clicking here.

Posted in: ufc, barboza, kick, etim, wheel kick

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Edson Barboza Defeats Terry Etim by Knockout. It came at 2:02 in the third round. Terry Etim opened the fight pawing out several jabs to close the distance and attempt a takedown. he completed it but Edson Barboza was quick with regaining his feet. Again Etim gets the takedown but Barboze quickly swept and regained his feet. Barboza threw a wild overhand that missed Etim but followed up with leg kicks. Etim led with a hook but he was clobbered with several punches from Edson Barboza. Brazilian crowd with the 'you're gonna die!' chant as Edson Barboza pushed the action. They traded leg kicks but it was Edson's that landed with more power. Etim slowed down after his early flurries. Spinning back kick from Edson Barboza as the round came to a close. Terry Etim went low then high with his kicks in the first minute of the second round. Edson Barboza looked calm and confident in his commitment to his strikes. Edson landed a cutting leg kick and then followed it up with a jab. That kick has landed for him all fight and it created issues with Terry Etim's footwork. Barboza started to do work with his strikes landed several unanswered punches and kicks. Etim shot from way outside and completed the takedown but Barboza was immediately back to his feet. Barboza landed his best strike of the fight with a body shot that doubled Etim over momentarily. Edson Barboza landed a big leg kick to open the final stanza. Etim attempted a jumping knee but Edson circled away. Etim attempted a takedown but he was stuffed and then received an uppercut for his troubles. Barboza with wheel kick KO. Etim is out cold and Barboza knew he didn't have to follow it up. SBN coverage of UFC RIO 142: Aldo vs. Mendes

Posted in: barboza, kick, etim, edson barboza, edson

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Promoted to the front page by Rainer Lee. High kicks are the Holy Grail of martial arts and landing them consistently secures superstar status for a kickboxer or mixed martial artist just as well as a knockout punch does in boxing. There is something uniquely impressive about watching a head kick master such as Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic send an opponent's head snapping sideways and their body crumpling to the ring canvas. As frightening in its effects upon the recipient as it is an awe inspiring feat of flexibility and explosiveness meeting perfect timing; a perfect high kick in a major promotion will be viewed millions of times on Youtube and propel the kicker into title contention in at least the fans' minds. No man has done more for the publicity of the high roundhouse kick than Mirko Cro Cop; his head kick wins over Igor Vovchancyn, Wanderlei Silva and Aleksander Emelianenko fill highlight reels all over the internet. Cro Cop's head kick is interesting because, unlike the later entries on this list, he never off balances his opponent with a push to bring their hands down (the Peter Aerts method), he simply kicks them in the head from outfighting range. Cro Cop, a southpaw, lacked the slick combinations of other strikers and would have been a simple one trick pony if he had not developed two other techniques to prime form; his left straight punch and his left body kick. Through the use of his straight left punch - which was strong enough to fracture Bob Sapp, Josh Barnett and Kazushi Sakuraba's orbital bones (the latter two from his knees on the ground) - Cro Cop was able to make his opponents forget their strict right hand position - which every opponent held rigidly in defense of the side of their head at the start of their meeting with him. Through his left body kick Cro Cop was able to mop up against the disciplined opponents who kept their hand up at all costs.Watching this extremely short fight against world class striker and MMA fighter Igor Vovchancyn, it is clear how disconcerting just a couple of Cro Cop's left straights are. Igor comes out of his corner looking disciplined, with his right hand up high and away from his head to soften Mirko's kicks, but just a minute later he is bringing it in after being stung by Mirko's straight. Mirko doesn't even need the hand completely out of the way, as he is content to kick through the less sturdy guard Igor presents. After the jump, Mirko Cro Cop vs. Mark Hunt... In Japan's premier kickboxing promotion, K1, Mirko fights New Zealand's Mark Hunt. A former Grand Prix champion who got by on his huge punch and having arguably the best chin in combat sports history, Hunt was able to take the full force of Mirko's kick and get up, but Mirko's set up was picture perfect and the clip has made an appearance in dozens of highlight reels. Hunt's defense has improved somewhat when he meets Mirko and it gives the Croat trouble throughout the fight, but Hunt's attempts to utilize better head movement to evade punches backfire when Cro Cop catches him getting into a pattern. Notice at 5:43 as Cro Cop fakes to attack with the straight, Hunt goes to fire back but pulls short when he realizes that Cro Cop is in position to defend. Mirko immediately fakes again and Hunt leans to his right to slip the straight left. Mirko's left straight and left high kick require the same step with the lead foot outside of the opponent's lead foot, meaning that by conditioning an opponent to expect a straight punch when Cro Cop steps, he can instead throw a high kick without his opponent seeing the foot being placed in position as a telegraphing of the technique. In the most effective cases he can convince the opponent to duck into the kick, just as Hunt does.

Posted in: opponent, kick, mirko, cop, cro

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The time has come to decide 2011's Knockout Of The Year. This year offered no shortage of spectacular KO's but we here have whittled the long list down to 6 finalists for the winner to be selected from by the Head Kick Legend community. The nominees are...... Anderson Silva's front kick on Vitor Belfort - The kick that started a craze in MMA. After Anderson landed it, everyone was trying it. Machida, Justin Buchholz and even Dong Hyun Kim have utitlized it since "The Spider" crumbled Vitor at UFC 126. It was not only stunning and incredible, it was downright shocking. I remember seeing it live and I didn't even know what to do. I just started laughing in sheer disbelief. Alexis Vila's one punch starching of Joe Warren - Warren came into the cage at Bellator 51 looking to get one step closer to his goal of becoming a two division champion. He's lucky he managed to leave the cage even as I write this. Vila came out and pressured Warren, rocked him, and after a brief recovery put him to sleep with a crushing left hook. Warren was out instantly and Vila put himself on the map in the United States all in a minute and four seconds. Cheick Kongo's unconscious zombie KO of Pat Barry - Pat Barry not only dropped Cheick Kongo twice in this fight, he knocked him out twice. Two times he dropped Kongo and followed up with strikes. These strikes just seemed to wake up the awesomely bearded Frenchman and both times he got back to his feet. What happened next was unbelievable. Kongo staggered back towards the cage, Barry walked him down and walked right into 2 massive punches that landed right on the button and sent Pat crashing to the canvas out cold. This was the most improbable comeback I have ever seen. This showed incredible heart and toughness shown by Kongo in what will probably be the defining moment of his career at UFC Live 4. Lyoto Machida's crane kick on Randy Couture - Randy had thought his epic submission win over James Toney was going to be the final fight of his career. That was until he got the offer to fight Machida. Randy called him "the Rubik's cube of MMA" and he was looking forward to trying to solve the puzzle. He would not be able to as the most prolific karate fighter ever in the UFC went full Karate Kid on Randy with a devastating crane kick. The kick dropped Randy into a heap and even knocked out a tooth. All I keep thinking about is that Lyoto, a man who is in perpetual motion inside the cage, completely stopped moving before unleashing the crane kick. I have never seen him still during a fight and it was almost as if he paused to allow 55,000 people in Toronto get ready for what he was going to do. Minotauro Nogueira's retirement defying knockout of Brendan Schaub - "The Hybrid" was fresh off his cartoonish knockout of Mirko Filipovic when he arrived in Rio to attempt to take out his second PRIDE legend in a row. Big Nog hadn't fought in 18 months and had been brutally knocked out in 2 of his last 3 fights. Somewhat surprisingly, Rodrigo came in looking sharp and landed crisp combinations on Schaub, putting him down and out much to the delight of the sold out crowd in Brazil, sports bars across the world and certainly my living room. Nog earned Knockout Of The Night for his utter destruction of the much younger Schaub. Even if it was only for one more time, Minotauro reigned supreme and he did so with style. Johny Hendricks' stunning 12 second knockout of Jon Fitch - "Big Rig" snuck this one in here at the last possible moment as he skyrocketed himself to the top tier of the Welterweight division. Mike Goldberg barely got done telling us what color shorts each fighter was wearing when Johny put his left hand to Fitch's chin, making him do a Nate Quarry-esque tree log straight to the canvas. Steve "Hot Tub" Mazzagatti saved Fitch from further damage only to get put on his back and momentarily wrestled by him. It only took one fifth of a minute for the consensus #2 WW in the world to see his quest for the belt end. That same 12 seconds also brought a new contender with dynamite in his hands to prominence. Who will be the winner? Vote now or forever hold your peace. Poll The Winner of 2011 Knockout Of The Year is....... Anderson Silva Alexis Vila Cheick Kongo Lyoto Machida Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera Johny Hendricks   0 votes | Results

Posted in: fight, kongo, knockout, kick, randy

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In the main event of UFC RIO 142: Aldo vs. Mendes, UFC Featherweight champion Jose Aldo will make the third defense of that title when he faces undefeated Chad Mendes. It's an intriguing fight; Mendes is the lowest profile and least marketable fighter Aldo has yet defended against, while also having the best shot at dethroning the champ, as Mendes will likely try to use his wrestling to control Aldo and grind him down. For Aldo, one of the best strikers in MMA today, I anticipate one of his best weapons will be back on display against Mendes. I'm talking about the strike he used to completely dismantle Mendes's Alpha Male teammate Urijah Faber - the leg kick. The leg kick is a great technique to employ against a wrestler; as Aldo lands more and more shots to the leg, Mendes will lose his ability to explode off his feet, hurting his chances to take Aldo down. But there's a dangerous flipside to that - by throwing a leg kick, Aldo gives Mendes the chance to grab that leg and use it to secure a takedown. So what makes Aldo's leg kicks so good? And why do I think he is still safe to use them against Mendes? Let's break down those kicks in this Judo Chop, focusing specifically on the Faber fight for our examples. The Basics: Leg Kicks 101 Against Faber, Aldo showed absolute mastery of leg kicks, but that mastery has to start with a solid foundation in the fundamentals. Here is a look at some of those Aldo kicks, starting with the basics of the kick and what he is doing right. Complete breakdown, with gifs, in the full entry. SBN coverage of UFC RIO 142: Aldo vs. Mendes On your right you see Aldo landing a kick that fully demonstrates his technique (there are two kicks in the gif - I am focusing on the one shown from a side angle that spins Faber around). There are three specifics to bring to attention here. 1. Hip rotation. As Aldo throws the right kick, he twists his whole body, ending so that his belly button is perpendicular to Faber. By throwing his body so fully into the kick, he increases the force - the power is coming not just from the whip of the leg, but from the twist of the hips, the shoulders... everything. 2. Turning the left foot. Similar to the hip rotation, watch the way Aldo rotates his left foot when throwing the right kick. That small turn of the foot helps with what we discussed above, making his whole body turn to the side and increasing the impact on the leg. I also love the way he immediately twists it back into position when he is done, allowing him to quickly move back and avoid any counter shots. 3. Striking with the shin. This is the most devastating part of this kick. Aldo lands it perfectly, not with the top of his foot, but with his shin. That is the ideal weapon. If you land with the foot, you run the risk of breaking bones in your own foot, while also striking your opponent with a much softer tissue area. The shin is all bone, and keeps you safe while maximizing damage. Landing with the shin is easy to say, harder to do because your opponent is often moving away from the kick, but for a leg kick to be truly effective, that needs to be where the attack comes from. 4. Bringing the right hand down. You can see this more clearly in the 2nd kick actually - as Aldo lands the kick, he brings his right hand down in a chopping motion, again adding to his momentum, and increasing the torque behind the kick. This is the common Muay Thai way of using your hands in a leg kick, but it's also a source of some debate. A lot of fighters prefer to keep that hand up, as bringing it down leaves your right side exposed to counters. Here, Aldo chooses to sacrifice defense in the name of power. With those fundamentals in place, Aldo already becomes a dangerous combatant with leg kicks, and already puts himself in the top tier of MMA fighters using this strike. But Aldo takes the kicks even further with some extra details. Advanced Studies One of the things that makes Aldo's leg kicks so dangerous is his ability to land them on an opponent who may perceive himself to be out of range. He does this by stepping in with the kick, as shown on the left. Before throwing the strike, watch how Aldo uses two steps to close the distance quickly, catching Faber off balance. Even though Faber lifts his lead leg to throw a push kick, Aldo still connects on the back leg because he has gotten so far inside. Two little details really set this movement apart. First, watch Aldo's left foot. On the second step, he brings it a little further out, so that he is immediately in position for the kick - great economy of movement there. Second, this time he keeps that right arm mostly in front of him instead of chopping it down. Because Faber is trying to strike back, Aldo makes the adjustment to use that arm for defense, not power, keeping himself safe from a Faber left hook. Aldo also makes the most of the low kick by both repeatedly coming back to it, while also mixing it into a wider arsenal. The leg kick is not a one shot KO kind of blow - it takes a few to really do damage (though, when thrown by someone like Aldo, not many). Aldo keeps coming back to it, landing in the same spot to really weaken Faber's legs. But he also doesn't become repetitive and predictable. Sometimes he throws the kick by itself, sometimes he sets it up with a punch. Here, a bit later in the fight, he has Faber thinking about the leg kick, so comes up high with a head kick instead. Because Faber has begun to drop his hands in anticipation of the leg kick, his head is more exposed. That is a superb use of the leg kick to both do its own damage, while also opening the door for other strikes. The last great asset for Aldo's kicks is one you can't really see in this slowed down clips - speed. He throws the kick with great speed, catching Faber before he has time to defend. When Faber switches stances, putting his right leg forward, Aldo quickly attacks that leg. And not only does he strike quickly, he brings the leg back quickly as well. That is perhaps what will serve him best against Mendes - the ability to land the strike, then quickly bring the leg back before it can be grabbed and used for a takedown. The Featherweight title defense against Faber was one of Jose Aldo's finest moments, and it is largely a result of this absolute clinic in leg kicks. For any fans of striking, it was a beautiful thing to watch, and I can't help but hope that we see the majesty of these kicks once again on display in full force Saturday night in Brazil.

Posted in: leg, kick, faber, aldo, mende

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This is the second part of a three piece series for HeadKickLegend.com; the first part, which regards footwork can be found at: http://www.headkicklegend.com/2012/1/7/2689601/the-importance-of-angles-in-striking-part-1-footwork-jack-slack In continuing to examine the significance of "angles" in striking we turn to look now not at the angle on the clock face from which a fighter strikes at his opponent, but at the arc through which his hands / feet / knees or elbows fly when he throws them. We have switched our focus then from lateral movement (or the horizontal) to vertical blind angles. The blind angle is a term I first saw used by Shotokan Karate legend, Masahiko Tanaka. In explaining the blind angle in his seminal work "Perfecting Kumite", Tanaka used the front snap kick to demonstrate his meaning. Try this - take up a fighting stance and look ahead at about eye level (for those of you who have access to a sparring partner or sibling, get them to do the same in front of you). You will notice that your peripheral vision picks up a lot of what is going on to either side of you, making it easy for even an amateur to avoid wide swings. What peripheral vision fails to do however, is to pick up on what is happening below or above you. If you are standing opposite a sparring partner or opponent, you naturally gauge your distance with your front foot in relation to them, however at any time you are unlikely to be able to actually see their front foot if you are in fighting range. The point below the focus of your vision in fighting stance is therefore called the blind angle and a great many breath-taking knockouts have come through exploiting it. Using the example of the front kick as Tanaka did (some thirty years before the UFC's pair of front kick knockouts) we can see the point that he was making even in the slow motion replay of Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida's front kick knockouts. Watching this gif of Anderson Silva's front kick knockout of Vitor Belfort it is clear how well Silva exploits the blind angle. With absolutely no set up Silva snaps his kick up through Belfort's blind angle and lands absolutely flush. The most interesting thing to notice is that Vitor sees Anderson's hips moving and begins to move slightly backward, raising his lead leg to check a suspected roundhouse kick, and keeping his hands up to the outside should the roundhouse kick come high. He looks completely stoic even until the foot collides with his chin, showing just how dangerous strikes through the blind angle can be. Here, against Randy Couture who had seen just about every strike in the game, Lyoto Machida lands a beautiful leaping front kick through the blind angle - and Couture is completely thrown by the movement. Watch as Couture steps away from the faked left kick only to believe a right round kick is coming - drawing his left hand up to his head in order to block it, but only providing a larger hole for Machida's front kick to travel through. The front kick is a pretty new development in the fighting world however, the uppercut has been around much, much longer. Here is Roy Jones' rematch with Montel Griffin (who had "defeated" him earlier that year by being hit while on one knee): Notice how Roy Jones immediately comes out with the unusual lead uppercut at 2:27, and again in the form of a hooking uppercut at 2:37. Every time Jones goes to throw his lead hook or uppercut, he drops his left hand low and his left shoulder low, so as to bring his hand into Griffin's blind angle and making it almost a 50/50 guess on Montel's part when defending. At 4:18, just as Jim Lampley is pointing out the timidity which Griffin shows every time Roy fakes a left hook, Roy leaps introduces a left body hook, adding another target and making Montel's chances of defending the attacks he can't see even lower. At 4:47 Roy's lead hand is swinging down by his thigh, and as he leaps in with another left uppercut - Montel makes a guess and it being a hook, covering his body and leaning his hand back - but eats the leaping uppercut as a result and is sent to the canvas in a brutal KO. Here is Prince Naseem Hamed displaying his bizarre yet effective style of "anti-technique". Hamed continually drops his lead hand below his waistline, and it dramatically increases his accuracy it seems, as his unfortunate opponent fails to see most of the punches coming. Hamed lands his brilliant leaping straight uppercut at 4:36 and 5:13. One is replayed at 6:25, and a second replay is shown of Hamed's opponent dropping his hands expecting an uppercut and receiving a straight for his troubles. At 8:55 another huge uppercut lands from down by Hamed's knee, followed by the lead uppercut / straight and the fight is called off. A typically bewildering performance from Hamed's offence. Here Marlon Sandro stuns his opponent in Sengoku with a right straight before following him across the ring. Sandro ducks and drops his hand so that it is well under Kanehara's line of vision, Kanehara is forced to make a split second decision to duck, expecting an overhand and eats possibly the best uppercut we've seen in the young sport of MMA so far. Most of Marlon's big knockouts have come from this ducked position, in his previous match he had used it to throw an overhand that stunned his opponent and led to a stoppage. Marlon Sandro is not an especially skilled technical striker, but the tricks he uses to land his strikes and the power he brings to them more than put him ahead of the majority of Featherweights out there. A final technique which travels through the blind angle and is seen quite commonly in MMA and kickboxing today is the flying knee. Especially useful when an opponent shoots, as it is the only technique (barring an incredibly fast uppercut) which can effectively punish wrestlers who are content to shoot over and over. However it has also been put into use BY wrestlers, as ducking for a shot and loading up for a flying knee are almost identical and, once again, take place in the blind angle. Here is a classic which I'm sure everyone has seen from Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto; in which he sprints at an Olympic medalist in wrestling - who crouches expecting a shot and eats a knee for his troubles. Please feel free to fill the comments section with flying knees and uppercuts! This is Jack Slack's second article at HeadKickLegend.com, his blog can be found athttp://fightsgoneby.blogspot.com/ for more striking articles.

