Many moons ago I ran into Bas Rutten at the House of Blues in Hollywood. (Duran Duran I think was playing). We shook hands because he recognized me (meh) and about a half hour MMA discussion ensued.
I told him that I thought the left jab can adapt to be the most important weapon in MMA, just as it is in boxing. He vehemently disagreed, saying it's weak and leaves one susceptible to the takedown. I said an emphatic "no" because it's the least committed punch in the arsenal, which means that it affords one the best opportunity to avoid the takedown, and the best chance to provoke a takedown, off of which to counter.
You can jab and cream the guy with a leg kick.
You can do any of the boxing tricks that are setup with the jab.
I swear to god, GSP tonight brought my point back then to fruition. Hell, he even created tonight (I think) the superman jab! I don't recall ever seeing that punch before.
What say you? The jab - most underappreciated game-changer in MMA? I think Freddie Roach probably hammered in the importance of the jab to GSP in their training.
"The difference between a good fighter and a great fighter is the jab."
- Archie Grant
I thought of Bas just as this fight unfolded, it was true for so long. The sport is still evolving & GSP is still a sponge.
Agree about 80%, only problem with using GSP vs Kos as an example is that Kos didnt shoot enough.