I seem to remember Matt Hughes winning one of his last fights by leg kicks. I don't remember who it was against though.
renzo gracie i love renzo but tbh alot of guys at 170 could have done that to him
I seem to remember Matt Hughes winning one of his last fights by leg kicks. I don't remember who it was against though.
i dont think you can go against barbosa watch how fucking fast and hard his lead leg kick came out vs khabib
thats veryyy hard to train against one of my friends fought him back in 2008 he tried to stay in his face to avoid kicks but got koed badly with a cross
Top 5 in UFC (no particular order): Pat Barry, Barboza, Thiago Alves, Aldo, Anthoni Hardonk
Then there's: Tarec Saffeidine, RDA, Cowboy, Larkin,
For WMMA: Nunes (first place), Joanna, Valentina
I like how Justin Gaethje can throw low kicks from very close range.
edit:
Hahaha - this is going to be a never ending discussion.
not sure Azams stance on this one but I will say that I think leg kicks are not AS important in MMA, still a great technique that can definitely end fights, cause alot of damage etc. but they may be a bit under utilized in MMA due to the grappling/takedowns and hands.
We all know leg kicks can end fights, and it doesnt take a whole lot of "solid" leg kicks to end a fight either. Consider a guy like Anuwat with conditioned legs got dropped by them
Basically what I said was leg kicks are effective but they aren't as important in MMA as they might be in kickboxing or MT.
I also said that it's much rarer for fights to be finished by leg kicks in MMA because you can't spam leg kicks the way you might be able to in kickboxing for example. I said that's why there aren't that many leg kick finishes in MMA (Aldo has none, Barboza has 3 leg kick finishes in 10 years etc). The output of low kicks in MMA is a lot less because there are many more avenues to counter those leg kicks - the easiest being grabbing the leg & a double or single leg take down (GSP & Frankie Edgar literally made a career out of taking down guys off of leg kicks).
In kickboxing the worst thing you'll get is a check on your shin (other than breaking your shin). In MMA you can potentially be taken to the ground, lose significant points on the scorecard or potentially be GNP'd till unconscious or submitted. So I think that's why the output is less and why leg kicks aren't as important in MMA the way they are in kickboxing for example.
I love leg kicks - it's a go to technique for me. But I'm well aware in MMA - the output of leg kicks will be less because like you said you have 4oz gloves & grappling to contend with.
That was my stance in a nutshell.
Basically what I said was leg kicks are effective but they aren't as important in MMA as they might be in kickboxing or MT.
I also said that it's much rarer for fights to be finished by leg kicks in MMA because you can't spam leg kicks the way you might be able to in kickboxing for example. I said that's why there aren't that many leg kick finishes in MMA (Aldo has none, Barboza has 3 leg kick finishes in 10 years etc). The output of low kicks in MMA is a lot less because there are many more avenues to counter those leg kicks - the easiest being grabbing the leg & a double or single leg take down (GSP & Frankie Edgar literally made a career out of taking down guys off of leg kicks).
In kickboxing the worst thing you'll get is a check on your shin (other than breaking your shin). In MMA you can potentially be taken to the ground, lose significant points on the scorecard or potentially be GNP'd till unconscious or submitted. So I think that's why the output is less and why leg kicks aren't as important in MMA the way they are in kickboxing for example.
I love leg kicks - it's a go to technique for me. But I'm well aware in MMA - the output of leg kicks will be less because like you said you have 4oz gloves & grappling to contend with.
That was my stance in a nutshell.
It's interesting that this doesn't seem to happen to Justin Gaethje, even though he throws a ton of low kicks (even against good wrestlers like Alvarez who presumably could use them to take him down). I always wonder how much is not fear of the TD but rather not having very conditioned shins and fearing the check.
It's interesting that this doesn't seem to happen to Justin Gaethje, even though he throws a ton of low kicks (even against good wrestlers like Alvarez who presumably could use them to take him down). I always wonder how much is not fear of the TD but rather not having very conditioned shins and fearing the check.
It's interesting that this doesn't seem to happen to Justin Gaethje, even though he throws a ton of low kicks (even against good wrestlers like Alvarez who presumably could use them to take him down). I always wonder how much is not fear of the TD but rather not having very conditioned shins and fearing the check.
I think it's because, although you wouldn't necessarily think it from how he fights, he's usually the better wrestler in any given match up. Another big part of it is that he usually low kicks on the counter when the opponent isn't in a position to catch the low kick. His timing is very good, I think if you low kick either out of combination, or on the counter you're far less likely to be taken down. In my opinion usually takedowns happen off of low kicks when they're thrown out in the open.
I think the main issue is MMA fighters kinda suck at throwing low kicks; they don't throw them with good form and the setups & timing is lacking. This makes it much easier than it should be to defend & counter low kicks, which in turn makes fighters & coaches hesitant to use them. Most MMA fighters telegraph their kicks from a mile away and just stand there when their kicks get caught and run through for a takedown. They don't know how to limp leg out to get the leg free, frame off to block takedown entries, or step forward to engage a clinch on their own terms, they don't put up much of a fight before getting planted on the mat.
Fighters who know how to setup their low kicks properly can pretty much use them at will. Joanna Jedrzejczyk for instance fought all the best wrestlers & grapplers in her division, landed tons of low kicks against them and never got taken down off a low kick.
^^^
Pretty much my thoughts. He tends to be matched up better in the wrestling department.
I think as well low kicks definitely have their place in MMA but you have to be much more selective when/how you throw them when compared to kickboxing or MT.
Like @AndyMaBobs mentioned the best way not to get countered off low kicks is using low kick counters (the best way to throw them), sometimes out of combination (even here you can sometimes get caught out) or using setup feints that involve low kicks & head kicks for example.
I think it helps tremendously to have second to none takedown defense as well.
Most of the low kicks I've seen get countered are off combinations, when they're thrown out in the open or too much to the point your opponent cottons on to it. Best way to throw low kicks in MMA I feel is as counters - this is how I use them nowadays after tasting too many takedowns off my low kicks in kudo/mma sparring.
I don't think that's the issue at all.
MMA and MT/Kickboxing are different sports. In this particular case leg kicks change drastically when you open them up to grappling and other avenues of fighting.
The issue isn't poor technical kicking or telegraphing (although that may be an issue for some fighters) - the issue is that you can't use all the same setups & timing for low kicks that you might have in kickboxing in MMA. I think a lot of people who do kickboxing & MT - simply don't understand that. That's why they assume MMA fighters just suck at throwing low kicks. This might be the case for some - but not the vast majority.
I can't stress how easy it is for a leg kick to be caught by a competent or even average grappler and how easy it is to initiate a takedown. You have literally split seconds to try to frame or get your leg out. But someone who knows what he or she is doing will simply be way too quick for you to do any of the things you've suggested.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk fights in a very young and limited division. It's not the same. The pedigree & talent pool in her division is nowhere near what it is in the mens. The reason she got away with it for so long is because there was simply no-one near her calibre until she ran into Rose.
A great example is Jose Aldo - who makes use of leg kicks in nearly every fight. We could even argue that he's one of the GOATs as far as leg kicks in MMA are concerned. But even he was regularly taken down off leg kicks - it's just that he had amazing takedown defense so never paid for it. There were even times where he purposely limited his leg kicks to avoid being countered off them by competent wrestlers - like he did when he fought Frankie Edgar the second time.