Who are the best strikers around in your opinion.. Stephen Thompson giorgio petrosyan, tyrone spong, Conor Mcgregor, Rico Verhoeven, Stipe Miocic, Cody G I mean i think there are legit strikers involved in mma who could compete vs the top notch guys in Kickboxing, Dont forget Stipe already knocked out Alisitar Overeen. With Mcgregors power he would be like Overreem at leightweight he might be down on the scorecard but it only takes 1. Specifically Venom Page, WB and Mcgregor would do well in striking matches vs anyone at there weight who kickboxes
Very good question. I've wondered about this myself and have come up with the following idea:
MMA striking is very developed at this point, with many great representatives like TJ Dillashaw, Cody Garbrandt, Dom Cruz, McGregor and WB. It is also different from MT or Kickboxing striking because of two big factors; takedowns and small gloves. Takedowns make people reluctant to throw combos and spam kicks against good wrestlers with commitment. Small gloves mean defending is much harder, shots slip through the guard, people back up rather than absorb the strikes, and much more damage is dealt on impact. This results in a more punch-heavy, distance-oriented, in-and-out style (think Conor McGregor).
I believe this style, with some tweaks, would work wonders in kickboxing. Kickboxers throw with reckless abandon often, finish with a low kick, then seemingly shell up to await the counter sequence. Someone like McGregor would best many such fighters imo.
One thing which shook my belief in MMA striking is Dominick Cruz's recent loss to Cody. Cody is a good, traditional amateur boxer, and he played with the Giorgio Petrosyan of MMA striking for 5 rounds...
At this point, I have no idea what to think. The only way to find out is to have guys like TJ Dillashaw and Conor McGregor train only for striking and square off against a kickboxer either in striking sparring or a kickboxing fight to perform a reality check.
Ultimately, I doubt MMA can cough up a striker of the caliber of Giorgio Petrosyan or Buakaw, but it could come close.
I expect lots of KB and MT fans will swarm me for ever daring to compare Dom Cruz to Petrosyan, etc etc etc., but I stand behind my words.
Discuss away, guys.