Posted in: hand, angle, front, kick, uppercut

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Welcome back to my online diary documenting my very amateur experience training in Muay Thai. If you missed the first entry on Bloody Elbow, read it here. I have always thought of myself as not a particularly graceful person. I'm not some giant oaf or horribly clumsy, but, despite being on the wrestling and tennis teams in high school, athletics don't come naturally to me and require a bit of work. That was one of my goals in starting Muay Thai training - to increase my overall athletic ability. And, to my pleasant surprise, I have found over the past year that I am much more comfortable in these areas than I give myself credit for. But I still have some places where I struggle, like balance, and this week, those difficulties caught up with me. This week's focus: leg kicks. Which I've actually gotten quite good at in the past year if you ask me. But this time we were working a different style of kick; emphasizing the entire movement on the rotation of the hips, we threw the leg kick much closer to our partner than normal, and instead of fully extending the leg, kept the leg partially bent at the knee when making contact. Picture almost a cross between a knee strike and a leg kick. It's a nice kick to use when fighting close inside and unable to get the full extension on your kick (while also drilling you on hip rotation), but it caused me all kinds of troubles. Finding my range has always been a bit of an issue for me, and an area I focus on. I'm a tall guy, and want to use that height and reach to my advantage, so make it a point to really extend the jab, the push kick, and the leg kick. But it's hard to find that proper range always. I think that's partly a result of me still being unsure where exactly my ideal range can be found, and partly from working with different partners holding the bag. Many times, I find my partner getting closer to me, so that when I step in to kick and extend, I'm connecting more with the knee than the shin - which is no good. Something to keep working on, and one of my main areas of focus for the past couple months. Back to this week - the combination of working kicks at a different range, plus a kick that necessitated strong balance threw me for a loop. Throw the kick by itself and I was fine. Add a pair of punches, or block a kick before it, and I could not find my target accurately. The end result? A week marked by frustration. Ah well. Not every week will be perfect, and I learn from what I do wrong. I'd grown comfortable with a lot of the techniques in my bag, so adding a new one that I am not comfortable with provides a definite challenge - and where would the fun in training be without those challenges? I walked out frustrated and annoyed at myself this week, but also eager to get back in there next week and get that kick down. I'll see how it goes, and report back next time. My question of the week for everyone: I think I broke my big toe a few weeks ago, or if not broke it, jammed the hell out of it. It is mostly recovered now, but at least once a week I still catch it wrong and jam it again, which hurts quite a lot. Anything to do other than tape that thing up and try to be more careful?

Posted in: week, leg, training, kick, leg kick

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Tarec Saffiedine defeats Tyler Stinson by Split Decision. The judges scored the fight 29-28 Stinson, 30-27 Saffiedine, 29-28 Saffiedine. Stinson got off first landing a straight left landing flush to Saffiedine's chin. A Saffiedine leg kick was checked as was the kick to the head. Saffiedine was content playing the counter fighter role. Stinson walked through a front kick to the face. Stinson caught Saffiedine with an elbow which stumbled the welterweight contender. He chased and was put on his back. Tyler Stinson threw his legs up for an armbar. Left hook from Stinson stumbles Saffiedine. They threw punches as the round came to an end. Stinson landed several kicks to open the round. He then attacked with a one-two-one combo. Saffiedine played the defensive role, constantly circling away from Stinson's power. Saffiedine drove forward with a takedown and put Tyler Stinson flat on his back. Saffiedine worked his ground and pound from within Stinson's guard. Stinson maintained control of Saffiedine's posture, minimizing damage. Stinson had no offense from the guard and as the round came to an end Saffiedine landed elbows. Tyler Stinson was popped in the groin with a kick. When action continued they traded head kicks until Saffiedine hit a high double. Saffiedine landing elbows and punches from the guard. Stinson attempted an armbar but Saffiedine defended. Saffiedine stayed active on the ground throwing punches. Referee stood the fighters up with a minute left. Knee from Saffiedine lands. Stinson punching to close the round. Tarec Saffiedine entered the fight 11-3 and 4-1 in Strikeforce. He previously defeated Scott Smith by a unanimous decision. Tyler Stinson entered the fight 22-7. It was his second fight in the promotion after a successful debut. SBN coverage of Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine

Posted in: round, kick, tyler, stinson, saffiedine

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Filed under: StrikeforceThis is the Strikeforce live blog for Tarec Saffiedine vs. Tyler Stinson, a welterweight bout on tonight's Strikeforce on Showtime event from the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Saffiedine (11-3) out of Team Quest is coming off a decision win over Scott Smith last July. At the same event, Stinson (22-7) made an immediate impact in his Strikeforce debut when he scored a 15-second knockout over respected veteran Eduardo Pamplona. The live blog is below. More Coverage: Rockhold vs. Jardine Results | Latest Strikeforce News Both fighters are in the cage. Round 1: Stinson with his five-inch reach advantage stalks Saffiedine. Saffiedine remains light on his feet as he looks for an opening. Saffiedine, switching into a southpaw stance, lands a nice inside leg kick. A Saffiedine head kick is blocked. Stinson scores on a leg kick. Stinson charges in and Saffiedine avoids. Another roundhouse kick to the head by Saffiedine is blocked. Saffiedine lands an inside leg kick and circles away. Saffiedine scores on a front kick to the face. They clinch with two minutes and 10 seconds remaining. Stinson lands a left elbow from clinch that stumbles Saffiedine. Stinson charges and the fight goes to the ground. Stinson attempts an armbar, but Saffiedine escapes. Stinson connects on a flurry that should steal him the round. Stinson turned the fight around starting with the elbow strike. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Stinson. Round 2: Round 3: Follow Us on Twitter Friend Us on Facebook Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: strikeforce, round, kick, stinson, saffiedine

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Former light-heavyweight champion and consummate entertainer Muhammed Lawal squares off with electric striker Lorenz Larkin on the main card of Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine on Showtime this Saturday. Lorenz "The Monsoon" Larkin (12-0) is a must-see fighter with a background in Kung Fu. He's complemented that unusual foundation with the more traditional striking arts of boxing and Muay Thai to wield a very creative and effective standing arsenal. Larkin is a big boy with serious strength and excellent agility, footwork and fighting instincts. In his first ten pro fights, Larkin was utterly devastating, winning eight by first-round TKO. After blowing up most of his opponents on the feet, including Scott Lighty in his Strikeforce debut, Larkin encountered what seemed to be an unfavorable match up in D1 wrestler, NFL-level athlete and former heavyweight Gian Villante. The first round unfolded poorly for Larkin, who was caught off-guard by a well-timed Villante takedown early and spent the entire first round on his back (though he was still composed and showed a capable guard). The last two rounds were classic Lorenz Larkin: he shellacked Villante with crushing low kicks, high knees, roundhouse kicks and a stunning one-two, eventually taking the unanimous decision. "King Mo" was on top of the world when he defeated Gegard Mousasi to snare the Strikeforce light-heavyweight crown in 2010. At the time, he was undefeated after seven fights and had demonstrated that he was more than a one-dimensional wrestler with crisp and capable boxing. Things would take a turn for the worst in his next outing. He lost the strap when Rafael Cavalcante finished him in the third with strikes and then announced that he'd be absent while undergoing a major knee surgery that would replace both his anterior and posterior crucial ligaments. Since that "Feijao" fight in August of 2010, Lawal has only made one appearance; a rousing knockout of star-grappler Roger Gracie on the Barnett vs. Kharitonov card in September of 2011. Gifs and analysis in the full entry. SBN coverage of Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine Sorry ... this King Mo gif from Cage Potato was too good not to include. Lawal made waves right off the bat for his diverse talent and comical showmanship. Heralded for his mile-long list of high-level wrestling accomplishments, fans expected a takedown clinic against Travis Wiuff in his MMA debut overseas in the Sengoku promotion, but were treated to a quick and violent knockout instead. In fact, in his first six outings, Lawal only significantly applied his wrestling against the resilient Ryo Kawamura and clobbered the remaining five opponents by TKO, culminating with Mike Whitehead in his Strikeforce debut. Wrestling is commonly asserted as the best foundation for MMA and the most effective art to complement it with is basic boxing. Wrestling has the ability to negate most of the myriad dynamics of combat by narrowing the fight down to that aspect alone, and being good at punching people in the face is always helpful. The focus of balance, footwork and the use of hands in boxing is a perfect fit for an adept wrestler. Just watch Don Frye pick and choose between those two arts while coasting through three opponents to win the UFC 8 tournament in his first night of pro MMA for a classic example. Mo is still relatively inexperienced in MMA as he's just surpassing three years in the sport. While the finite mechanics of more elaborate arts like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai can take a lifetime to master, the straightforward combination of good hands and takedowns can maximize an athletic fighter's potential.(Defensive footnote: I'm not saying wrestling and boxing aren't elaborate.) Basically, Lawal's been able to take down strikers and out-box grapplers. His freakish natural abilities and physical gifts tie everything together and should also be credited for his success. Lorenz Larkin isn't scared to throw jumping roundhouse, jumping front, spinning roundhouse kicks or Capoeira kicks, but I've decided to include more of his functional striking than the highlight-reel sizzle. He's very prolific with his feet but I imagine he'll simplify his arsenal considering the takedown threat that Lawal represents. Larkin is at an astronomical level in all facets of his striking. His footwork, head movement, timing, grasp of range and technique are all phenomenal. He smoothly cycles through a vast assortment of striking violence and is one of the most gifted and exhilarating kickboxers in the game. The finesse and quickness of his one-two and his low kicks is startling. Along with his aggression and unpredictability, those two strikes are probably his best weapons. On the feet, it's quite obvious that Larkin is at the top of the food chain. Out of all the newer generation strikers employing unorthodox kicks with a TMA-flavor, I think Larkin is the most effective. Now he'll just have to demonstrate that ability against top competition and put his weaker points to the test. One minute into his fight with Villante (right), he tried to counter the low single by freeing his leg and circling left. Villante secures the leg for leverage, keenly adjusts for the new angle and continues to surge forward after the initial burst. This allows Villante to get deep penetration. Larkin doesn't underhook on the right side or control Villante's head and ends up on his back. This is a prime example of the diversity he's facing, as time expired with Larkin struggling underneath Villante. One split-second action can result in giving the entire round away. To the left, Villante catches a kick and looks to sweep Larkin's supporting leg. Watch his waist and hips in this sequence: using his left hand, Larkin is able to steady his upper-body and shrink his hips back and away from Villante. This cushion of space and his freakish balance allows him to stay upright. Now check out the Capoeira-style roundhouse kick that Larkin lands at the end of the sequence. This might be slightly off-topic from the match up analysis, but I consulted with the BloodyElbow.com staff on the technical specs and it ended up fostering an interesting discussion. Fraser Coffeen, staff striking guru and Judo Chop overlord, reached out to Phil Wills, an experienced Capoeira practitioner. His commentary follows and I've added hyperlinks in the appropriate spots. "The first is the meia lua de compasso (Half Moon Compass). This is much more of a literal spinning kick with the hand on the floor and the back kicking leg coming around with the non-kicking leg crouched to the floor. Rumored to have been the kick that ended the fight between Valdamar Santana and Helio Gracie. Or it could be a Martelo Rotado, which is a spinning roundhouse. But the other one that might be what you are looking for that makes more sense in an MMA fight could be Martelo-do-Chao; literally 'roundhouse from the floor.' In a pinch, referring to the kick as a Martelo says enough without saying too much. A martelo is a general term for a roundhouse kick." Though he doesn't claim to be an expert, staff member Tom Mendes has three years of Capoeira training. I -- perhaps mistakenly -- likened Larkin's kick to the type that Cub Swanson has used in the past. Ironically, it's the same kick Ricardo Lamas threw at Swanson (right), thus Cub smiling and saying, "That's my move." Tom mentioned that the Lamas kick seemed similar to the Chapeu de Couro: "Lamas goes to the ground before applying the kick, it was fast and a bit off camera but he did do it, which to me is a Chapeu de Couro and not really a Martelo, but they're similar kicks anyway (Martelo de Chao or Martelo de Negativa, which are the same kicks with different names and mostly resembles the Chapeu de Couro)." This inspired another consultation with Phil Wills for his take on the Chapeu de Couro. "I would not go so far as to call it Chapeu de Couro. That is much more of a crouched roundhouse attack where as this is more standing and using the arm as balance. After doing a little more research, I would recommend just going with the term Martelo if you want to use the term at all. Many of the different kicks mentioned all can be interchangeable depending upon the school that a person went to. Some people use Chapeu de Couro and Meia Lua de Compasso interchangeably. The key for the Chapeu de Couro is that it is done in a stance that is referred to as negativa, which is a crouched stance. So I would just call it a Martelo if the fighter has a capoeira background. Many of the other kicks mentioned here usually end with the kicker making an almost full 360 degree rotation in completing the kick." Forgive the digression but I thought the exchange of different opinions and knowledgeable insight was worth publishing. Back to King Mo vs. Larkin: While Lawal has demonstrated a nasty set of hands, there's no sense in dueling with Larkin on the feet when he can enforce his takedown prowess. This is easily Larkin's biggest leap in competition, but his striking is for real. As in any grappler vs. striker pairing, Lawal should dangle the looming threat of his takedowns to instill hesitancy in Larkin. Both setting up his shots with strikes and faking level-drops to set up his boxing will help to neutralize Larkin's scorching stand up. An X-factor could be how well Lawal has recovered from his knee surgery. Larkin is frighteningly agile and Lawal's ability to change levels and explode for takedowns is a pivotal aspect. King Mo is the safer choice here. However, Larkin being assessed in the +400s on the betting lines might be worth a look. My Prediction: Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal by decision. Larkin vs. Villante gifs by Caposa King Mo showboat gif via CagePotato.com All others via Zombie Prophet of IronForgesIron.com Poll King Mo vs. Lorenz Larkin Mo Larkin   10 votes | Results

