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There's nothing really wrong with spamming leg kicks as long as you have a good hooking game. Pornsanae Simonchai was great cuz' of that. Yuta Nezu is a very good striker and his style's built more than anyone else in this sport's history around spamming low kicks, and they work because he has good hooks. Kevin Belingon has great low kicks, but his punches (usually a hook or an overhand) are what finish fights. Dan Henderson's whole striking game was a strong leg kick off his lead leg and a big hook or overhand. The kicks stick the guys up and in place, and they can be used as a long-range weapon, so they pair as well with hooks as a one does a two, to exaggerate poetically.
Justin Gaethje's plan is usually to use the leg kicks to weaken them for when they're in the clinch and finish 'em with either a hook while holding a collar tie with the other hand or a knee. If they can fight off the clinch, he throws more kicks to tire 'em out. As long as you're aware of the risks, that's not a bad gameplan. It's like Gaethje says, "I'll either win or get knocked out." It worked a lot of times against good strikers, and the times it didn't still led to FOTY-level-competitive fights.
Gaethje's real problem against Poirier was he stopped throwing leg kicks in the third round about a minute and a half in (when they landed pretty hard on Dustin's knee), which's when he needed to, and he started throwing them very wide off his right leg [main leg] when he did throw 'em those final four times. That tells me he probably hurt his leg, which, well, is the big risk of leg kicks... you throw a lotta jabs, you'll get hit with a cross-counter; you hit the body, you open up your head; you throw hooks, you're missing and getting jabbed; you mix it all up and do everything, you're prey for a patient counter striker, like Andy Ristie vs. Davit Kiria...
Gaethje's also finished 3 fights with his kicks, so I think you can say he kicks particularly hard.
He literally said:
That's not an unreasonable thing to say. Did you just read the title and assume the rest?
Justin Gaethje's plan is usually to use the leg kicks to weaken them for when they're in the clinch and finish 'em with either a hook while holding a collar tie with the other hand or a knee. If they can fight off the clinch, he throws more kicks to tire 'em out. As long as you're aware of the risks, that's not a bad gameplan. It's like Gaethje says, "I'll either win or get knocked out." It worked a lot of times against good strikers, and the times it didn't still led to FOTY-level-competitive fights.
Gaethje's real problem against Poirier was he stopped throwing leg kicks in the third round about a minute and a half in (when they landed pretty hard on Dustin's knee), which's when he needed to, and he started throwing them very wide off his right leg [main leg] when he did throw 'em those final four times. That tells me he probably hurt his leg, which, well, is the big risk of leg kicks... you throw a lotta jabs, you'll get hit with a cross-counter; you hit the body, you open up your head; you throw hooks, you're missing and getting jabbed; you mix it all up and do everything, you're prey for a patient counter striker, like Andy Ristie vs. Davit Kiria...
Gaethje's also finished 3 fights with his kicks, so I think you can say he kicks particularly hard.
Wow. Jabs rarely knock guys out, so boxers should stop throwing them...
He literally said:
Before Sherdog crucifies me for dissing leg kicks, I'm not. It's a great weapon, but it's a weapon that rarely finishes fights.
That's not an unreasonable thing to say. Did you just read the title and assume the rest?
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