Lack of Leg Kicks in UFC HW Division

[JKS]

Werdum throws em......so does Overeem. Cain hasnt recetnly, but he had some fights where he used leg kicks very well.

 

[Tankeray]

no mention of Pat Barry
#iamdissapoint

TS mentioned him, that's why.

lawl

 

[Tankeray]

Overeem was a K-1 champ, yet he throws few kicks and none at the head. You'd think he would throw some. No future Cro cop's on the horizon I guess.

I've always wondered this.

 

[fight4god]

Believe it or not, leg kicks are really hard to get really good at. I did mma for 2 yes and never got comfortable with them. So it's probably really hard for heavyweights to get comfortable it hit with a lack of athleticism.
Also, having a lot of powerful punchers creates a lot of head hunters who may ignore leg kicks.

 

[Non]

Just not enough great kickboxers. Most are too slow to pull it off and if that's the case, this is what happens

 

[Mad Villain]

Mitrione loves his leg kicks.

This gif makes me lol hard

 

[emax]

I would think part of is that it is too risky for HWs to throw too many kicks of any kind because it the mechanics of the human body tells us that it is far more difficult for them to throw them fast enough to avoid getting caught and throwing too many will drain them of too much energy. If a kick from a HW is caught, there's much less they can do vs a FW or even a MW.

 

[Jarnee]

To the best of my knowledge no one else at HW utilizes leg kicks as effectively as Pat Barry.

Furthermore, why don't we see more fighters at this weight class that have an aggressive leg-kick attack, ala Barry or perhaps Barboza, Aldo, and Pettis (albeit in the lighter class)?

Is it because hands pose more of a threat at HW, thus strong kickers may be more afraid to engage?

because you will get ktfo in the same or next round

 

[AllHailKrull**]

Barry doesn't even use them anymore. it fucks up his foot or something?

 

[tenniswhiz]

You leave yourself open to a counter when you throw a leg kick.
At other weights, particularly the lighter weights, that is ok, but at HW, a solid counter can put your lights out.

I think we'll see more of an MMA adapted boxing in the future, and less kicks (both high and low) in general. Clinch work will always matter.

 

[Tankeray]

Just not enough great kickboxers. Most are too slow to pull it off and if that's the case, this is what happens

Gonzaga's leg kick in this instance was extremely telegraphed and he had (and has) horrible boxing defense. The fact that it was slow couldn't have helped.

 

[Fight Professor]

Travis Browne has been throwing kicks for the last 3 fights. And it actually worked against Overeem.

 

[Turninkoff]

You leave yourself open to a counter when you throw a leg kick.
At other weights, particularly the lighter weights, that is ok, but at HW, a solid counter can put your lights out.

I think we'll see more of an MMA adapted boxing in the future, and less kicks (both high and low) in general. Clinch work will always matter.

This, others alluded to it but it's just like Bas always says, single kicks leave you open to a counter straight punch. You don't want to give many of those away at HW.

 

[Non]

Gonzaga's leg kick in this instance was extremely telegraphed and he had (and has) horrible boxing defense. The fact that it was slow couldn't have helped.

And there just aren't many that would do better.
Bigfoot?
Nelson?
Mir?
Barnett?
Cormier?

Do you think any of em could possibly throw a leg kick with the efficiency of Barboza or Aldo? Just isn't going to happen. So most just focus on their hands. Cro Cop back in the day though. Ouch.

 

[tenniswhiz]

Travis Browne has been throwing kicks for the last 3 fights. And it actually worked against Overeem.

Leg kicks.

 

[Tankeray]

You leave yourself open to a counter when you throw a leg kick.
At other weights, particularly the lighter weights, that is ok, but at HW, a solid counter can put your lights out.

I think we'll see more of an MMA adapted boxing in the future, and less kicks (both high and low) in general. Clinch work will always matter.

You leave yourself open to counters when you throw anything.

I think there just aren't enough HW fighters training leg kicks and working on making them less telegraphed.

 

[ithinktheymad]

Gonzaga's leg kick in this instance was extremely telegraphed and he had (and has) horrible boxing defense. The fact that it was slow couldn't have helped.

Or the fact that he did not bother to set it up with hands or a decent feint. Many people seem to be ignorant to this.

 

[ThinkBig500]

Leg kicks mang

Hunt threw some.

 

[TStoner]

Mitrione loves his leg kicks.

 

[Fight Professor]

Leg kicks.

The JDS/Hunt references confused me.