Posted in: larkin, kick, mo, lawal, villante

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When Robbie Lawler steps inside the cage, you know it will likely be a short night. Either the heavy-handed striker -- already a 10-year veteran at age 29 -- will connect with one of his bombs and put his opponent on the canvas or "Ruthless" will fall victim to a submission, an aspect of mixed martial arts (MMA) that he, for whatever reason, has never put much stock in. That's why when he was booked opposite Melvin Manhoef last year, fans knew that the latter option simply wouldn't need to be considered. "Marvelous" -- who also fits the aforementioned description to a tee -- wouldn't look to take the fight to the ground any more than Lawler would. Someone was going to get knocked out in brutal fashion, the matchmaking all but promised. And deliver on that promise it did. Next Saturday (Jan. 7), Lawler will fight for the 27th time in his career, taking on Russian prospect Adlan Amagov in the co-main event of Strikeforce: "Rockhold vs. Jardine". It's a must win fight for "Ruthless" who is currently on a two-fight skid and has only won two of his last six. Both of those wins came via knockout, the second against longtime MMA veteran Matt Lindland and the first -- which we'll take a look at today -- came against Manhoef. Let's dive in. Manhoef takes the center of the cage and forces Lawler to circle around. He ends up trapping the American against the chainlink and Lawler attempts a jumping roundhouse kick off all things to create distance. It whiffs but the kick Manhoef throws in response -- although blocked -- smacks against Lawler's arm. The Dutchman follows that up with a leg kick and seconds later, throws another that misses its mark. It becomes obvious in the first minute of the bout what the kickboxer's strategy is against his opponent. Not wanting to risk getting taking down by Lawler, Manhoef is avoiding extended striking exchanges and opting to keep his distance with rangier kicks. Lawler throws a head kick that is blocked and temporarily backs Manhoef up but aside from that, "No Mercy" continues to walk the former Miletich Systems Fighter down. Nearly 90 seconds into the bout, both fighters throw kicks and their legs momentarily get tangled up until Manhoef throws a second one which slams into Lawler's ribcage, forcing the American to circle away. A punching exchange leads nowhere for both and seconds later "Ruthless" throws a outside leg kick with little to no steam on it. Manhoef delivers one of his own, the smack of which echoes through the BankAtlantic Center. Manhoef closes the distance and throws two right hooks that are ducked and a left that Lawler is also able to avoid. A fourth strike -- another right hand -- connects albeit not completely flush but that doesn't stop the American from playing a little possum. He groggily moves his head around, perhaps in order to goad Manhoef into a Pete Sell-like run-in to Lawler's Scott Smith. The Dutchman doesn't take the bait, however, and instead lands another brutal body kick. A leg kick smacks against Lawler's shin and Manhoef opens up with combinations. Mostly blocked by Lawler, two body kicks find their way to the American's ribcage. Two more leg kicks send Lawler's lower limb nearly flying before "Marvelous" delivers another bone-jarring combination punctuated by a body shot and two more kicks to his opponent's leg. They don't call Manhoef a kickboxer for nothing. Another leg kick is followed up by a body shot and "Ruthless" begins to make his way around the cage with a noticeable limp. Yet another leg kick would have sent the now tender limb flying into the crowd had it not been attached to Lawler's hips. A second and a third connect. That's when it happens. Perhaps taking too much stock in how injured Lawler is or maybe Manhoef's thought process is so consumed by his next offensive maneuver that his defensive abilities all but shut down but he absolutely does not see the wild overhand right that comes crashing into his jaw. Dazed, he begins to stagger away from his opponent but a perfectly-placed left from "Ruthless" tags him right on the chin and it's lights out for the Dutch kickboxer. Lawler is tackled off by the referee and Manhoef is left on the canvas with that thousand-yard stare MMA fans are all too familiar with. Even as the American circles the cage to celebrate, he does so favoring his lead leg. Can Lawler match that result next Saturday in Las Vegas or will his name be used to build up a rising star?

Posted in: lawler, leg, kick, leg kick, manhoef

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We told you Alistair Overeem's knees are savage, didn't we?  They can knock kickboxers flat on their faces, Japanese wrestlers right out of the ring, and when combined with a a sweet liver kick, can even knock American wrestlers right out of MMA. After the jump, the kick that broke The Cocksword. read more

Posted in: right, kick, wrestler, liver kick, didnt wenbsp

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Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem full fight video highlights from UFC 141 last night (Dec. 30, 2011) in Las Vegas show "The Reem" dominating the fight with his vaunted K-1 level kickboxing. In fact, the beginning of the end came when the deadly Dutchman landed a liver kick that crumpled Brock up against the cage. It's hard to blame a guy for folding when he was repeatedly getting blasted in the guts just seven months after having 12-inches of his intestines removed. Following the loss, Lesnar, the biggest box-office draw in the history of the sport, retired from MMA. His run with the UFC was short but it sure was sweet. For a more detailed breakdown of the bout click here and for complete UFC 141 results and blow-by-blow coverage of all the night's action click here. Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem (265-pound limit) Round one: Leg kick from Lesnar. Jab from Lesnar. Lesnar ducks an overhand right which just misses. Lesnar sucks up a single and Overeem able to slip out. Right from Lesnar and leg kick from Lesnar to follow. Big knee to the body from Overeem and then Lesnar with one of his own. Overeem lands another big knee to the body and then a right hand. Body kick from Overeem. Right from Lesnar. Overeem with another knee to the body and then a big punch. The Overeem with a big body kick which sends Lesnar crumpling to the mat. Overeem pounces and throws punches to finish and the ref stops it. Thats it. Overeem is impressive in his Octagon debut. Final result: Alistar Overeem defeats Brock Lesnar via TKO (Strikes) Round 1

Posted in: overeem, lesnar, body, kick, brock

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Dong Hyun Kim defeats Sean Pierson by Unanimous Decision. All three judges scored the fight 30-27. Dong Hyun Kim was the first to find success landing a leg kick early. Sean Pierson responded by closing distance and clinching with the South Korean judoka against the cage. As Kim looked to set up a throw Pierson backed away. Pierson caught Kim's leg and attempted a looping right hook which didn't land. Kim landed a straight left and then attemped a jumping right kick. 1-2 from Kim landed as did the left leg kick. Pierson came forward with a combination and Kim looked for a takedown. Pierson was unable to find connection with his strikes. The two clinched up and Kim took control of Sean Pierson's neck. Kim used it to set up a toss but Pierson rolled throw and took Kim's back as the round came to an end. Kim's early kick was caught again by Pierson who was unable to create any offense off of due to an inability to find range. High kick from Kim missed as Pierson circled away. Pierson closed the distance and clinched with Dong Hyun Kim against the fence but couldn't find any offense from it. Pierson again clinched with Kim without finding any significant strikes. Kim pushed off and then landed a jumping front kick. Kim followed up with a straight right that snapped Pierson's head back. Kim landed a front kick that again staggered Pierson. Sean Pierson was on wobbly legs as the round came to a close. Literally saved by the bell. Pierson looked to have regained his senses as the final round commenced. Kim looked far more aggressive knowing he had Pierson all but finished. Kim opened up with more leg kicks to try and have Pierson drop his hands. Kim instead used them get the takedown and then did a front flip pass. Pierson regained his feet but was quickly taken back to the ground. Pierson did a good job of controlling Kim's posture and not taking any damage from inside the guard. With two minutes left in the fight Kim stood up and attempted a pass. He changed his mind and Yves Levigne stood the fighters up. Crane kick from Kim missed. Pierson closed the distance with 30 seconds left to clinch but Kim pushed off. Fight ends with Kim connecting on another jumping front kick. Dong Hyun Kim entered the fight 14-1-1 and 5-1-1 in the UFC. He improves to 6-1-1 in the promotion. Sean Pierson entere the fight 1-1 in the UFC and 11-5 overall. He drops to 11-6 on his career. SBN coverage of UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem

Posted in: kick, pierson, kim, hyun, sean

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Diego Nunes defeats Manvil Gamburyan by Unanimous Decision. All three judges scored the fight 29-28. The fight started with Manny Gamburyan stalking Diego Nunes around the cage. It was Nunes who found early success with strikes . Manny attempted a takedown attempt but failed when Nunes stuffed it and created distance. He made a second attempt for a double leg and it looked like Nunes had a guillotine but Gamburyan clinched the body and got a slam against the fence. Nunes stood up when Manny attempted a guard pass. A digging leg kick landed for Nunes that had Gamburyan wincing. Nunes came forward with a combination and finished it with another leg kick. Those already created some issues for Gamburyan's movement. With 20 seconds left Nunes landed a spinning back kick to the body. Gamburyan was unable to figure out the distance to fight on the inside as the first round came to a close. Manny closed the distance early as the second round opened landing an overhand right. Nunes responded with a springing knee but was unable to find the correct distance. Gamburyan stunned Nunes with an overhand but was unable to follow up with Nunes backing away. Nunes cleared his head but Manny was quick to clinch up and look for a takedown. Nunes created distance and landed another spinning back kick. Manny's left leg is showing signs of damage from all those leg kicks that Nunes has been landing. Manny grabs a single leg and drags Nunes to the ground. Manny begins to work from half guard and landing punches to the face of Diego Nunes. Manny sets up a choke and looks to step out of the half guard to mount. Gamburyan calls to the ref that Nunes is grabbing his fingers to break the choke which is illegal. Nunes stands and lands a huge knee from the clinch. Gamburyan looks for the judo throw but can't complete it. The round ends with both men swinging but not connecting. The final round began with Gamburyan taking the center of the cage and landing a right hand that Nunes walked through. Nunes circled and had control of the center landing several kicks to Gamburyan's left leg. Nunes landed more leg kicks to Gamburyan's left leg who still hasn't checked any of them. Nunes goes high with a kick and Gamburyan defends it with his arms. Nunes landed a kick low and Steve Mazzigatti called time. With 30 seconds left Manny started head hunting to set up a takedown. The fight ends with them clinched against the fence. Diego Nunes entered the fight 1-1 in the UFC and 16-2 in his career. With the win he improves to 2-1 in the UFC and 17-2 overall. Manny Gamburyan drops to 11-7 overall and 2-5 in the UFC with the majority of those fights in the lightweight division. SBN coverage of UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem

Posted in: leg, kick, nune, manny, gamburyan

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Whoa, check this out. Adam Haliev landed a tornado kick at League Sambo 70 in Russia last week that may actually top Anthony Pettis’ “Showtime” kick, mainly because he actually knocked his opponent out. Crazy. HT: MMAHQ

Posted in: kick, tornado, tornado kick, adam haliev, mustsee

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It has been a huge year for mixed martial arts and Bloody Elbow has broken down the year's action with seventy Judo Chops thus far in 2011. As is becoming a Christmas tradition in these parts, we bring you a multi-part list of the year's breakdowns. Here's part 3: Anderson Silva, Muhammad Ali, and the Anchor Punch Minotauro Nogueira Knocks Out Brendan Schaub Roger Gracie's Jiu Jitsu Basics For MMA King Mo Lawal Knocked Out by Feijao Josh Barnett and Unorthodox Submissions Healy Busts Out A Kadowaki Special on Blanco Luke Rockhold Jump Kick to Spin Kick Luke Rockhold Does a Cage Crawling Clinic Against Jacare T.J. Waldburger Chains Submissions Together Rampage Jackson and the Hook Punch The Redneck Judo Chop of Tim Boetsch The Footwork of Dominick Cruz and Demetrious Johnson The Striking of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard The Grappling of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard II Steve Cantwell Hits a Fake Push Kick to Head Kick Uppercuts in Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 3 Nick Diaz's Ground Game B.J. Penn's Back Control Breaking Down the Ground Work of Maia/Munoz at UFC 131 Cung Le and the Sanshou Spinning Back Kick Chris Weidman Puts Tom Lawlor to Sleep with a D'Arce Choke Martin Kampmann Foot-Sweeps Rick Story With a Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi Shogun Rua's Fight-Saving Leglock on Dan Henderson Darren Uyenoyama's Back Control and What Kid Yamamoto Did Wrong Matt Brown's Scissors Sweep of Seth Baczynski Diego Brandao and the Armbar from the Guard Shogun Rua's Half Guard Game and How Jon Jones Shut It Down Frank Mir Uses a Kimura to Break Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's Arm Jon Jones Front Chancery Chokes Lyoto Machida Happy holidays to you and yours from Bloody Elbow!

Posted in: vs, part, tim boetsch, kick, judo

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Filed under: UFCFor most MMA fighters, if they even choose to apply it in their arsenal, a front kick is usually a blow to the body, typically to create distance against an opponent. But for UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, he'll utilize it to test your chin. Anderson Silva's front kick to the face of Vitor Belfort is our choice for Knockout of the Year. With Silva claiming the center of the Octagon, the two men were planted momentarily, engaging in a feeling out process. Then all of a sudden, Silva snapped his rear leg forward towards his Belfort's chin, collapsing him. Silva finished with punches for the referee stoppage at three minutes and 25 seconds into the fight for his record-extending 13th straight UFC win. No one could have predicted the finish. Certainly not Belfort, who despite having his hands up to protect himself, was still caught off-guard when it was Silva's foot, not hands sneaking through Belfort's defense. The game changed in a way after that UFC 126 fight. The front kick to the face became a weapon to look out for. Jon Jones found success with it. Yoshihiro Akiyama even tried it (unsuccessfully) in Belfort's next fight. And actually, the most spectacular follow-up occurred just two months after UFC 126, produced by none other than Silva's teammate, Lyoto Machida. No. 2: Machida's crane kick knockout to retire Randy Couture at UFC 129 is the runner-up for knockout of the year. Machida's KO was more visually impressive than Silva's, but Silva deserves the higher honor for doing it first. Machida's front kick is a crane kick from his karate background. And yes, the crane kick Ralph Macchio famously used in the Karate Kid movie. It's slightly different from Silva's kick in that Machida charges with his rear leg before finishing with a front kick with his lead leg. Silva didn't jump in his, choosing rather to directly headhunt with his rear leg. In Machida's finish, no follow-up punches were necessary to knockout Couture (and a tooth). No. 3: Cheick Kongo def. Pat Barry (UFC on Versus on June 26) In a shocking comeback, Kongo was dropped twice in the first round in a span of 13 seconds only to somehow -- while still recovering -- rise to his feet to land two right hands to send Barry to sleep. No. 4: Mariusz Zaromskis def. Bruno Carvalho (Rumble of the Kings on Nov. 26) Zaromskis pulls off a front somersault kick to stun his opponent, setting up a violent finish. Extra props for the high risk. Cause if you miss it, well .... No. 5: Alexis Vila def. Joe Warren (Bellator 51 on Sept. 24) Vila stormed into Bellator this year pulling the upset in the opening round of the bantamweight tournament against featherweight champ Warren. The finish saw a Vila powerful left hook to floor Warren, punctuated with an unnecessary punch and a very necessary tackle by the referee. Honorable Mention: Cairo Rocha def. Francisco Neves (Brazil FC "Desafio dos Imortais" on Dec. 16) Rocha landed this spinning back kick out of the Brazilian martial art capoeira. Brutal and beautiful at the same time.  Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: ufc, belfort, front, kick, front kick

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Cairo Rocha (6-2) taking on Francisco Neves (2-4) at BRFC - Desafio dos Imortais wasn't exactly on anyone's radar heading into the weekend. After Rocha unleashed a kick that resulted in one of the best knockouts of 2011, it's now getting some attention. Here's the video and then we'll talk about the kick: The kick appears to be a capoeira technique called a Meia-Lua de compasso. Here's a description from Wikipedia: A Meia-Lua de compasso (lit: half moon compass) is an attack that embodies the true element of Capoeira since it combines an evasive maneuver with a spinning kick. The player while in a semi-crouched stance, swings his forward arm in a downward slanting motion towards the ground. While stepping around, he also bends his non-kicking leg while keeping the kicking one straight. After gathering enough torque from the sudden pivot in his core, he unleashes the kick all the way around until his kicking leg is behind him in the ginga movement. The power of the kick derives its energy from the same motion as the swing of a golf club or base ball bat. The transfer of power begins with the spin of the hand slamming into the ground and ending with the spin of the kicking heel. It has earned its place in capoeira as being called the "king of kicks". There is even a saying among mestres and other teachers about how a capoeirista's skill can be determined on how well and fast he delivers a Meia lua de compasso. It is still called a rabo do arria by some groups today. There is even folklore from around the 1910s of a capoeirista named Ciriaco, defeating a jiu-jitsu champion named Sada Mako with this kick. While this has been debated, there is one true account of this occurring. The win was awarded to Valdemar Santana after his defeat of Helio Gracie. Most would attribute this win to the fact that Santana was also student of Helio for over twelve years. You can see Rocha's hand hit the mat as the body turns and gets the torque for the power. But the real gem is watching the replay at around 16 seconds on the video. Neves is confused by the movement and drops his left arm to try to block what he seems to think is a body kick only to get caught square on the chin and go out. Great stuff.

