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In your opinion what fighters have the best kicks, Top 5.
Best kickers in the UFC
- Thread starter Mitchsmith08
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standandtrade7
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In no particular order.
Barboza,
Aldo,
Pettis,
Cerrone,
Rockhold
Machida
Overeem
I think Pettis has the best Technique. I would surprisingly put Aldo at the bottom of the list because he lacks something that everyone else has. It is that Cowboy, Barboza, Pettis, etc are out there FINISHING FIGHTS WITH KICKS. Barboza leads UFC history with fights finished by kicks and Cowboy is not far behind.
That speaks volumes in my book.
A lot of people will say "But Aldo is champ, he's fighting tougher comp". No doubt he is the better fighter, but his kicks just don't have the same power. The way he battered Faber for 5 rounds. There is no one Cowboy or Barboza could batter for 5 rounds with that many kicks because they would finish it before then. That is the difference.
You also have to give Pettis an edge because he's finished tough ass guys from kicks who have never been finished like Cerrone.
Barboza,
Aldo,
Pettis,
Cerrone,
Rockhold
Machida
Overeem
I think Pettis has the best Technique. I would surprisingly put Aldo at the bottom of the list because he lacks something that everyone else has. It is that Cowboy, Barboza, Pettis, etc are out there FINISHING FIGHTS WITH KICKS. Barboza leads UFC history with fights finished by kicks and Cowboy is not far behind.
That speaks volumes in my book.
A lot of people will say "But Aldo is champ, he's fighting tougher comp". No doubt he is the better fighter, but his kicks just don't have the same power. The way he battered Faber for 5 rounds. There is no one Cowboy or Barboza could batter for 5 rounds with that many kicks because they would finish it before then. That is the difference.
You also have to give Pettis an edge because he's finished tough ass guys from kicks who have never been finished like Cerrone.
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Vitor has some pretty sweet kicks
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Pettis, Machida, Barboza, Aldo and TRT Vitor
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In no order:
Aldo
Barboza
Pettis
Belfort
Machida
Jones
Honorable mention: Anderson Silva (not in mix due to inactivity); Cerrone (with the exception of having nothing for Pettis).
Aldo
Barboza
Pettis
Belfort
Machida
Jones
Honorable mention: Anderson Silva (not in mix due to inactivity); Cerrone (with the exception of having nothing for Pettis).
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My votes in order of them occurring to me:
Machida
Shogun
Rockhold
Aldo
Cerronne
Barboza
Saffiedine
McGregor (not enough data to be definitive but I think he's at least in the discussion)
Pettis (probably best or certainly top 3)
Overeem
Pat Barry (released, but still worth mentioning since it's not a characteristic HWs are known for)
Anderson Silva (if he doesn't kick himself into the hospital)
Jones (for his variety/creativity and output, not power)
Thiago Alves (wait, is he released?)
Belfort
Siver (Okay, it's a pity selection but this guy needs some love from somebody)
Condit
Anybody you guys don't agree with?
Machida
Shogun
Rockhold
Aldo
Cerronne
Barboza
Saffiedine
McGregor (not enough data to be definitive but I think he's at least in the discussion)
Pettis (probably best or certainly top 3)
Overeem
Pat Barry (released, but still worth mentioning since it's not a characteristic HWs are known for)
Anderson Silva (if he doesn't kick himself into the hospital)
Jones (for his variety/creativity and output, not power)
Thiago Alves (wait, is he released?)
Belfort
Siver (Okay, it's a pity selection but this guy needs some love from somebody)
Condit
Anybody you guys don't agree with?
JonSnitchPhones
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Yeah, and Barboza didn't finish Cerrone, like Pettis.
He didn't finish Castillo, like Pettis. Barboza even had 2 full rounds with a gassed Castillo from Danny beating him badly and couldn't get close to finishing with any kick or period.
Then, Bobby Green is no tough not to crack either, but that hasn't really stopped Pettis before. Barboza hit him with everything but the kitchen sink and couldn't finish him.
Barboza had strike fests with Pearson and Njokuani, couldn't finish them. Pearson especially is not that hard to finish.
