Critique my last two MMA fights striking
- Thread starter Snolla
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I would say in the video at MFL 13 it looked the guy rushing you gave you problems, left roundhouse kick to the body landing high up on your shin works well in that scenario if you drill it on the bag and try to circle out as you move backwards but it’s hard when you have 0.2 seconds to think about it.
You looked pretty good though.
You looked pretty good though.
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Please keep in mind, that you should trust your coach to steer you the right way - but here is what I notice from my perspective as Muay Thai coach.
Your overall toolkit needs sharpening up, especially your kicks, when you kick there doesn't appear to be much power behind it, they look as though they are polite sparring kicks as opposed to kicks that hurt and that you fell on one of them means you're not quite there with your balance yet. I'd recommend really focusing on Muay Thai or kickboxing for a while to get those skills sharp.
The main thing I would say though, is you're clearly quite a long fighter and you should be using that, your second opponent at MFL11 fought like a fool and there is no reason you couldn't have put him away sooner if you focused on feinting and jabbing more. I appreciate that you got a first round stoppage, but that stoppage came from you being taken down from an off balance kick and then turning the fight around - rather than you dictating the pace and putting it on the other guy with pressure.
I'd strongly recommend watching and trying to do a bit of an impression of a Max Holloway or Diaz brother, based on your build. Feinting is a skill that anyone can do, and there is no fighter that isn't better when they learn how to do it.
Also please don't take my criticism as personal, well done to you for your fights, I wish you the best in your career.
Your overall toolkit needs sharpening up, especially your kicks, when you kick there doesn't appear to be much power behind it, they look as though they are polite sparring kicks as opposed to kicks that hurt and that you fell on one of them means you're not quite there with your balance yet. I'd recommend really focusing on Muay Thai or kickboxing for a while to get those skills sharp.
The main thing I would say though, is you're clearly quite a long fighter and you should be using that, your second opponent at MFL11 fought like a fool and there is no reason you couldn't have put him away sooner if you focused on feinting and jabbing more. I appreciate that you got a first round stoppage, but that stoppage came from you being taken down from an off balance kick and then turning the fight around - rather than you dictating the pace and putting it on the other guy with pressure.
I'd strongly recommend watching and trying to do a bit of an impression of a Max Holloway or Diaz brother, based on your build. Feinting is a skill that anyone can do, and there is no fighter that isn't better when they learn how to do it.
Also please don't take my criticism as personal, well done to you for your fights, I wish you the best in your career.
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I was going to say, unless you really learn how to use that jab KEEP YOUR LEAD HAND CLOSER. A good 1-2 would be your best friend, you have good feet, you just need the hands to back them.
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I have been told this by my teammates too. That I'm a nice guy and I need to turn on the switch more.
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I'm a nice guy in sparring myself i tend to go 60 when they go 70, but the cage isnt funsies. Break bones. This is a huge difference between pulling the trigger or not, and hesitation.
Isshin: Hesitation is defeat.
That first guy was a winnable fight if you pulled the trigger more. The second fight you had a lot more skill than him, and you could have finished him earlier.
A friend/athlete of mine competed in MFL its a fair promotion for amateur combatants so you wont get your shit pushed in if you take chances, so next fight take your coach's advice and some from in here and have fun and not care so much about victory (still stay safe though of course).
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Agreed. The first fight with the street fighter was my first MMA experience ever so I was focused on managing my nerves and feeling out the situation. I was a little hesitant to engage because I didn't know what a street fighter would do at all but I could have finished him in round 1 if I engaged more and went for the KO.
The second fight I noticed my fitness was better and I felt more comfortable and it felt like we were trading actual technique. It felt like it was my first true MMA fight to be honest. I had a large increase in cage awareness and had my heart tested which has given me more confidence.
Im asking for criticism from my teammates, coaches, and this forum because I want my next fight to be a big leap again. My goal for my next fight is to finish him standing by the second round and I know I need to up my aggression while keeping fight IQ and technique in tact.
I'd say my biggest strength (from what my coach told me) is I'm very calm and collected in there but I need to turn it up a notch next time.
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Are there any guys at your gym who wont go easy on you but still keep it safe? It's hard to find these guys but they do exist in gyms. Spar with them because you will end up in two positions of each you will learn from:
1. You will spend more time evading and not taking chances. Boring, and slow progression through skills.
2. You will block/eat lots and learn when to throwback through openings. Simulation.
Also, spar guys you are better than but can still keep you honest. You can try new things here.
My biggest thing ages ago was I never knew what to do when swarmed against guys who are skilled, so i would hold my guard up or clinch to takedown. This didn't hep my stand up at all because eventually you cant close the distance as they progress and you stay stagnant.
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I don't take it personal at all. I very much appreciate you taking the time to give me such a thoughtful critique. After the last fight I worked hard with a Thai instructor on connecting with my shin during the leg kick and torquing my body into it instead of the foot slaps.
He was laughing because when we sparred I hit him with one right away and he was impressed. I think in order to be a great martial artist, you have to be a great listener and learner firstly. A great student I guess.
Max Holloway and Izzy are my favourite current fighters. I'm trying to emulate Izzy's feinting in practice now, mixed with Holloways volume. I also LOVE Tyson Fury and I'm working in some of his movement too. It's very important to have archtypes you strive to emulate as long as your body type can allow it.
Also training my BJJ and wrestling as well, which came in handy in both fights. The big muscle guy felt like a white belt when I was grappling with him and it stopped a lot of the rushdown. He did hit me more than I would have liked though lol
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I am very lucky to have some highly skilled AMA champs and some pros at my gym who keep me honest and can give me a black eye while still keeping it overall friendly lol
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All good people to look at, Izzy's feinting is something anyone can do. Keep in mind though that against low level opponents sometimes you have to do big stupid obvious feints - because they're not smart enough fighters to recognise a subtle feint like a UFC caliber opponent would
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Look at it this way, if you're in the cage with someone who wants a fight, it's not being nice to not hurt them, it's being rude, you had an agreement to fight. So don't be worried about turning it on when you have to
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+1.
If you don't hit you opponent properly, it's disrespectful, 'cause you move him to a ladyboy level (sorry, if some LGBT-guy is reading this).
i tbh had issues with this id take guys down and felt bad hitting them throwing gnp as got older learnt to not care i basically was a pure grappler in my amateur and early pro fights cause i felt bad about really hurting people with 4 oz gloves unless they did something to me
if eel its something you just gotta overcome or get out
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If opponent ends up ladyboy level, he might wanna bang, and end up catching some #metoos
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Learning to fight off your back foot (IE countering). This guy was really open up the middle when he did his rushes.
Jab-Cross,
Jab-rear uppercut-left hook,
Jab-slide to your right-cross(I like to call it the Tyson),
Cross- Step your lead leg back - Left Kick to the Body (or inside leg kick).
Slide back - Rear Uppercut - Left Hook - Pivot to your left - slide out of range.
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This isn't going to sound very nice, but intent has a lot to do with result, I am literally trying to kill my opponents when I fight.