Posted in: kick, capoeira, power, rocha, compasso

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Filed under: StrikeforceThis is the Strikeforce live blog for Gegard Mousasi vs. Ovince St. Preux, a light heavyweight bout on tonight's Strikeforce on Showtime event from the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego. Mousasi (31-3-2) fought Keith Jardine to a draw at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley in April. Next, he stopped Hiroshi Izumi in July to defend his DREAM light heavyweight belt. St. Preux (11-4) is undefeated in five bouts under the Strikeforce banner. The live blog is below. More Coverage: Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal Results | Latest Strikeforce News Round 1: St. Preux opens with a head kick. Mousasi catches it. Mousasi lands a body kick moments later. Lots of trading kicks early. St. Preux looks a bit uncomfortable in there, reacting to every feint. Mousasi flashing his usual serial killer deportment. A St. Preux kick gets caught and Mousasi takes him down. Mousasi in St. Preux's half-guard. Mousasi with blows from the top. St. Preux lands a kick from the bottom as Mousasi's standing, but Mousasi quickly moves to side control with plenty of time to work. St. Preux tries to scramble to his feet but Mousasi drags him back down. Mousasi looks for the kimura but St. Preux powers out and ends up on top with :45 left. Mousasi quickly reverses and hammers St. Preux with stikes from the top. Mousasi gets the crucifix and rains down shots but runs out of time before he can finish. A 10-9 round for Mousasi. Round 2: Round 3: Follow Us on Twitter Friend Us on Facebook Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: strikeforce, st, mousasi, preux, kick

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So I watch James Krause with the head kick knockout last night, hit level 50 in Red Dead Redemption multiplayer which successfully earned me my bull to ride around the digital southwest on. Now I wake up to another absolutely stunning head kick knockout brought to us by Cairo Rocha at Desafio Dos Imortais sometime yesterday. Life my friends, truly is good to us sometimes. Watch this .GIF brought to us by DamnSevern from the UG over and over until it's time for Strikeforce. [Source]

Posted in: head, kick, james krause, saturday afternoons, yesterday life

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After going 1-5 over his last six fights, including three straight losses to kick off his Octagon career, Cole Escovedo today announced his UFC release via The Underground.

Posted in: fight, loss, octagon, kick, ufc release

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Be it the UFC on Fox show, the past season of the Ultimate Fighter, that classic match between Henderson and Shogun or UFC 140 that convinced you to come looking for more MMA, welcome! Now maybe you throw a mean double jab followed by a 5-8 or maybe you don't know a triangle from an octagon, either way this article is for you. This piece looks at the arts, techniques and strategies that make up this quickly evolving sport. And we will start the way every fight starts, standing on the feet. While the striking technique of MMA fighters is often decried, the sport boasts some of the best functional strikers in the world and the skill is a critical one for success at the upper levels of the sport. Now if you are a fan of striking arts the one thing you might notice right away is the range at which MMA striking exchanges take place. Because of grappling, takedowns and knees, an inside boxing game consisting of shoulder rolls and counter punching is not practical, so those looking to strike keep a healthy distance from their opponents. This longer distance makes the most foundational punch in boxing, the jab, even more important in MMA. While there are plenty of fighters who don't use the jab effectively in MMA but those who do command the distance at which the fight takes place. gifs after the jump Here is UFC Welterweight champion using his jab against then UFC Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn. As you can see a jab is a simple straight punch with the lead hand, and it is not meant as power punch. The jab is mean to hurt, notice how Penn's head snaps back, but it also disrupts the vision and can stop an attack before it starts. The jab can also be used to measure distance and test an opponent's defensive reactions. As a result the jab is often the lead punch in combinations, the most famous being the 1-2 or jab-cross. Fighters who don't use the jab effectively are often reduced to simply lunging in for simple one or two punch attacks that can be easily countered. While the hands are the place most fighters feel most comfortable starting to learn striking, it is important to remember that in MMA there is more than just punching. Kicks are just as effective offense tools and nobody kicks more effectively than Muay Thai fighters. In Muay Thai the head kick is devilishly difficult to land, requiring deception and timing to use effectively, the body kick is dangerous because an opponent could easily catch the kick and then throw the kicker, and as a result the leg kick is the primary offensive weapon. This kick is like a body punch in boxing, used to sap an opponent's energy and add up over the course of a fight. Here is UFC Welterweight Thiago Alves showcasing his excellent leg kicks against John "Doomsday" Howard. There are two basic types of leg kicks: inside and outside. The inside leg kick is normally thrown with the lead leg and targets the inner thigh and the groin muscle. Most low blows in MMA are often the result of inside leg kicks gone wrong. The outside leg kick targets the outer thigh and is often throw with the back leg and so has hip rotation behind it making it very powerful. The ideal leg kick results in contacting shin bone with the meat of the thigh, and since there are major nerves traveling up both sides of the leg, the pain can be extreme. The damage done by repeated leg kicks can be serious and can stop fights, but it requires repeated kicks to the same spot. Now unlike the jab, the leg kick is often the strike used to finish combinations with targeting the leg the opponent is putting his weight on to maximize its effectiveness. These two techniques are just small steps in the world of striking. A wide array of strikes are open to MMA fighters;hooks, crosses, uppercuts, knees, head kicks, spinning strikes and many other exotic techniques. Integrating all these together is part of the challenge and appeal of MMA. While the offensive abilities translate very well from other arts, were accomplished strikers often run into trouble in the defensive aspect of striking. One of the culprits of this is the gloves, MMA gloves are much smaller than boxing gloves. The boxing guard uses the arms to protect the body from hooks to the liver and uses the padded gloves to protect the face. While this works well with the large gloves, the smaller gloves of MMA leaves too many places for punches to slip through if a fighter simply 'puts on his earmuffs'. Here is former UFC Lightweight Champion and UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell unleashing one of his signature salvos of punches. His victim is another former champion Tito Ortiz, who employs a class boxing guard and while it does stop a few strikes many of Liddell's punches slip through all the openings. As a result MMA fights more frequently use a block that comes from Muay Thai. Quentin "Rampage" Jackson used this block to perfection in his final fight with Wanderlei Silva. Instead of using his gloves to defense his head, Jackson brings up his entire arm to cover his chin when Silva comes in throwing hooks. He sweeps his hands over his head bringing up forearms, biceps, and elbows all to deflect the incoming punches. This guard is very effective for protecting the head but leaves the body wide open to punishment. There are many other ways to deflect punches with their own varying risk-reward balance from parrying punches toblocking punches at the biceps. Head movement is an important aspect of defensive striking in MMA because of the reduced effectiveness of gloves for blocking. Slipping punches, using slight movements of the head to avoid a punch by a small margin and then counter (often called slip-and-rip), is a vital skill in upper levels of MMA striking. Dramatic bobbing and weaving is not often seen in MMA, though it is sometimes, but there is a serve risk of weaving your way right into a knee or head kick KO, so most fighters tend not use this. The most effective defense in MMA against strikes is footwork. Fighters cannot hit what they can't catch and proper use of angles and footwork can keep a fighter out the proper distance to be struck. There is no fighter in MMA better at this than former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, who because of his karate background has light and quick footwork. He uses that footwork to dictate the distance at which the fight takes place. He throws a quick leg kick and when Rampage Jackson looks to respond, Machida quickly retreats. Anyone from a boxing background may be appalled at his straight back retreat but the space fighters are given in the cages of upper level MMA promotions is much greater than a boxing ring and this make short bursts straight backwards more practical. Machida creates enough distance that Rampage's punches don't land and when Machida reaches the cage he begins to move sideways and with no more space to open the distance he throws a quick punch and enters into the clinch, too close to be struck. The horn then ends the round. The difficultly of developing high level defensive skills in striking means many MMA fighters tend to either rely on their offensive skills to stifle any offensive output of their opponent or their own natural ability to absorb blows (often called 'chin') to make up under-developed defense. So that is the bear basics of the standing striking in MMA, catch this series next time for a break down of when fighters close into the clinch.

Posted in: mma, fighter, leg, punch, kick

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Then he was just falling ... right on top of Machida with a violent elbow. One that happened to split "The Dragon" in two and bring about the beginning of the end, which was unfortunate considering how well the opening round played out in their UFC 140 headliner last Saturday night (Dec. 10, 2011) at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Machida explains to Tatame.com the "disturbing" moment that changed the outcome of their fight: "We set a game plan that, from where I’m standing, until a certain moment, was working, but he landed that elbow and I got dizzy, I couldn’t see things straight anymore and it disturbed me because I couldn’t see. And on that moment I thought, 'I gotta do my best here and now.' I felt him lose a little on the first round, but I was focused on not making it a big deal, because each round was a different one and I had to win them all. I did my game and he was falling for it. He took me down, launching an elbow on me, and that surprised me a little, because I thought he would take me down but I would have a little time to think it straight. It was very fast and I had my head close to the fence, he hit me with an elbow, I couldn’t see and I tried to stand up and he hit me even more. I stood up and the judge interrupted, but we started fighting again and I didn’t have enough time to recover from that." Following the conclusion of the first round, two cageside judges had it scored in favor of the champion; however, an argument can be made the challenger took the opening frame or at the very least, had it dead even. From the MMAmania.com play-by-play: Round one: Jones comes out crawling again then stands up traditional style. Leg kick from Jones. Side kick to the thigh from Jones. Spinning back kick from Jones misses. Leg kick from Machida. Hard leg kick from Jones. Good leg kick from Jones then he blocks a right from Machida. Kick to the thigh from Jones. Powerful leg kick from Jones and Machida counter with a right that barely misses. Jones is the faster man. Left from Machida lands. Good body kick and left from Machida. High kick from Jones misses. Good counter right from Machida. Machida again lands a stiff left that backs up Jones! Body kick from Machida he is finding holes now and he stunned Jones with that left. Good high kick from Jones glances the head of Machida. That is the bell and a close round but I think Machida landing the more significant blows in that round. 10-9 Machida. While no one wants to break out the party hats every time a fighter (possibly) takes a close round on points, it's significant simply because we've yet to see anyone stay competitive against Jones since his unparalleled run through the UFC light heavyweight division. Did Machida lay the foundation for breaking "Bones?" Or did he simply take advantage of a patient champion who made the necessary adjustments in the second stanza? Re-watch their UFC 140" Jones vs. Machida" fight video highlights right here and let's hear what you think.

Posted in: jone, round, kick, leg kick, machida

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Greg Jackson said Machida was coming in with a straight left every time Jones would throw a kick. Jones asked him what stance and Greg said any. I'm not sure if he was referring to what stance he should be in or what stance the punch was coming in on. Greg Jackson tells Jones to fake the kick and get him at that point. Fast forward to the end of the fight. Jones fakes the left kick, sure enough Machida reacts with the left, leaves himself exposed on the right and that's where Jones' punch was already coming in to meet Machida's face coming toward it. submitted by ulees [link] [5 comments]

Posted in: jone, jackson, greg jackson, kick, greg

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Jon Jones puts Lyoto Machida to sleep to retain his light heavyweight championship in the main event of UFC 140 tonight (Sat., Dec. 10, 2011) at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Machida looked good early, just long enough to make fans worldwide think he might have a chance at pulling off the upset. Jones quickly squashed all that talk with a strong left hand followed by the standing guillotine choke that ended it. "Bones" ends his 2011 fight campaign having gone 4-0 with wins over Ryan Bader, Mauricio Rua, Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida. Can anyone stop this man? For a complete recap of the fight against "The Dragon" click here and for complete UFC 140 results and blow-by-blow coverage of all the night's action click here. UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida (205-pound limit) Round one: Jones comes out crawling again then stands up traditional style. Leg kick from Jones. Side kick to the thigh from Jones. Spinning back kick from Jones misses. Leg kick from Machida. Hard leg kick from Jones. Good leg kick from Jones then he blocks a right from Machida. Kick to the thigh from Jones. Powerful leg kick from Jones and Machida counter with a right that barely misses. Jones is the faster man. Left from Machida lands. Good body kick and left from Machida. High kick from Jones misses. Good counter right from Machida. Machida again lands a stiff left that backs up Jones! Body kick from Machida he is finding holes now and he stunned Jones with that left. Good high kick from Jones glances the head of Machida. That is the bell and a close round but I think Machida landing the more significant blows in that round. 10-9 Machida. Round two: Leg kick from Jones. Leg kick from Machida. Spinning back kick from Jones. High kick from Jones lands. Leg kick from Jones. Good body kick from Jones. Leg kick from Jones. Good right from Machida and now he is throwing wild punches at Jones and gets him to back off even though he didnt land. Jones looks hesitant now knowing Machida can land. Big right from Jones lands HARD. Now Jones with a big take down and he lands a big elbow right off the bat. Machida already bleeding badly from his forehead. Jones looking for a choke now. Machida working up to his feet and Jones lands a big knee to the leg. Ref stops it to check out the cut on Machida's forehead. Doctor gives the ok. Machida is cut bad. Foot stomps from Jones and then a knee to the body. More knees to the body from Jones. Jones lands a big right that drops Machida!!! Jones grabs a hold of a choke!! Its a standing guillotine and Machida will not tap!!! The ref stops the fight and Jones lets go of the standing guillotine and Machida crumples to the mat and he is OUT COLD! Machida is ASLEEP!!! Amazing win after some real trouble for Jones. Final result: Jon Jones defeats Lyoto Machida via Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:26 of Round 2

Posted in: jone, leg, kick, land, machida

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Never mind the video, I've developed a brain tumor trying to understand the concept of this guy's t-shirt. Is it so intentionally ironic that it surpasses my grasp of comprehension? Let's sincerely give this shirt a true linguistic breakdown so that we can fully understand what 'Don't let you to be faked' means. I think we were just 'faked' into believing this shirt has some meaningful purpose within our universe. In reality, it's just an incredibly obvious grammatical mistake screen-printed on a shirt and rocked by a guy that may have the greatest front kick tutorial in history. His name is simply 'Jo' and he recently released this front kick tutorial in an attempt to drop some knowledge deep within your cerebral cortex. As you may remember, Steven Seagal has taken credit for teaching Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida a modified front kick, which was used effectively against opponents this year. We all thought it was some elaborate troll job, until the fighters actually acknowledged 'Master Seagal' after their respective bouts. Now it looks like Jo may be infringing on Steven Seagal's front kick game, and this video may prove just that. Props to Mehari for the find. [Source]

Posted in: front, kick, front kick, steven seagal, seagal

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submitted by Patbach [link] [comment]

Posted in: mma, kick, somersault, patbach link, patbach

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As UFC President Dana White said several weeks ago regarding the short UFC on Fox main event, you can't control what happens in the cage. Bellator found that out at Bellator 59 last Saturday as a bizarre groin kick ended the promotion's strong fifth season on a flat note despite plenty of highlights and building blocks for 2012. With Thiago Santos' down the pike kick to the nether region of a grounded Eric Prindle, the heavyweight tournament ended without a winner as the fight was called a no-contest, overshadowing the rise of a new bantamweight contender and the return to glory of one of Bellator's top stars. As of this writing, Prindle is still awaiting the swelling to go down in his right testicle but holds no ill will towards a very apologetic Santos. Prindle posted a pic of the injury on his Twitter feed Saturday which was, well, something else. Regarding Prindle/Santos, no one could have looked good following Santos' kick, regardless of what the final outcome was. A DQ win for Prindle would have caused controversy and hurt his standing going into a title fight with Cole Konrad. The no contest felt flat but considering the unique situation, nothing was going to make it right. It was the worst case scenario and it came true to everyone's chagrin.However, there is a bright spot in that Bellator's first show of 2012 can be stacked up if they want it to be. With Santos/Prindle, Light Heavyweight Champion Christian M'Pumbu defending against Travis Wiuff in a rightfully earned title shot and Eddie Alvarez competing in the first round of the expected 155-pound tournament, that would be a hell of a way for Bellator to kick off season six. Youth Prevails Lost amidst the zaniness of swollen balls was the effort of 22-year-old Eduardo Dantas, who turned it on late and earned a unanimous decision win over the previously undefeated Alexis Vila to earn himself a shot at 135-pound champ Zach Makovsky (14-2) early next year. After losing a bland first round, Dantas (13-2) excelled in the final 10 minutes and did what no other contender has done to Vila yet: make him look old. Makovsky/Dantas may not be a ratings draw, but the two have combined for 14 straight wins and Dantas represents Makosvky's toughest test to date...in addition to the first defense of the title he won in October 2010. So What Now? With this season now history, there are questions about when the final year on MTV2 will kick off. In past seasons, March or April marked the beginning of the Bellator calendar but February has continued to be thrown around as well. The company has four title matches set for next year in addition to five different tournaments, making for what could be the best season in company history. As of the time of this column, the five divisions represented in those tournaments have yet to be clarified, but one would expect 145, 155, 170, 205 and the women's 125-pound division to be featured with lightweight and welterweight being the standout classes. News & Notes Patricky "Pitbull" Freire made his presence felt once again with a first round TKO win over Kurt Pellegrino, his first appearance since a loss to Michael Chandler earlier this year. While the stoppage looked premature, Pellegrino didn't argue too much after the defeat and announced to the crowd he was retiring for good. In an interview with MMA Junkie Monday, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney suggested that the end is nigh for the women's 115-pound division, meaning current champion Zoila Gurgel will have to go up in weight next year if she wants to compete. If they're abandoning the division, shouldn't she earn a bye into the 125-pound finals? There was some controversy with the scoring in last Saturday's opening fight between Marcin Held and Phillipe Nover. Held earned a split decision win which many (including color commentator Jimmy Smith) suggested was wrong. This writer scored the final two rounds for Nover, but it wasn't the complete travesty of justice some claim. Bad decision? Yes, but we're used to this by now, aren't we? Smart move by Bellator/MTV2 last Saturday to replay the Chandler/Alvarez title match from a week prior, in addition to making the fight available for free streaming all last week. By comparison, the UFC still has yet to announce how people can see Clay Guida vs. Ben Henderson from the UFC on Fox undercard. I guess we're still supposed to shut up about that, however. SBN coverage of Bellator 59