Give Pettis the opposition and tdd of Barboza (he's outstanding in that dept and Pettis has just been solid overall) and he'd have a finish in almost every fight, mostly via strikes, and far more kick finishes than Barboza. Barboza is a very good but still overrated kicker. He's heavy-legged and explosive. Like with Guillard, the latter attribute especially is going to draw over-appeal. But I think Pettis kicks are significantly more potent due to the snap factor and setups. Barboza's cadence is kind of predictable, so most of the time when he's kicking, his opponent can at least brace for it, even if it lands. Pettis varies his movement, feints, and moves to where his opponents have little clue what's coming. The strike that hurts you is the one you don't see.
standandtrade7
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Disagree with your whole post but your opinion is your opinion.
I like to look at fights situationally, because if you take the "This guy finished x fighter, and this guy couldn't". It leaves gaps.
Pettis couldn't finish Jeremy Stephens. Yves Edwards could. Does that means he's a superior striker? No because shit happens.
When the right strike opens up, it opens up. Evan Dunham took two rounds of Cowboy's kicks, knees, and punches until he gave in to the triangle. Barboza folded him like a lawn chair in under two minutes. These things are situational.
Barboza may be predictable in that his kicks are going to be his weapon, but they wouldn't work if not for his footwork, set ups, and TDD. People know they are coming and he's still 9-2 in the UFC.
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I agree that fight A vs fight B = outcome C is rarely an argument that holds water. Besides, this thread was 'Best Kickers' not 'Hardest Kickers'.
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Fuck that, I will go by division.
HW: Alistair Overeem
LHW: Probably Rumble though he hasn't used many lately.
MW: Lyoto Machida, Luke Rockhold
WW: Carlos Condit
LW: Anthony Pettis
FW: Jose Aldo but he should use them more
BW: T.J. Dillashaw
FLW: Not many great kickers, maybe Benavidez.
HW: Alistair Overeem
LHW: Probably Rumble though he hasn't used many lately.
MW: Lyoto Machida, Luke Rockhold
WW: Carlos Condit
LW: Anthony Pettis
FW: Jose Aldo but he should use them more
BW: T.J. Dillashaw
FLW: Not many great kickers, maybe Benavidez.
JonSnitchPhones
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That's bizarre. I was more or less agreeing with you, then your response was you disagree with my entire post. You used strike finishes, like against a tough guy such as Cerrone as a big part of your criteria, then you're like "no finishes against common opponents shouldn't be a criteria whatsoever". Maybe that's just your instinct to be uppity, even when someone is being agreeable with you.
Yeah, fights are situational. Listen to yourself. Pettis couldn't finish Stephens because Jer was scared shitless of Pettis' striking, started shooting on him early, holding him against the fence, and Pettis at the time couldn't do much about it but counter wrestle. And so that was almost entirely a grappling match. That's one reason why I included the qualifier, "give Pettis Barboza's tdd". Without it, and Stephens' approach, he had little chance to finish him on the feet at the time.
Pettis got a straight stand-up fight against Cerrone and ko'ed him quickly. He got much less time to finish Castillo and still achieved it. His ko/hurt rate on the feet is phenomenal compared to Barboza if you add up all the minutes they've been on the feet in Zuffa. Barboza's kicks are gunshots, Pettis' are bombs. He's fucking you up with them a lot more efficiently.
It's odd, MMA math has been mocked so much as a meme because it wasn't the be all end all like maybe it was pretended to be at the beginning, but as a result it has become possibly the most underrated thing in the sport at this point. In other sports like college football there are no qualms in basing national championship playoff invites on performances against common opponents, it's a tiebreaker in the NFL, etc. It's just logical that if you beat a guy and someone else didn't, there is at least a moderate probability they are worse than you. If I faced Cerrone I'd get my ass kicked. Pettis kicked his ass. Sight unseen there's at least a decent probability he'd kick my ass too, no? The more common opponents with performance disparity the greater the probability. In this case there wasn't even one common opponent, there was two to see a disparity. Yeah, styles make fights and all that shit, but at a level differential that's real significant it doesn't matter. "MMA Math"/Common Opponent performance in effect is what rankings and ultimately championships are based on. Melendez lost to Bendo, Pettis beat him, so Pettis got the distinction of being #1 and Melendez didn't. Incidentally, shocker, when Pettis faced Melendez, he beat him too.
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SHOOOOOOOOOOGUN! via Machida-Shogun I
I believe Jones has a more dangerous kicking arsenal then Rumble.
