I see both sides. There have been tons of examples of "sloppy" strikers consistently beating guys with better standup technique, but then you get guys like Anderson putting Leben on queer street with a nice, straight jab; and obviously Koscheck's easy win over Diego showed how effective straights and movement can be.
"He could not see that through the tons of MMA footage, that we have rarely seen, if at all; this punch [short, tight hook]."
Wanderelei's punch that was the beginning of the end for Rampage in their second fight -- the only time I've ever seen Rampage really affected by a single punch, or maybe even a punch period -- was a pretty traditional hook. Certainly much shorter and tighter than Silva's usual open swings.
As Diego Stole My Name points out, Yves, Sherk and Edgar are among those who have also shown how effective tighter, more traditional styles can be.
I remember back in the old days Bas Rutten released one of his instructionals where he mentioned he doesnt think the jab is good in MMA. Because it will get you taken down easily but there is no reward if you land it. Well turns out he was wrong as plenty of fighters today utilize it as a valuable tool in their arsenal
I think the classic left hook is in a similar situation right now. Its not used because few people are good enough to throw proper combinations with good timing. I mean only within the past few years have we seen people throw bodyshots. The left hook has its use in a punching combination. Its probably one of the hardest punches to see coming and one of the hardest to block. Lee Murray vs Amir Rahnavardi is a textbook example of a classic left hook in a combo. Murray throws a 3 punch combo while Rahnavardi throws a jab. The left hook hits him just when he lowers his right a little and he drops dead
Great article! I often find myself wondering why I train lead hooks tight instead of wide. It's rare that I have the opportunity to throw a tight lead hook in MMA training. The only guy I've seen do it with any consistency is Sean Sherk but he's constantly working from the inside and doesn't seem to fear takedown attempts.
TTT Great read i liked it!
Thanks for the good words everyone!
"Even Sherk's LH is not that close in , I would class that as mid range."
Maybe I'm thinking it's much tighter because of his height and arm length. Hopefully someone can post that old training video of his where he's doing a ton of pad work.
Diego, I was thinking that too but forgot about it--another example of
MMA striking evolving is the use of bodyshots, you start seeing it much
more consistently now (although Bas and Jens always used to go after the
liver). I think Guillard in his fight before last...? And Chuck went to the
body so well against Tito, I think that's what broke the fight open for him.
You're starting to see guys really go to the body, and it's opening up a lot
of things. Rory Markham told me "You can't just throw the 1-2 anymore,"
and he's right.
OneScoup, the article ends, largely, with Sam talking about the sport evolving. I don't think he misses out on that. And the article addresses takedowns as a factor and not really knees and kicks. K-1 does not have takedowns. In any case, thanks everyone for reading and the comments in here. Keep them coming.
"Any punch will be more effective with smaller gloves. However, that doesn't mean you should be throwing a crap load of jabs in a real fight. It's much smarter to pick your shots."
If you think the purpose of a jab is to throw a bunch of them in a whole fight then im pretty sure you have never boxed a day in your life outside putting on headgear with your bjj buddies and swinging. The jab should be used to setup your other punches and stop the other guy from putting together his own combos
"Thanks Mr. Obvious. However, boxers often take hundreds of punches (including some punches right on the chin) before being KO'ed. The fact remains that if you get hit with a smaller glove you are more likely to be knocked out and this changes the entire way that one must approach an MMA match as opposed to a boxing match."
And often boxers dont take hundreds of punches on the chin. They take one punch and go to sleep. The fact that there is a 10 count is a much bigger factor in boxers being able to go more rounds than the glove size. Most people who go down in MMA are not even KOd out cold, They could most likely get up if there was a 10 count. Not mention 70% are grapplers who have never really been hit hard. Boxers also roll with the punches to take away some of the damage. So no you are incorrect again
"Stay on topic."
Its definatly on topic since you claim glove sizes makes it much more easily to KO people yet we see few actual KOs in MMA. There has been a lot more real KOs in boxing coming from 1 punch than MMA. The glove size is more important when it comes to defense. It doesnt change the game so bad that anyone goes out with 1 punch. Unless you are a wrestler or bjj guy with 2 years of striking at your bjj gym
"LoL @ making it sound like Leben is the king of power/chin. Leben is a good example for me to use though. He's 16-3. Can you imagine what kind of boxer he would be, even if he had trained boxing for years. Uhh..not much speed = not that good. Also, his "power" and "chin" would be mitigated to a point by the use of larger gloves."
Who at 185 had shown a better chin and more "one punch KO" power? Again your whole argument is useless since Anderson Silva humiliated Leben by beating him to the punch, using jabs and angles. Same would happen to Chuck if there actually was someone of Anderson Silvas caliber at 205. But just for sake of argument i will enlighten you about boxing. If Chris Leben had trained boxing for years. He would have developed much much better footwork and timing. Wich would have helped him out a lot in NOT letting Silva stalk him and hurt him from different angles while his punches hit air. His timing would have helped him counter properly. The fact that you assume attributes like speed and power is all there is in striking shows your knowledge comes from sitting in the couch watching ESPN
"It can be a good tool to use, but to think that it's as important of a tool as it is in boxing is just ludicrous."
Look dude its obvious you have never boxed. Stick to "boxing" with your grappling buddies and assuming overhand rights and long hooks is the end all of striking.
LOL-Seems like a lot of people need to learn how to throw a jab.
The jab is not meant to be a pawing punch. A jab is not supposed to be a slappy punch. The jab is not supposed to be a half assed backfist. The jab is not merely for measuring the distance or just setting up for another punch.
The jab is a straight punch on the side that happens to have the foot in front. That is all.
It is no different from a straight right, except for the foot placement.
So why all the difficulty?
Because 99.9% of the population is far more coordinated on one side than the other. The "bad" hand is relegated to the front side.
On top of that, a minute minority is actually taught "how" to punch. MECHANICS. The vast majority of people are arm punchers. The vast majority of boxing instruction takes two forms. Conditioning and repetitive combinations.
Under these circumstances the jab will never be developed into an effective punch. There will always be the rare natural that throws it hard. But there is no reason that all the others cannot learn to throw it correctly.
"However, that doesn't mean you should be throwing a crap load of jabs in a real fight. It's much smarter to pick your shots."
Maybe, maybe not. One of the big points of the jab is that it keeps your opponent from getting set for anything. It's really hard to start a takedown or whatever if every time you get near your opponent you're getting your head snapped back by a stiff jab.
Not that his are all jabs, but it's kind of the same effect Diaz has on his opponents. Neer had no chance of getting anything going because he was getting hit CONSTANTLY. Same with Gomi. It's really hard to implement your own strategy when you're getting popped over and over and over.
I’ve heard some trainers say that too much pure boxing is actually bad for MMA fighting—you get used to the close range, you get into the mentality that you can “take one to give one.” = Diego's downfall.