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STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Dream welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis added to his highlight-reel kick library on Saturday at Hovet Arena, landing an unexpected forward somersault kick that led to a finish of Bruno Carvalho in their much-anticipated K-1 “Rumble of the Kings 6” showdow

Posted in: kick, somersault kick, ‘ rumble, zaromskis ’, kings ’

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Filed under: DREAM Marius Zaromskis has had a rough go of it in the last couple of years, but one thing he's always been able to do is kick his opponents in the head in spectacular fashion. And that's what he did on Saturday. Zaromskis used a great somersault kick to beat Bruno Carvalho by technical knockout in the first round of their fight in Stockholm, Sweden. That kick was the best highlight of a busy day on the international MMA scene, and it gave Zaromskis consecutive wins for the first time in two years. In 2009, Zaromskis captured the Dream welterweight title by knocking out both Hayato Sakurai and Jason High, both with head kicks and both on the same day. In his next fight after becoming the dream champ, he knocked out Myung Ho Bae with a head kick. But while those wins put him on the map in the MMA world, he hasn't had a lot of success since then. Zaromskis came to America in early 2010 and was beaten by Nick Diaz, then lost a Strikeforce fight to Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos and had a disappointing no contest when he accidentally poked Waachiim Spiritwolf in the eye. He did win a New Year's Eve fight against Kazushi Sakuraba in Japan, but that fight was more about Sakuraba looking old than it was about Zaromskis looking good. And then Zaromskis lost a disappointing decision to Jordan Mein this year. For those who enjoy the exciting striking style that Zaromskis employs when he's at his best, seeing him beat Carvalho in exciting fashion is a positive sign. Zaromskis may never be the Top 10 welterweight that some fans thought he was when he won the Dream title, but he can be a highly entertaining fighter to watch. That was certainly the case on Saturday. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Posted in: fight, dream, year, kick, zaromski

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Later this evening (Nov. 19, 2011) Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will return to pay-per-view (PPV) as UFC 139 takes place live from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Not only is the area the homebase for Zuffa-owned Strikeforce, but it will also mark the promotion's first-ever "Shark Tank" venture. Coming off record network television numbers, the UFC hopes to use that fire to promote yet another successful PPV this weekend, which is headlined by legendary light heavyweights Mauricio Rua and Dan Henderson and includes a fight card full of other interesting match ups. One of those match ups will be between Pride FC psychopath and mixed martial arts (MMA) pioneer Wanderlei Silva and Cung Le, who will make his Octagon debut after a promising and attention-grabbing run under the Strikeforce banner. The match up itself is one of intrigue as  "The Axe Murderer"  will bring in his vicious, violent and aggressive striking style once again into the Octagon, while Le brings with him a very unique, flashy style. For more on that, Le's Sanshou striking, follow me into the extended entry as we break it all down (.gifs included, naturally): With a near-perfect MMA record (7-1), Le is one of the more talented strikers in the sport. While arguably unproven against top competition inside MMA, Le sports a flawless (17-0) kickboxing record, as well as being a black belt in Taekwondo. However, it isn't his record or background that is the most intriguing about Le. Le is one of the most notable practitioners in MMA who uses the discipline of Sanshou as a primary base. Too add to his kickboxing world titles and perfect record, Le is also undefeated (16-0) and a world champion in Sanshou competition, too. What is Sanshou? Sanshou is a Chinese hand-to-hand combat discipline that when translated can mean "hand fighting" or "free fighting. It was developed and based upon traditional Kung Fu, evolving with the addition of other technique such as takedowns and most wrestling skills. Le has a very unique stance and is incredibly quick in his strikes, probably most notably his kicks. Now, we will take a look at some of those kicks from his previous fights. Cung Le's most notable fights outside of his fight with Frank Shamrock were the two fights he had with Scott Smith. Even though the pair split the fights, it was very one-sided both times. And in one fight, "Hands of Steel" caught Le and was able to finish the fight while being down on the scorecards. Le is most known for his spinning strikes, in particular, the spinning back kick. While very unorthodox and risky, the move has made Le's career up to this point. In the clip above, Le feints as if he may throw a low kick with his left leg. As a southpaw, Le is already in a very difficult stance to begin with, and as he launches the fake kick toward the legs or possible body of Smith, he forces him to retreat, which is very important to accomplish. Should Smith circle instead of back up, then a kick would whiff right by and put Le in a very vulnerable position. Smith backs up and anticipates the kick to the body as seen by his arms coming tightly together to defend and cover his mid-section and liver area. Instead of attacking the body, Le goes higher and lands beneath the chin on the hands of Scott Smith. Le plants down on the foot he feints with, pivots around in a 180-degree motion and propels his right leg in a very tight motion toward his target. The force in which he throws it actually causes Le to momentarily leave the ground completely. Smith drops from the impact and force.   This time around Le feints with his hands. He throws a very non-committed "one-two" combination that once again forces Smith to retreat, which he does so by back pedaling once again. With Smith once again walking straight back, Le unleashes another spinning back kick. This time it isn't visible to see where he lands; however, the kick often lands with the heel on the side of the torso. That spot is left open when someone covers the center of their torso with their arms. Even if the kick lands on the arms, there is a chance the kick powers through and the arms still accumulate damage. Le forced Shamrock into defeat by breaking Shamrock's arm while defending a kick. The kick once again sends Smith to the canvas because of the force of the kick, the momentum added to his back pedaling and quite possibly the impact of the kick, too. Being hit in the body by any strike feels anything but good. These two kicks in particular do two things that can prove to be very crucial in any fight. For one, these sorts of kicks and set ups cause immense discomfort when standing in front of Le, preventing fighters from being able to let go of their own strikes. It disrupts the timing and willingness to engage. The second thing it does is it keeps Le's opponent constantly on the defensive. It allows him to press the action, and in doing so, the more times he lands forcing retreat and hitting the body he opens up strikes to the face and saps cardio all at the same time.   Spinning strikes are so unpredictable to read defensively and so hard to counter against when they are coming as fast as Le can throw them. To begin the round Le starts with yet another spinning kick. In one quick motion, Le plants the rear leg forward after a small step and hurls that initial lead leg tightly toward Smith. The kick has to be tight because a wide kick takes much more time to land and it is easier to block. Think of that being a hook punch in comparison to a straight punch. Instead of attacking the body, Le goes high, which is extremely more difficult in terms of balance to pull off. Le lands the kick and rocks Smith forcing him back into the fence. As the aggressor, Le chases him down and looks to attack. As you can see Smith is now very skirmish in his posture and hand placement. He doesn't know where to defend and his timid demeanor shows his lack of comfort and confidence standing in front of Le. Without any sort of offense, Le attacks the solely defensive Smith with another spinning kick this time to the body. Though it lands, Smith stays upright. Even more timid and uncomfortable then before, Smith does zero but wait for whatever Le throws next. This time Le throws a head kick that partially lands. The diversity in the same set up is what makes it so hard for Smith to defend or offer Le any sort of danger. Though he spins the same and sets up the kick the same it very rarely lands or targets the same place. When being kicked in the liver as hard as the kicks are landing, you want to protect the body because of the intense pain that goes along with the strikes. However, doing that leaves your head exposed.   This particular clip shows the extensive damage and finishing ability of Le's spinning kicks. Again, he sets up the kick with a feint combination and he catches Smith vulnerable and exposed as he attempts to counter with his punches. The kick lands heel into the liver area of Smith and with the force in which the kick is propelled, Smith drops to the canvas in pain clutching the injured area. This goes with my statement earlier that it is very hard to counter something so fast especially when that strike is designed to attack the area that is exposed when attempting to punch. These sorts of strikes also are defensive. Kicks are longer than arms. And when propelling the spinning kick toward an opponent it is always outside of the punching range of a counter strike. And the spin itself creates a lot of momentum that while the strike may not look powerful it lands with tremendous force. This has been Cung Le's bread and butter thus far in his career inside mixed martial arts. How will it be utilized when he faces Wanderlei Silva's brawling style? Probably the same way it was against Scott Smith. But, only time will tell. Tune into UFC 139 to find out.

Posted in: time, strike, kick, land, smith

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At UFC 139 this weekend, UFC fans will be introduced to Cung Le. The former Strikeforce Middleweight champion will face Wanderlei Silva in the night's semi-main event. But between this being his UFC debut and the fact that he has had only one fight in the past two years, Le may be something of an unknown for fans at home (not for fans at the show though - expect Le to receive a hero's welcome in his adopted home of San Jose).  The big word UFC fans will hear throughout Le's fight? "Sanshou." That's the fighting style employed by Cung Le - a style that he has absolutely mastered, but that no one else has used with any degree of effectiveness in MMA. Le is, in many ways, a throwback to the earliest days of MMA, when a practitioner of a somewhat obscure martial art would come in and try to represent his art form against all comers. The big difference is that most of these early arts failed, where Le has found good MMA success with his style. So what exactly is Sanshou? Well... Sanshou is a martial art which was originally developed by the Chinese military based upon the intense study and practices of traditional Kung Fu and modern combat fighting techniques; it combines full-contact kickboxing, which include punches and kicks, wrestling, takedowns, throws, sweeps, kick catches, and in some competitions, even elbow and knee strikes. Amongst martial arts purists, the idea of Sanshou is a bit controversial. The name is, at times, used interchangeably with Sanda and Wushu, though not everyone agrees with lumping these together. There's also the idea that, somewhat like Bruce Le's Jeet Kune Do, Sanshou is not a style unto itself, but rather a system of how to effectively use martial arts. It's a complex and fascinating debate, but it also is a somewhat separate issue. What is more important to the UFC fan is simply this - "How does Cung Le use Sanshou in MMA?" There are two key aspects of Sanshou that play a part in Le's MMA game: takedowns and kicks. Despite being perceived at times as more of a standing art, Sanshou does use takedowns as one of the primary attacks. Kid Nate already broke down Le's superb use of Sanshou takedowns in MMA in an earlier Judo Chop, and I highly encourage you to check that one out here. In this edition, we'll break down the other key Sanshou weapon - kicks. And for Cung Le, no Sanshou kick is more effective than the spinning back kick. Let's take a look at the traditional spinning back kick, and see how Le uses Sanshou to adapt it and make it an even more dangerous weapon. Full breakdown, with gifs, after the jump. First up, let's take a look at the traditional spinning back kick, as executed by one of today's best practitioners of this strike - Dennis Siver. To execute the kick, Siver turns his head and body in the direction of his power leg - Siver is standing in orthodox stance, so he rotates to his right. With his back to his opponent, Siver brings the rear leg up, cocking his knee. He completes the rotation, ending with his shoulders perpendicular to his opponent's body, and extends the kick forward and through the opponent's midsection. Done correctly and cleanly, it's a brutal blow that can earn a KO. Le uses the spinning back kick frequently, but he has added some variations on it that utilize his Sanshou background. I encourage you to first take a look at this great Cung Le spinning back kick highlight video that incorporates footage from Human Weapon: Those clips give you an idea of some of Le's spinning kicks, but let's take a closer look at some of those back kicks, particularly from his Strikeforce fight with Scott Smith. First up, here is what I would call a switch spinning back kick. Le starts in southpaw with his left leg back. He starts by stepping forward with that left leg, switching to orthodox stance. But as he makes that step, he also brings that right foot directly in front of his left and starts his rotation. From there, the rest of the kick is basically the same as Siver's - Le lifts the right leg, rotates through, and blasts it into Smith. Notice how the force of the blow knocks Smith into the cage and down. This is a great kick for two reasons. First, that extra step increases the rotation, which is where the spinning back kick gets its force. With the extra rotation, the kick can be more powerful. Second, look how well Lee extends his leg, getting it perfectly straight as he connects. That sends the force entirely into Smith and knocks him off balance. Interestingly, Le also changes up his target here. Normally this kick targets the midsection, but here Le goes more to the chest. Smith partially blocks it, but the momentum still is enough to drop him. That's also a very dangerous block for Smith, as it can easily result in a fractured arm, as Frank Shamrock can attest. Here is another good kick that is similar to the last one. Again, Le starts in south paw, steps forward to switch to orthodox, and with that same motion throws the kick. This time though he goes to the midsection, driving his heel into Smith's stomach and knocking the wind out of him. Notice that on this kick, Le is very close to Smith as the kick lands, and so unlike the previous kick, he keeps the kick more cocked until it is in position, then fires it, again getting good extension. To land this kick so close gives it extra power, and part of the way Le gets so close is again with his switch to orthodox. One last note here - notice how he uses punches to set up the kick. Cung Le talked about this as one of his strategies for the fight - to get Smith moving back with punches, them chase him down with the kicks. It works beautifully here, as Smith starts to retreat, and also keeps his hands up to avoid more punches, leaving a hole in his defenses to the body. This time, Le starts in the orthodox stance, so the spinning back kick begins more traditionally. But at the end, Le adds his own twist by bringing the kick up to the head. You see this move in kickboxing sometimes (Badr Hari famously KO'd Stefan Leko in K-1 with this same kick) but it's very rare in MMA. Smith is unsure how to block and ends up taking it on the side of the head. One small detail I don't love here is the way Le abandons his footwork and stance after the kick in order to chase Smith down. It allows him to close the distance faster and keep up the assault, but I don't love the idea of allowing yourself to be so exposed.   And finally, one last example. This one again targets the head. Here you can really see how Le's ability to change his target confuses his opponent. Smith does not know where the kick is coming and so actually defends by lifting his leg in what looks like an attempt to check a leg kick. These Sanshou kicks are totally confusing him, leaving him defenseless and very vulnerable. The speed on this kick is incredible too - no set up, just a fast, perfect spinning back kick. Finally, I love how Le gets that right foot immediately down and back into position right after the kick lands. He is right back in stance, ready to continue the fight. Will Wanderlei Silva see some of these kicks at UFC 139? And if he does, will he have an answer for them? I certainly hope we find out. Want more Cung Le Sanshou action? Here is a nice Sanshou demonstration: And here's his MMA debut from the first Strikeforce show:

Posted in: mma, leg, kick, smith, sanshou

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  This past Saturday (Nov. 12, 2011), mixed martial arts fans were treated to the debut of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on the FOX television network. The historic night was headlined by a heavyweight title fight that saw Junior dos Santos dethrone former champ Cain Velasquez in little over a minute by knockout. But before that fight, the card was stacked full of exciting match-ups. One of those fights was a contest between two fighters who were riding very hot streaks. Rising prospect Pablo Garza would enter the Octagon with a record of 11-2 and two very impressive finishes in his first two UFC bouts. Dustin Poirier would bring a 10-1 record with him on quite a run himself, a four-fight win streak with three of those being under the UFC banner. In a division that is still looking for contenders to emerge to challenge Jose Aldo for his featherweight championship, these two fighters were one impressive showing from vaulting themselves into the hunt for a UFC belt. Which one did it? Follow me after the extended entry to find out. At the young age of 22, Dustin Poirier already has made a name for himself. He was matched up with rising contender Josh Grispi in a fight that was supposed to be a "stay busy" bout with champion Jose Aldo injured. Grispi, already the number one contender, stayed on the card to face Poirier on short notice. Big mistake. Poirier dominated Grispi en route to the unanimous decision victory. It would be his first fight and first win inside the Octagon. Later this year, he would win another dominant decision over Jason Young who was filling in for Rani Yahya. With two wins inside the octagon and three straight overall, Poirier would meet up with the 27-year-old rising star Pablo Garza. From MMAmania.com’s play by play: Round one: Garza opens with a front kick but Poirier has him dancing near the fence with good footwork. Garza throws a nice leg kick but he's still stuck on the outside. Head kick from Poirier is blocked and he swarms Garza with punches but cant' sneak anything through Garza's defenses. Garza is crossing his feet a bit which could get him in trouble. Poirier catches a kick and throws some more big punches on Garza before backing off. Another kick is caught by Poirier and he throws him down. Garza clinches and tries to throw knees but gets shrugged off. Garza throws a nice body kick and then he catches a Poirier kick, taking him down and latching on a kneebar but Poirier escapes. Garza lands a nice inside leg kick and Poirier swarms him with punches. Garza drops down looking for a single leg but Poirier gets on top. Garza locks down a leg from below but Poirier drops some short punches and then a big right elbow to the head. Poirier postures up and drops some big punches and Garza is getting overwhelmed here. Garza tries to lock him down looking for an armbar at the end of the round. 10-9 Poirier Round two: Garza opens with some wild strikes, throwing a big left knee that throws himself off balance. Garza drops down and pulls guard. Poirier is in half guard and Garza has him locked down a bit. Poirier drops a big elbow and Poirier sneaks his arm under Garza's neck and latches on a D'Aarce choke. Poirier is completely stuck here and he gets rolled over nicely and is forced to tap. Terrific finish by Poirier there.  Final result: Dustin Poirier defeats Pablo Garza via submission (D'arce choke) at 1:32 of round two With the win, Poirier puts his name in the cap to be matched with another contender (Erik Koch) in hopes of scheduling a day for a championship fight. Jose Also will look to defend his title against Chad Mendes in the early 2012 and without a clear contender for the belt, this fight was huge in terms of long term implications. But what exactly finishes the fight for Poirier? A D’arce Choke is the submission used to force the tap out on Garza. The D’arce Choke is named after Joe D’arce, a black belt under Renzo Gracie who has claimed to learn the move from John Danaher and Marc Laimon. It is simply stated a modified head-and-arm choke. The choke also has been called a Brabo Choke and regardless of what you call it or how it is set up, the chokes are basically the same thing. The choke itself is very similar to the Anaconda Choke, a personal favorite which was featured in its very own "Ultimate Submissions" entry. In simple terms, the choke focuses on the arm-triangle method, in the D’arce technique the choking arm is thread under the nearest arm. The set up usually comes from a sprawl position where the head/shoulder area is beneath your own body. Before we start, let me first give a thank you to Zombie Prophet for the .gifs. Check out his site (Ironforgesiron.com) -- he has .gifs and videos of fights up faster than anyone else on the net. Now onto the choke.   Pablo Garza, beneath Dustin Poirier, had established his half guard and was looking to stay active possible fishing for sweeps or submissions, really anything to keep Poirier from dominating from top position. Poirier throws a very powerful elbow strike on the head of Garza which sparks an immediate reaction from Garza to spring his upper body up and in doing so, Poirier immediately puts his weight on the neck/shoulder area of Garza while fishing his right arm over the shoulder and under the armpit. That right hand quickly clutches around the throat and grips the side of the neck; this is the main difference between the Anaconda and the D’arce, the way the arm is thread through. As Poirier clutches onto the neck for grip he looks to establish his base to keep balance. This patience is what prevents scrambles from happening. Finding an opening can lead to over-excitement and often lack of technique. Poirier stays patient and diligent; as soon as his base is centered he goes back to work.   He hugs tightly on the upper body of Garza, now grasping onto his left arm’s bicep similar to most chokes utilized in the sport. He grabs onto the bicep which is what will tighten the choke and he squeezes. In doing so Poirier brings the choking arm upwards, which causes the forearm to suffocate Garza and really put the pressure on the choke. He simultaneously stays heavy on the neck/head area which also causes even more pressure. Poirier forcefully uses the choke to flatten out Garza and soon after earns the submission victory. With an impressive finish over a quality opponent, Poirier is now ready to tackle possible top contenders at 145-pounds. For a slower clip of the choke and its set-up.     So Maniacs, what are your thoughts on Dustin Poirier and his impressive performance? How will he fare against Erik Koch at UFC 143?

Posted in: fight, contender, kick, garza, poirier

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In just two days, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will introduce its product to a considerably larger audience than usual, as UFC on Fox 1 will be the inaugural event held on the network television station. The promotion and the FOX network recently announced their collaboration to give sports fans a dose of mixed martial arts (MMA) on one of the premier sports channels. UFC on FOX 1 will be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between the top two heavyweights in the world today, as champion Cain Velasquez puts his strap on the line against number one contender Junior dos Santos. As most fight fans already know, the sport is made of thousands of fighters with different combinations of martial art backgrounds. A lot has changed from the early days of the sport, as it now appears each fighter is a hybrid of sorts, mixing several different disciplines to make a complete package. We've also seen a certain evolution. There used to be a day when jiu-jitsu, wrestling and boxing were the predominant disciplines. Now, though, we see arts like sambo, karate and even capoeira being used as often and effectively as any other.  Each art is unique and can be used to produce the desired result under the care of a skilled practitioner. I have gone into more detail with each discipline, including jiu-jitsu (here), wrestling (here), Muay Thai (here) and boxing (here). These are the most commonly seen martial arts, or the four that are most often put into practice in high profile match-ups. But other then the hardcore fans who watch with extreme passion and understanding, does everyone see the differences or subtle nuances in techniques that showcase each individual art? In case you don't, follow me after the jump and I'll explain. While we've already covered the boxing, grappling and wrestling skills of a few competitors from this upcoming fight card, it is important not to forget about the fourth discipline, which is really a mixture of two separate arts. That would be a blend of kickboxing and Muay Thai. The two have very close ties to one another and while they can be vastly different, they are often effective in the very same way. Further distancing itself from boxing, the disciplines of kickboxing and Muay Thai allow fighters to showcase their striking with more weapons at their disposal. If you think of boxing as two sticks of dynamite, than Muay Thai is a whole box full. Muay Thai focuses on utilizing all limbs of the body. Throwing punches is still a common trait with other striking disciplines and the difference is the encouragement of elbow, knee and foot strikes. Fighting in close quarters, speed and clinching are more attributes that Muay Thai enhances. While no fighter on the UFC on FOX card is considered much of a Muay Thai expert, there are a couple of fighters who have mixed in the fundamentals of the discipline into their striking arsenal. While Ben Henderson will look to counter the grinding wrestling and improved boxing of Clay Guida on Saturday night, we may be treated to watching Henderson showcase his versatility and well rounded skill set. A skill set that includes ideology from the Muay Thai discipline. When "Bendo" matched up against the tough, gritty Mark Bocek, the crafty Henderson was able to stifle any and all offense mustered up by his opponent en route to a unanimous decision victory. In one of those instances, he did so by using a Muay Thai influenced attack. While getting to his feet, Henderson delivered a knee to the body on a slow to defend Bocek. The knee lands and while doing so, he grabs the back of the neck to gain control of Bocek’s body and posture. He accomplished that by reaching behind the neck and gaining a "plum" or a "collar tie" and pinching down, disallowing escape and maximizing control. From there, he lands additional knees to the body and attempts to throw them higher to land on the chin. Even though they are blocked, the strikes are still strong enough to do damage. Henderson also forces the head down, which disorients Bocek so when Ben releases, he's able to land a few solid strikes inside and along the fence. That's solid Thai boxing, folks. Another competitor who really utilizes some technique from Muay Thai is Cub Swanson. However, he is always recognized as more of a kickboxer, even though his roots are strong in Thai boxing. While many may not recognize him, since he has been fighting the injury bug since the folding of the WEC, the ones that do remember Cub for his always exciting bouts and willingness to stand and trade with anyone. This is where it can become extremely difficult to see the line between an art like Muay Thai and kickboxing. But why does it even matter when they are so closely related in their functional usage in mixed martial arts? Here, Swanson resets after a wild exchange with his opponent and launches a head kick from his lead leg. This kick is used the same way you would throw a lead hook with your hands. It won’t have the same power as it would using the rear leg but it hits quicker, taking away precious milliseconds to block the strike.   The strike also takes away balance and forces an opponent to reset his base in order to get into his own rhythm. As you can see, before Mackens Semerzier can reset, Cub throws a front push kick just above the knee, forcing Semerzier to once reset. When you are striking it is important to really have a solid base and to get into a comfortable rhythm. One of the main strengths that Anderson Silva and Jon Jones possess is that they are not only always comfortable on their feet but they throw strikes continuously that throw opponents off balance and out of rhythm. After evading a head kick, Swanson chases his opponent down, landing a very solid leg kick. He lands on the lead leg of the fleeing Semerzier as he circles away towards the side of his lead leg. The kick lands on a planted leg that is incapable of "checking" the kick to help absorb the impact. Landing a kick in this manner does two additional things in comparison to a regular leg kick. (For more on leg kicks click here) The biggest being that the kick puts a lot more power inflicting damage onto the leg. Not only is their momentum added by the stalking Swanson, the kick is landing into the leg as the leg moves into the kick. That additional power can really hamper the mobility and injure the knee. It also opens up for other strikes. Leg kicks tend to force your body to crunch up and your legs to lift in anticipation. Creating an uncomfortable environment in the striking zone opens up a world of opportunities. Look for Swanson to try and emulate this against his opponent on Saturday night. Muay Thai and kickboxing are two of the most important facets of the striking aspect in mixed martial arts. Using kicks and knees open up opportunities for the hands can act as both a great offensive threat and a solid defensive base. That is all for today, Maniacs.

Posted in: leg, muay, kick, thai, muay thai

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submitted by mexicutioner23 [link] [1 comment]

Posted in: showtime, kick, mexicutioner, pumpkin

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its been a pleasure, true legend, true champion, you will always be one of the greats! so long http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M43wsiNBwmo submitted by 2WAR [link] [7 comments]

Posted in: right, champion, kick, kick cemetery, great

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Looks can be deceiving. Case in point, this video Fightlinker found of a 44-year old Jörg Lothmann making his MMA debut. You don’t really expect much considering his appearance (to put it nicely), then BOOM! down goes his opponent via a spinning head kick that even Cung Le would be impressed by.

Posted in: head kick, mma debut, point, kick, video fightlinker

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In the two years since his MMA debut as part of The Ultimate Fighter, Matt Mitrione has evolved into a top 20 Heavyweight. Under the guidance of Duke Roufus, Mitrione has amassed a 5-0 record, with that record coming primarily courtesy of an ever improving strand-up game. At UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz, Mitrione will face the toughest test of his young career as he faces UFC veteran gatekeeper Cheick Kongo. A former professional kickboxer who also possesses solid ground skills, Kongo will truly push Mitrione's game and force him to prove he belongs this high up the card. For Mitrione to win, he will need to outstrike the kickboxer. Can he? Let's break down the striking game of "Meathead" and see what we can figure out. Strengths Mitrione has developed a surprisingly decent stand-up game. I say surprisingly because of both his inexperience, and the very questionable stand-up skills he displayed on The Ultimate Fighter. But Duke Roufus has worked well for Mitrione, taking his natural strengths and using them to build his striking. In particular, Mitrione has three strengths: The inside leg kick. Mitrione is a south paw, which gives him the perfect opening for this kick. With his rear (left) leg, Mitrione throws a kick to the inside upper thigh of his opponent's lead (left) leg. This is a great kick, made particularly effective when you and your opponent have opposite stances. Mitrione gets the most of this kick too, extending the legs and rotating the hips to get a lot of power. When it lands cleanly, it hits a sensitive spot on the leg, and can have a very damaging effect. Mitrione used this kick best against Kimbo Slice, but has had success with in it many fights. Movement. This is Joe Rogan's favorite Mitrione talking point, and it is a good point. Mitrione is very light on his feet, particularly given his size. He is able to move in and out much faster than most Heavyweights, and he uses this movement well both offensively and defensively. When defending, Mitrione can quickly evade attacks by moving away. He does a good job moving off to the side and not straight back, preventing himself from getting trapped. Offensively, he is quick to jump in and land punches. This can surprise an opponent who perceives Mitrione as being outside, and therefor lets his defenses down. This was a big part of the Christian Morecraft and Tim Hague KO's. The straight left. Mitrione's best punch is the straight left down the middle. Since he's a south paw, this is a powerful cross, not a jab as it is for most fighters. Mitrione does a good jab landing it right down the middle and inside his opponent's defenses. He extends the arm through the punch, and throws it with relaxed control. This punch becomes more effective when he combines it with the movement - jumping inside range and hitting the left in one motion that proves too fast for many of his slower Heavyweight opponents. Overall, it's a far improved stand-up game to his initial work. He now has power in his hands and his legs, and combines that with motion for a good all-around striking game. Add in a chin that has proven to be durable so far, and you have some decided strengths. More analysis in the full entry. Weaknesses Despite Mitrione's improvements in striking, he continues to show some of the same mistakes, primarily in the area of defense. Mitrione has two chief defensive holes. Keeping his chin up. Mitrione often lifts his head when he strikes, exposing his chin to a potentially damaging counter-strike. This is especially noticeable when he is pulled into a shoot-out with both men throwing multiple shots. Mitrione has a tendency to lean back with his head up - an instinctual way to avoid being hit, but also a position that leaves that chin up and out and can result in a knock out. Mitrione's friend Pat Barry made a very similar mistake against Kongo, and he paid dearly. He needs to tuck that chin and keep it tight against his chest. Dropping his hands. This is much better than when he started, but still a problem area. Mitrione is very loose in his stance, which helps the movement discussed above, but can cause him problems in his hand positioning. He frequently will paw out with his right hand, or let his hands drop down to his body at times. Like the chin issue, this also becomes more pronounced during exchanges. Against Morecraft, Mitrione began defending kicks by dropping his hands down, which is a huge problem, as a skilled striker can see that and adjust their kick to go up and connect with the now exposed head. So far, Mitrione has used movement and a strong chin to overcome these defensive holes. But he's also never faced a striker with the technical skill of Kongo, as more of his opponents have been brawlers. And finally, a few gifs to illustrate what we've been talking about. First up, here's that nice inside leg kick, landed against Kimbo. Good kick, but notice how Mitrione drops his hands as he kicks, giving Kimbo an easy opening for the right: Here's a quick movement inside that he used to KO Morecraft: This clip shows a lot of Mitrione's tendencies - the nice left, the inside leg kick, and the sloppy defense when attacking:   Overall I think the photo at the top sums Mitrione up rather nicely. Powerful left hand that connects and rocks Morecraft, all while Mitrione's chin is way up and his right hand way down. In the end, his striking game is a mixed bag. He has excellent technique on those lefts and inside leg kicks, and can put together combinations very well. But he also has these basic holes in his defenses that can leave his chin out there. Kongo has a demonstrated ability to find that exposed chin, so the question for Mitrione will be, can he avoid Kongo long enough to put his game to work and earn the KO? If he can, he deserves his spot at the top of the card. We'll find out at UFC 137.

Posted in: mitrione, leg, hand, kick, chin

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Check out this 44 year old man's MMA debut. Take a peek for the epic gunt action. Stick around for the amazing spin kick finish.

Posted in: mma, mma debut, kick, kick check, peek

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40-year-old Taekwondo instruc­tor Sandy Bowman crushes Eric Esch, affectionately known as "Butterbean," via head kick at the Prestige FC III last Friday night (Oct. 21) in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. Esch had actually tapped due to strikes in what is hopefully his finally mixed martial arts fight. Props: Top MMA News

Posted in: head kick, head, kick, eric esch, esch

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This is the new Kick Boxing Section! Tweet

Posted in: boxing, kick, tweet, section

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This is the new Kick Boxing Section! Tweet

Posted in: boxing, kick, tweet, section

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submitted by boulverse [link] [1 comment]

Posted in: knockout, kick, capoeira, boulverse

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In the opening bout of UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard III, former WEC champion Steve Cantwell suffered a unanimous decision loss at the hands of Mike Massenzio. This marks Cantwell's fourth straight loss in the Octagon, and will very likely result in his dismissal from the UFC. That's a shame, because for the opening minutes of the fight, Cantwell was landing some nice, slick striking that deserved attention.  In this Judo Chop, we break down one of Cantwell's most unique and impressive strikes in the fight - a fake push kick to head kick that connected beautifully to open round 2.  The head kick is one of the most devastating blows in MMA. When landed cleanly, it can end anyone's night - just ask the Pride-era opponents of Mirko CroCop. But a good, clean head kick requires a well thought out set-up. Because fighters keep their hands up by their heads, it's easy to block an incoming head kick. Fighters must somehow get their opponents to lower their defenses before hitting the kick. There are many ways to do this, and the strategy employed by Cantwell is an interesting variation. To start, we have to look back at round 1. Throughout the round, Cantwell used a variety of kicks, with an extra emphasis on the push kick. This is a pretty basic kick, though one that is somewhat underutililized in MMA. Let's break down the mechanics of the push kick. To start, a fighter brings his leg straight up, almost as if delivering a knee to the body. This is called "chambering" the kick. This can be done with either the lead or rear leg. With the leg off the ground, the attacker then pushes forward from the hips, sending his foot into his opponent. Typically, the abdomen is the desired target, though you can bring it higher or lower. Like the jab, the push kick can be used with different degrees of power for different purposes. Throw it with less power and it's a good way to gauge distance, push an opponent back, or set up another strike. Throw with more power and you can knock the wind out of your opponent.  Here's a nice, brief video demonstrating the mechanics of the push kick. Video plus full analysis in the complete article. In the Massenzio fight, Cantwell uses his rear leg (since Cantwell fights orthodox, that's the right leg) to land this push kick throughout round 1. He also uses some nice punches to the body. The end result is that Massenzio is thinking about protecting his body as he comes out for round 2. Which brings us to the kick itself. Let's take a look: Cantwell starts by bringing the right leg straight up as if he is chambering it for the push kick. Massenzio reads it as a push kick, and tries to protect his body by bringing his right arm down across his abdomen, and dropping his left elbow to cover the ribs. That leaves the head more exposed, and Cantwell switches from the push kick to the head kick, landing cleanly. A few specific aspects of Cantwell's kick are worth a mention here. First, this is an extremely rare set-up. Fighters will often fake a low kick or body kick to open up the head, then switch to a head kick. But to use a push kick is difficult because of the change in momentum. For the push kick, your energy is coming forward, while the head kick brings it around from the side. Making that kind of transition mid-kick is tricky, and Cantwell does an impressive job of it here. I also really like Cantwell's footwork to start things off. Watch his left foot - just before throwing the kick, he takes a small step to his left, putting his own lead foot to the outside of Massenzio's. Because Massenzio is a southpaw, the two men have opposite lead legs. In that case, you establish superior positioning by putting your lead foot to the outside of your opponent's - this gives you better angles. Cantwell takes that dominant position in anticipation of the kick. It's a small detail, but those details are what technique is all about. If there is a criticism for Cantwell here, it's in the way he pivots on that left foot during the kick. Watch how his left foot turns as he throws the kick. He's right to have that pivot, as it gives more torque to the kick, but he executes the pivot on his heel. Typically in Muay Thai, you pivot on the ball of your foot, lifting your heel off the ground. This adds a bit of extra power to the kick, which Cantwell sacrifices by remaining flat footed on the pivot. Finally, watch Cantwell's right hand. As he kicks, he throws the hand down and to his side. This small movement is always a subject of much debate in kickboxing and Muay Thai. By bringing the arm down, he adds more momentum to his kick, thus increasing the power. But he also leaves his head open on the right side. A skilled striker with good timing could make him pay dearly for that opening. So, power or defense? Cantwell opts for power, which is a good choice in this particular instance. But there is definitely a school of thought that would argue against his arm motion here. Unfortunately for Cantwell, this kick was the last real highlight of the fight, as Massenzio took over the striking shortly thereafter and never let up. Still, this shows that Cantwell has unique skills to bring to the table. Here's hoping he tightens up his overall game at the regional level and makes his way back to the UFC ready to capitalize on nice moves like this.

Posted in: head kick, head, kick, foot, cantwell

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Miss the event live, or just want to relive the action from UFC 136? Well here's ESPN's brief highlight video of the featherweight championship bout between Jose Aldo, and Kenny Florian. Also, since 30 seconds isn't enough, here's the complete play-by-play from the fight: UFC Featherweight Championship - Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian - Round 1 - Florian with leg kicks early. Aldo tries to wade forward with some punches and lands a left hand. Big punch rocks Florian but he's back on his toes trying to come forward. Right hand lands for Florian. Kenny tries for a takedown and Aldo bounces back up. Florian with another takedown. Florian takes Aldo's back standing and Aldo tries to grab a kimura. Uppercut by Aldo just misses and Florian ducks under a hook but can't get the takedown. Florian pushes Aldo into the cage. 10-9 Florian for controlling the action. Round 2 - Leg kick by Florian. Left hand lands for Aldo. Aldo tries to land a right hand but Forian blocks it. The crowd boos the slow action and Florian's brother yells to listen to him, not the crowd. Aldo with a sharp leg kick. Leg kick by Aldo again. And one in return by Kenny. Head kick by Florian is blocked. Head kick by Aldo is blocked. Aldo throws Kenny aside but misses the kick to follow up. Florian misses the takedown and Aldo lands a right hand and a leg kick. Leg kick by Florian lands hard. Florian looking for a takedown but can't get it as the round ends. 10-9 Aldo, close round. Round 3 - Leg kick and body kick by Florian. Aldo with an uppercut and now a straight right. Left hook by Aldo. He's getting a little more loose with his strikes now. Leg kick and two hard punches by Aldo. Knee lands for Aldo. Right hand again by Aldo and this is a good round for him. Takedown attempt by Florian and Aldo reverses and ends up in mount. Florian gets out of mount and Aldo is in side control. Aldo still on top landing a punch. Florian manages to get to his feet. 10-9 Aldo. Round 4 - Right hand by Aldo. A lot of missed strikes and this round is much more of a grind. Florian has Aldo up against the cage looking for the takedown but cant' get it. Right hand by Aldo and a left hook. Florian just missed with an elbow on the break. Right hand by Florian. 10-9 Aldo again on my card. Round 5 - Florian pushing Aldo into the cage. Florian with an attempt to kick and Aldo pushes him to the mat. Aldo stands over Florian for a while landing kicks to the thigh before they're back to standing. Aldo pushes him into the fence. Aldo with another round won and that should do it. 10-9 Aldo makes it 49-46 on my card.

Posted in: round, florian, hand, kick, aldo

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Jose Aldo defeats Kenny Florian via unanimous decision to retain his featherweight championship in the co-main event of UFC 136: "Edgar vs. Maynard 3" on Oct. 8 in Houston, Texas. Aldo used superior speed, striking and a far more polished ground game to befuddle "Ken Flo," who likely just lost out on his final chance of winning a major mixed marital arts title. For complete UFC 136 results and blow-by-blow coverage of all the main card action click here. After the jump is blow-by-blow from this fight from our very own Andrew Mendez: UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian Round one: Leg kick from Florian. Another leg kick from Florian. Leg kick from Florian and another. Their landing hard from Ken Flo. Good charging right from Aldo. Left from Aldo. Leg kick from Florian. Florian goes for a take down and Aldo stuffs it and lands a HARD right that rocks Florian. RIght from Florian. Florian with a quick take down, but Aldo scrambles to his feet and now their tied up against the cage with Florian in the dominant position. Florian with a throw take down and Aldo back to his feet and then Florian with a trip take down and Aldo again right back to his feet. Now Florian has the back while standing up and Florian looses it. Florian back to the back. Now they break. Hard uppercut from Aldo. Florian goes for another take down and nothing and now a body shot from Florian. Florian is just relentless with his grappling and he lands a good knee. Elbow from Florian. Elbow at the bell from Florian. 10-9 Florian. Round two: Right from Florian. Leg kick from Florian. Good left from Aldo. Hard right from Aldo. Aldo with a good right hook and body kick from Florian. Uppercut from Aldo grazes Kenny. Inside leg kick from Florian and a double leg kick from Aldo. Good right from Aldo. Jab from Florian. Jab from Florian. Leg kick from Aldo. Leg kick from Florian. Another inside leg kick from Florian. HUGE head kick from Aldo lands HARD. Aldo tosses Florian to the mat and misses a front kick to the face. Good right from Aldo. Leg kick from Aldo. Florian with a good leg kick. Jab from Florian. Florian goes for the take down now. Right from Aldo at the bell. That round was razor close and almost impossible to score. Ill lean Aldo. 10-9 Aldo. Round three: Leg kick from Florian. Body kick from Kenny. Nice left and right hook from Aldo. Big overhand right from Aldo. Short uppercut and left hook from Aldo. Front kick from Aldo. Big right from Aldo and leg kick from Florian. Big inside leg kick and then left right combo which lands HARD from Aldo. RIght from Aldo. Jab from Florian. Nice left hook right hook combo from Aldo. Florian ducks under for a take down and Aldo reverses and is on top in full guard!!! Punches from Aldo and Florian slips out into half guard. Good right from Aldo on the top. Punches now from Aldo but Kenny is making him work hard on top. Aldo postures up and good up kicks from Florian. Aldo back on top. Florian scrambles up and eats a right for his troubles. Florian goes for the take down again, Aldo stops it. That is the bell and that is all Aldo. 10-9 Aldo. Round four: Inside leg kick from Florian. Inside leg kick from Aldo. Right from Aldo lands flush. Jab from Florian. Leg kick from Aldo. Now their tied up briefly. Aldo with a hard right. Florian goes for a take down and is stuffed and Aldo lands a BIG knee! Now their tied up against the cage. Florian going for a high single and nothing there and now their in the center of the cage. Aldo stuffs another take down. Now their tied up against the cage. Knee from Florian and Aldo reverses positions. Florian drops down for a single again. Aldo sprawling out. Right from Aldo and body shot from Aldo and then a left hook from Aldo. Florian ties things up once again. Short elbow from Florian. Hard right from Aldo and body kick at the bell. Close round, ill lean towards Florian for aggression. 10-9 Florian. Round five: This round according to my scorecard will decide the fight. Leg kick from Florian. Florian charges in for another take down and lands some knees against the cage as Aldo stuffs it. Now their tied up against the cage and Florian trying to work the position but Aldo with good defense. Aldo slips away. Aldo lands a big jab as Florian slips while throwing a knee. Now Aldo lands kicks to the legs while holding position with Kenny on his back. Florian goes for a heel hook and Aldo lands a big right. Aldo lands a big elbow. Aldo mounts now!! Nice right from Aldo. Florian goes to scoot out the back door and Aldo grabs a leg before he can get away. Aldo now on top in half guard. Aldo almost gets to the mount again, but Florian now back to his feet and their clinched up against the cage. Knees from Aldo. Knee from Florian and ref breaks themup. Florian ties it up instantly and Aldo just pushes him into the cage. Lots of grappling against the cage and Aldo seems content to ride out the round, Florian with a right and flying knee that doesnt hit. Left hook from Aldo and Aldo lands a big left hook right hook combo. Knee from Aldo and that is the bell. Round 5 was all Aldo and now well see how the judges scored the fight. In my opinion Aldo won 3 and 5 clearly, but now the other rounds could literally have gone either way so the judges will decide this one. 10-9 Aldo.

Posted in: right, florian, kick, leg kick, aldo

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Frankie Edgar knocks out Gray Maynard in the main event of UFC 136: "Edgar vs. Maynard 3" tonight (Sat., Oct. 8, 2011) in Houston, Texas, to retain his lightweight championship and bring an dazzling end to a thrilling trilogy. This one will -- or should -- go down as the greatest pair of fights in one year between two talented mixed martial artists in history. What an unbelievable night. For complete UFC 136 results and blow-by-blow coverage of all the night's action click here. After the jump is the detailed blow-by-blow from the fight from our very own Andrew Mendez: UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard Round one: Double jab from Edgar. Leg kick from Edgar. Leg kick from Maynard. Hard combo from Edgar finishes with a left hook. Right from Edgar. Short uppercut from Edgar. Edgar with a heel hook take down attempt and has the back of Maynard but cannot finish it off. Now their in the center of the cage again. HUGE uppercut from Maynard ROCKS EDGAR. Another uppercut from Maynard and now he lands a big knee. Edgar is HURT!!! Big right hook from Edgar. Right from Maynard lands hard. Maynard lands a short right that knocks Edgar back. Now their on the mat and Maynard lands a little and Edgar is back up and Maynard lands another big uppercut. Left from Edgar. Edgar is bleeding bad from His nose. Big right and knee from Maynard. Left from Edgar and big jump knee from Maynard. Now their on the mat and Maynard lands some punches and now their back up. Big left and then right from Maynard. Another left from Maynard. Edgar with a left hook. That is the bell and that was a creepily similar round 1 to the last fight but this time its not a 10-8 round. 10-9 Maynard. Round two: Both men dancing around feeling one another out. Nice uppercut left hook combo from Edgar. Body head combo from Edgar and then a leg kick. Nice uppercut left hook combo again. Leg kick from Edgar and a big right hook from Edgar. Left hook from Edgar. Edgar shoots and nothing there Edgar lands a left on the break. Nice uppercut and left hook from Edgar. Jab from Edgar, and nice combo with a finishing left hook from Edgar. Right from Maynard and that is the bell. That was all Edgar in that round. 10-9 Edgar. Round three: Inside leg kick from Edgar. Jab from Edgar. Leg kick from Edgar. Knee from Maynard. Left from Edgar. Hard leg kick from Edgar. Edgar ducks under for a single but is stopped. Jab from Edgar. Leg kick from Edgar and one from Maynard. Body shot from Edgar. Edgar with a duck under right hand. Left from Edgar. Jab from both men. Right from Maynard. Inside leg kick from Edgar. Short uppercut from Maynard. Big right hook from Edgar. Nice leg kick from Edgar. Hard left hook right straight combo from Edgar. Jab from Edgar. Uppercut from Edgar. Nice combo from Edgar. Nice body kick from Edgar. Jab from Maynard. That is the bell and another round goes to Edgar. 10-9 Edgar. Round four: Right from Edgar. Inside leg kick from Edgar. Edgar goes for a take down and he lands a good uppercut. HARD right hand and left from Edgar. Leg kick from Edgar. Maynard goes for a take down and Edgar stuffs it. Maynard with a knee to the body. Hard right from Edgar. Nice uppercut from Edgar now. Another good uppercut from Edgar and coutner right from Maynard. Right from Edgar and then a leg kick and another leg kick. Edgar slips out of a take down attempt. Leg kick from Edgar. Left from Edgar. Nice body head combo from Edgar. Left from Edgar. Edgar shoots for a take down and then lands a HUGE uppercut!!!! Maynard is dropped, and bounces back to his feet. Edgar now charges in and lands two uppercuts and a big right!! Maynard is hurt bad!!! Edgar lands a MONSTER right and Maynard drops to the mat!! Edgar jumps on top and is pounding away with punches and that is it the ref stops it!!! WOW, Frankie Edgar with a vicious KO win!

Posted in: right, kick, leg kick, edgar, maynard

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We suffered a power outage Thursday night that lasted until Sunday, so I spent yesterday trying to catch up with exactly what happened at UFC on Versus 6. As soon as I saw the stoppage in the Anthony Johnson vs. Charlie Brenneman fight, I knew there would be an overreaction. Dana White nailed exactly the reason that the stoppage was absolutely fine following the event: "I agree 100 percent with that stoppage," he said. "He was on crazy legs before the kick to the head happened. And again, there's a fine line between stopped too early and stopped too late, and I'll take stopped too early every time. I thought he was hurt before the kick to the face." In MMA we don't have a ten count like in boxing. MMA fans talk about the ten count far too often as a huge safety issue but when it is used correctly, the idea is to make sure a fighter is fit to continue before restarting the fight. MMA referees do not have that luxury, they're forced to make immediate calls in the interest of the fighter's safety. Brenneman's legs were rubber when he stood up just before the kick, he appeared to be using the cage to hold himself up and then got kicked in the face and went down. Without a tool like a ten count, Mario Yamasaki can't check on Brenneman and make sure his eyes are clear and he is adequately responsive. He has to make a decision in that second and he saw a hurt fighter take a kick to the face and go down. Almost any referee who see a fighter with his legs gone using the fence or the cage to stay up are ready for any flurry of strikes or single big shot to stop it. It feels like a phrase I don't say very often, but Yamasaki's call was completely reasonable and correct.

Posted in: fighter, face, kick, brenneman, stoppage

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It was not good to be a Yamasaki last night. Mario and brother Fernando each made questionable decisions, including an early stoppage in the curtain jerker between Walel Watson and Joseph Sandoval, "saving" Shane Roller from T.J. Grant's armbar, and allowing Yves Edwards every opportunity to inflict brain damage on Rafaello Oliveira. Fortunately for the Brothers Yamasaki, those fighters were only watched by the handful of fans who tune into the Facebook streams. Mario carried the amateur hour into the Versus main card, however. After the jump, a look at two GIFs of Anthony Johnson's head kick "knockout" of Charlie Brenneman. Yamasaki's in good position to see the kick itself -- he has a direct line to Brenneman's chin. Unfortunately, his positioning affords him no angle on Brenneman after impact. As Brenneman falls away from the fence, Johnson's momentum carries him into Yamasaki's line of sight. Any decision in life is best made with as much information as possible. Yamasaki had information here: Brenneman DID stumble into the fence and the impact of Johnson's leg likely sent Brenneman's eyes into googly land. One crucial piece of information he missed? Brenneman braced himself for impact and had a clear look in his eyes once he landed on the floor. He IMMEDIATELY communicated with his eyes his disappointment with Yamasaki's decision. Yamasaki apologists have pointed to the likelihood that Johnson would have finished Brenneman shortly after the kick anyhow...and that's probably true. But that doesn't exonerate his mistake. That he stopped this fight early after allowing Yves Edwards license to kill two fights prior only compounds the matter. 

Posted in: johnson, impact, kick, brenneman, yamasaki

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Welterweight Charlie Brenneman was the Cinderella man in his last fight against Rick Story, stepping in on extremely late notice and taking out the top 10 ranked fighter in front of rampant support from his home state of Pennsylvania.  The clock apparently struck midnight last night (October 1, 2011) in his UFC on Versus 6 main card bout against Anthony Johnson. Brenneman had previously been able to dominate his opponents with his perfectly timed takedowns, strong top control and light ground and pound, so how was Johnson able to completely neutralize his game? We'll take a closer look as well as figure out what's next for each combatant after the jump. From the early onset of the fight, it was obvious that Brenneman was extremely concerned about standing with Johnson. He kept his distance and almost desperately attempted to catch two of Johnson's kicks in an attempt to take the fight to the canvas.  Despite not catching a kick, "The Spaniard" dove in for a takedown anyways and immediately got stuffed by Johnson. "Rumble" sprawled very deeply, put his right hand on top of the back of Brenneman's head to control him and proceeded to pummel him with short strikes on the ground. Johnson turned to Brenneman's side and began blasting him with some sharp knees to the body and this caused Brenneman to finally roll over into guard. After some posturing, the AMA Fight Club member pushed with his legs to create some space and tried to get to his feet but got clipped with a grazing head kick which sent him back to the ground.  Brenneman tried to get to his feet one last time and was on wobbly legs. He leaned against the fence to regain his balance and this left him wide open to a huge left head kick from Johnson while his hands were at his sides. Brenneman briefly went limp and dropped to his butt as the ref stepped in to save him from further punishment. Notice from the angle of the referee's vision, he sees Brenneman in trouble and then absolutely blasted by the head kick from Johnson.  There was a huge cry from fans and even some media that it was an early stoppage because Brenneman fell on his back in a defensive position but from looking at the end of the fight multiple times, the fact that "The Spaniard" was on wobbly legs before the kick and the fact that he couldn't even bring his hands up to defend himself from the kick is reason enough for that fight to be stopped once he was dropped. I'd rather see a fight like that stopped early than see Brenneman pummeled to the point of unconsciousness. I doubt he was protesting the stoppage with the way he was getting manhandled in there anyways.  For Charlie Brenneman, this bout was a bit of a reality check. He burst into many top 10 lists after his upset over Rick Story, but he still has a long ways to go to be a fully well-rounded fighter. His wrestling is fantastic, but he was devoid of some serious defense from ground strikes after his shot got stuffed. He's also going to have to improve his striking because that's what he uses primarily to set up takedowns and if his opponents aren't going to take his striking seriously, they aren't going to be taken down as easily. Brenneman will likely face someone along the lines of Mike Pyle, Mike Pierce, or Carlos Eduardo Rocha in his next bout as all three fighters are also coming off a loss. For Anthony Johnson, that was a stellar performance. He dominated from start to finish and was perfectly prepared for what Brenneman brought to the table. It's high time he got another top level opponent to see just how good he is. There are currently no top fights for him as the rest of the division is locked up. A bout with the winner of Jake Ellenberger vs. Diego Sanchez would make a ton of sense, as would the winner of Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks or Rory MacDonald vs. Brian Ebersole.  So what do you think Maniacs? After several long layoffs due to injury, is now finally the time to shine for Anthony Johnson? Was this simply too much too fast for Charlie Brenneman? Speak up! For complete UFC on Versus 6 results, including blow-by-blow, fight-by-fight coverage of the entire pay-per-view (PPV) event, click here and here All gifs by Zombie Prophet via IronForgesIron.com.  

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Anthony Johnson looked dominant in taking a first-round TKO victory over Charlie Brenneman at UFC on Versus 6 tonight, but the stoppage was a source of some controversy. Johnson landed a huge head kick that floored Brenneman and earned a refereed stoppage from Mario Yamasaki right away, but Brenneman was definitely still awake and alert after the kick. Johnson picked up the victory at 2:49 of the first. Johnson came in looking way bigger than the 171 pounds he weighed in at the day before. Johnson looked to strike early, and Brenneman went for the takedown. Johnson pancaked  him though, and landed some shots to Charlie's midsection. Johnson had Brenneman's head pinned down and landed a few hard shots, then a couple of knees to the  body. Johnson spun around to the back, and Brenneman rolled into guard and looked for an arm-in guillotine. Johnson then glanced a head kick that stunned Brenneman, then followed up with another one that put Brenneman down on his back. It looked devastating and the ref stepped in to stop it, but Brenneman was fully alert and awake. In retrospect it wasn't a good stoppage. Brenneman entered this bout coming off the biggest win of his career over Rick Story at UFC on Versus 4. He was a last-minute replacement for Nate Marquardt. Johnson returned from a long layoff due to a knee injury at UFC Fight Night 24, where he took an easy unanimous decision win over Dan Hardy. He had won three of his last four bouts entering this contest. More SBN coverage of UFC on Versus 6

Posted in: kick, head kick, ufc, brenneman, johnson

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The second main card bout at UFC on Versus 6: "Cruz vs. Johnson" tonight (Sat., Oct. 1, 2011) at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. featured a welterweight war with a spot among the division elite on the line. No, the names Anthony Johnson and Charlie Brenneman may not wow you but they were both threatening a run to the top of the division heading into tonight's showdown. Who took the next step in their quest for the 170-pound title? That would be Johnson, who said beforehand that he would knock Brenneman out with a head kick and that's exactly what he did. When two wrestlers meet inside the Octagon you can usually count on 15-minutes of lull or a stand up showdown with plenty of action. In this one, we got a bit of both. Johnson opened with his usual burst of speed and athleticism looking to land early and often with a head kick that he knew would be available to him. Sure enough, after a brief stint battling on the floor, "Rumble" executed a swift kick to "The Spaniard's" skull that sent him flying back. Referee Mario Yamasaki quickly stepped in to stop the fight but was it warranted? Brenneman appeared to be out but very briefly and he even landed on his elbows looking as though he could defend against any coming onslaught of follow up punches. It didn't matter. Did the ref make the right call or should he have let the action go a bit more? For complete results of UFC on Versus 6 and to follow along with live blow-by-blow of all the night's action click here.

Posted in: head kick, johnson, kick, charlie brenneman, brenneman

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K-1 level striking. It's a talking point for Joe Rogan to describe high level stand up. The reality though is that there is no such thing as K-1 level striking. It's not a part of any ranking system nor is it a level one can attain if they do enough kickboxing. Yet for heavyweight kick boxer Pat Barry, that is how his stand up is described. Barry did compete in K-1 but never found any success in the organization. In fact his overall kickboxing record is a mediocre 13-6-1. So why describe his striking as K-1 level? Pat Barry began his training at Vos Gym, the home of Ernesto Hoost. Hoost is known as one of the best kick boxers of all time, retiring a four time K-1 champion. So to say that Barry has some legitimate credentials in kick boxing would be fair. However, not all kick boxers are created equal and Barry never amounted to a successful striker in any stand up organization, including Chuck Norris' World Combat League. When he made the switch to MMA, he joined the folks at Roufusport to help with the transition. In Duke Roufus, Pat Barry found a kindred spirit. Roufus was one of the few American kick boxers who were able to find success on the international stage. Roufus built a fight team to help likeminded individuals become more well rounded in MMA. Roufus also encouraged creativity in the cage which allowed for Anthony Pettis to pull off a highlight reel kick while running off the fence. Barry, while a creative striker never really did as much as his teammates Alan Belcher and Anthony Pettis. Barry has now left his long time team to train with Team DeathClutch full time, the home of Brock Lesnar and Cole Konrad. DeathClutch is a primarily wrestler-centric gym and none of the trainers will really sharpen up the deficiencies in Barry's striking. Barry will benefit from the increased wrestling training but for someone who has been a striker his entire career, it is doubtful that Barry will become a ground fighter. So with the changes in training camp, what kind of Pat Barry will show up on Saturday? For someone constantly described as a K-1 level striker, will Pat Barry ever showcase the stand up one expects from a high level stand up artist? More after the jump... SBN coverage of UFC on Versus 6: Cruz vs. Johnson This weekend Pat Barry faces a Dutch giant in Stefan Struve at UFC on Versus 6 in Washington, D.C. Luke Thomas of MMA Nation caught up with Barry yesterday at the open workouts. In the interview Barry talks about the knockout loss to Cheick Kongo. For those that need a refresher, Barry was beating the breaks off of Kongo and had the Frenchman out twice only to be knocked out with a hail mary punch. For Barry, it was the story of his UFC career. Whenever he takes a step forward in competition, he always falters.  The fight this weekend will be the most important of Barry's career. He faces a fighter in a similar situation with the UFC. Stefan Struve's career can be best described as "one step forward, one step back". The height difference is almost comical and Struve will be the fighter with the reach advantage. Barry is fortunate that Struve doesn't really manage the distance too well. The fight will really come down to Barry's ability to work inside and chopping down Struve with leg kicks. However, it really will be decided by Pat Barry's "K-1 Level" striking and killer instinct.  For all his striking acumen, Barry lacks the instinct to finish fights when he has an opponent in danger. His track record has been one where he uses his leg kicks and hands to the point where someone is almost finished only to back off and allow them to recover. It happened in the Mirko Filipovic fight and almost happened in the Cheick Kongo fight. He spoke about it on the phone conference bringing up the fact that even when he wins, he loses because fans and media are critical of his fighting style. He'll have the opportunity to prove critics wrong on Saturday night. He won't be able to rely on taking the fight to the ground and finishing Struve who is the more competent grappler. Barry will need to have go back to what got him into the UFC in the first place. And prove that K-1 level striking is something that does exist and isn't just a talking point for Joe Rogan. 

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In case you missed it live, or if you just want to relive the light heavyweight championship bout between Quinton Jackson and Jon Jones, then you're in luck. As always, here's a brief video highlight of the UFC 135 headlining fight from ESPN. SBN coverage of UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage For a complete play-by-play of the event, here's Brent Brookhouse's take during our live blog: UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: Jon Jones vs. Rampage Jackson - Round 1 - Jones coming out in some sort of crawling stance. Shoots and Rampage knees him in the chest. Jones clinching Rampage against the cage. Knee to the body by Jones, Rampage says it was low. Rampage turns Junes into the cage. Jones goes for a choke and Rampage defends. Nice elbow in close by Jones. Knee to the body and again it's low by Jones. Rampage complains. Jones looking for a trip and can't get it. They separate now and are in the center of the octagon. Head kick by Jones is blocked. Leg kick by Jones now. They clinch up in the center and Jones tries for a takedown off a throw but Rampage stays up. Body shot by Rampage and he misses with an overhand right. Head kick by Jones is blocked. Leg kick by Jones again. Leg kick again. Clinch up again with about a minute left. Jones pushes him into the cage again. Jones kneeing the thighs again. Spinning elbow by Jones and Rampage covers up. Head kick blocked again and a wheel kick blocked. Rampage throws big shots at Jones and misses. 10-9 Jones. Round 2 - Leg kick by Jones and Rampage keeps stalking. Rampage pushes him into the cage but Jones reverses. Knees to the thigh again. Spinning elbow by Jones misses. Rampage avoids the takedown and Jones throwing side kicks to the thigh. Straight right hand by Jones. A lot of Rampage stalking and a left hand gets in a little bit for him. Rampage isn't being very aggressive now and Jones is able to dominate if he doesn't have anything to worry about. Leg kick by Jones. Leg kick again by Jones and another. Jab by Rampage and Jones goes back to the leg. Jones with another blocked head kick. Left hand by Rampage misses. Jones keeps picking his shots and Rampage isn't getting anything off. Jones pulls guard out of nowhere and goes for a triangle but the round ends. 10-9 Jones. Round 3 - Jones goes for a takedown and almost gets hit with a big hook from Rampage. Rampage has thrown multiple leg kicks this round and maybe that throws Jones off a bit. Jones with a solid leg kick and now Jones wit a takedown. Jones in side control and now passes to full mount. Jones walking him toward the cage. Jones throwing a few elbows and punches now. Rampage powers his way to his feet. Jones kicks to the leg and they're back to standing. Jones keeps putting his open hand in Rampage's face, causing Jackson to complain about attempted eye pokes. Nice hooks by Jones and a leg kick that hurts Rampage. Rampage throws some huge punches that hit nothing but air. Left hook by Jackson is short. Flying knee by Jones and a push kick to the knee. Jones shoots, the round ends and Jones throws Rampage to the ground. 10-9 Jones. Round 4 - Rampage is coming out a bit more aggressive. Left hook by Jones seems to hurt Rampage. Jones looking for the takedown from the clinch and he gets it now against the cage. Elbow by Jones. Jones moves to the back and gets the choke locked in. Rampage taps out and that's it. Jon Jones wins by submission (rear naked choke), round 4. Dominant performance by Jones and Rampage never had anything close to an answer.

Posted in: rampage, jone, leg, kick, leg kick

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Escovedo came out quickly landing a leg kick. Mizugaki returned with a string of jab-crosses while coming forward. Escovedo secured the Thai clinch but couldn't land anything significant before Mizugaki backed out. While cliched against the cage, neither fighter was able to really put together any offense with the referee threatening to separate them. Mizugaki used the clinch to get the takedown with a fantastic body lock. Escovedo got back to his feet and then jumped guard and attempted to walk his legs up to a triangle choke. Mizugaki landed punches cleanly to the jaw that had little effect on Escovedo. Escovedo answered with knees and elbows from the clinch. One of the elbows staggered Mizugaki but he recovered quickly and ended the round as the aggressor. The second round began and Mizugaki got the takedown after catching an Escovedo kick. He was reluctant to follow Cole to the ground and tried to attack while standing up. Cole stood up and started to find a home for his leg kicks. His striking defense wasn't up to snuff when dealing with a fantastic boxer in Mizugaki. Cole landed a head kick but didn't land with the shin. He went to the well one too many times and Mizugaki avoided the strikes and answered with an upper cut-hook combination to the chin. Mizugaki continued to land to the body and a right hook dropped Cole Escovedo. Cole was frustrated and clinched up. This proved to be a terrible idea with Takeya Mizugaki landing numerous shots to the head. Escovedo survived the first onslaught but the he couldn't handle the quantity and quality of the strikes. A left hook dropped Escovedo and some ground and pound forced the referee to stop the fight. Coming into the fight, there were questions about the skill level of Mizugaki. He's always been thought of as an absolute gamer but he's never really picked up that big defining win under the Zuffa umbrella. He was 3-4 and never put together a win streak. Now 4-4 under Zuffa and 15-6-2 overall, Takeya Mizugaki finally got his defining win. Escovdeo was the first WEC featherweight champion before dropping the belt to Urijah Faber at WEC 19. Since then he's been on a bit of a roller coaster ride with his career. Whenever he takes a step up in competition he never comes away with the victory. Now 0-2 in the UFC and 17-8 overall, it is likely that tonight was the last time we'll have seen Cole Escovedo in the promotion. Check out Kid Nate's analysis of the fight over at MMA Nation. SBN coverage of UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage

Posted in: mizugaki, escovedo, cole escovedo, cole, kick

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