Striking technique is over rated at the elite level

[Th3Sav4ge]

Just off the top of my head

DDP who is not praised for his technical ability has beat guys that were "technically" better like Izzy who was a successful kickboxer, and Sean is known for having a clean jab and cross. Out struck both of them in fights that were mainly on the feet and were relatively dominant.

Khabib didn't have very polished striking but he dropped McGregor who is considered one of the best KO artists in recent times. Conor was basically useless in the stand up.

Guys like Sandhagen are extremely technical, but Merab who has less weapons still beats him easily.

Fedor didn't have traditional boxing technique, but his punching power and accuracy was high level.

Derrick Lewis has the most KO's in UFC history and he fights like a fat dude at a bar.

Overreem had better technique than 99% of his opponents and still got KTFO'd multiple times.

Keith Jardine had a draw with a prime Mousasi.

Dan Henderson was stiff as a board and has some of the best KO's ever.

Islam who isn't known for his striking headkicked KO'd Volk, who was considered one of the best P4P fighters at the time.

Striking technique is obviously important, but you don't need to look like an elite boxer or kickboxer out there to beat guys. I feel like some people are so obsessed with technique, that they neglect other things that could benefit them. DDP is by far a better athlete than Sean and that's what the difference was in their fight.

DDP's conditioning was on another level.

its not overrated, however grappling is always king. the second a boxer or kickboxer get hit, they clinch. thats how easy it is to initiate grappling, they dont know which way is up or down yet they will get that clinch.

driccus is a kickboxer, WHO FUCKING GRAPPLES. his striking i guarantee is better than his overall grappling game. however he dosnt leave any skills in the locker room, hes brings everything to the table. Hes not winning because striking is overrated, hes winning because hes better at MMA .

hes found a way to make it a fight at a high level instead of a contest.

if you look at payton talbots last fight where he came up short. He probably felt "damn this dude is fighting for his life"......no. he was fighting period. Rani was fighting. Payton was out there looking for a striking match with a strikers mindset. you could see his gears and problem solving going but it didnt matter. because he was stuck fending off someone Fighting.

 

[HHJ]

Hes not winning because striking is overrated, hes winning because hes better at MMA .

/thread

This is the main thing. Fans dont like to acknowledge that MMA is an actual thing unto itself.

 

[Maori]

DDP's striking was absolutely elite saturday night.

You guys see an hyperextended overhand and act like it's a drunken brawl.

His guard changes, in&outs and KICKS were top level.

Nah, elite is best used for guys like Pereira.

DDP is elite at MMA for sure, striking (pure) would be average at best

 

[Doctor Grudge]

Nah, elite is best used for guys like Pereira.

DDP is elite at MMA for sure, striking (pure) would be average at best

DDP is definitely not an average striker. He literally has out struck other championship level striking specialist - more than once. Do you think the average striker in MMA can outstrike Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya?

Do you mean DDP isn't a professional kickboxer? That isn't the same thing.

 

[Maori]

DDP is definitely not an average striker. He literally has out struck other championship level striking specialist - more than once. Do you think the average striker in MMA can outstrike Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya?

Do you mean DDP isn't a professional kickboxer? That isn't the same thing.

“That isn’t the same thing”

Exactly, elite at MMA. Most fans overate “Technically” when it comes to MMA. The way the fight played out was a below average kickboxing match at best. Obviously the TD threat changes the dynamics which Is why I stated DDP is elite at MMA.

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

Dude, no intention of discrediting you, but c'mon.

Alex is a double Glory champion and a HoF. He understands a bit more than "very basic set-ups" for his left hook.

I stand my ground, SS has one of the best defensive striking ever seen in MMA. In the last 5 years or more, besides AP -already addressed-, who has landed anything significantly damaging on him?

he does have very basic setups for his left hook, it's because he doesn't need more than that. he's knocking out UFC fighters here not boxing world champions. even in kickboxing, you don't need fantastic setups, otherwise how the fuck did Mark Hunt win the K-1 GP? Mark Hunt, at the time he won it, was nothing like the fighter he turned into in MMA. in MMA he actually became more technical because he couldn't just barge in and force guys into exchanges like he could in K-1 because of the wrestling aspect of MMA. he began to learn how to time guys coming in, how to walk guys onto punches by retreating and using angles, how to play with the speed of his strikes/movements in order to lull guys into a false sense of security, and he began to develop a more sophisticated counterpunching game that he didn't have in K-1.

those things all happened because MMA FORCED him to do this. Pereira is not being forced to up his game because he has not faced a grappling threat. everyone just fights his fight for the most part which is why he doesn't need to develop a better game. the other part is that he's so powerful he usually only needs to land 1 really good left hook to send guys away.

this isn't just a problem in MMA/Kickboxing. it's a problem in EVERY sport. look at George Foreman when he was young, look at Deontay Wilder. these are world class boxing champions and because of their prodigious physical gifts didn't need to develop better technique or better setups because they can win against the elite without it.

people always think technique > all, but it's not true. it's only true if you're a normal average person, but the fact is we're not all born the same. which is why the REAL truth is: EFFECTIVENESS > all.

 

[Myrddin Wild]

Khabib didn't have very polished striking but he dropped McGregor who is considered one of the best KO artists in recent times. Conor was basically useless in the stand up.

Guys like Sandhagen are extremely technical, but Merab who has less weapons still beats him easily.

In these 2 examples, we have elite grapplers... taming teh striking, because everything changes (from stance to strategy etc...) for the striker, when he's facing a spam grappler.

It's my opinion, that McGregor was only caught because he didn't expect Khabib to throw like that... he expected light shots meant to distract him from the TD. iow... If it were a boxing match, Khabib wouldn't get that shot in. Much love for Khabib throwing that in teh mix though. (pun intended~)

So this is an interesting point that "High level striking" can be leveraged in that way.

That said, I think it's a bit much to say "elite striking is over-rated." It seemz to me that we've found holes in it that only a very select few can manipulate... but not all elites have that. I think the discussion is more accurately "How elite grappling can negate elite striking." (or something like that.)

 

[HHJ]

I think the discussion is more accurately "How elite grappling can negate elite striking." (or something like that.)

Indeed.

Or simply unpredictability/pressure can beat tried and true orthodox approaches

Like Jiri vs Rakic

 

[Myrddin Wild]

I think the discussion is more accurately "How elite grappling can negate elite striking." (or something like that.)

Indeed.

Or simply unpredictability/pressure can beat tried and true orthodox approaches

Like Jiri vs Rakic

Great convo~ Your example is actually a completely different method of negating teh elite striker. They use "Drunken Master" style that people bitch endlessly about because they don't understand how it all comez together for them...

...while I'd say teh elite grappler is typically as orthodox in their discipline as teh orthodox striker.

New tread title:

"Wayz 2 git around Elite striking."

 

[Fedorgasm]

A lot of people think good technical striking looks like boxing, or Muy Thai. But it doesn't. Not in this sport.

The threat of a takedown changes everything. It opens up attacks that aren't there in stand-up sports. How many times have we seen a grappler knock out a dude with a superior striking background? Randleman vs Crocop is the best example.

Also, being a defensively minded fighter is much harder in MMA due to the size of the gloves. In boxing you've got 2 gigantic shields on your hands that can block a lot of punches. But in MMA those punches eventually slip through.

Strickland is the only guy that seems to have success with a defensive boxing style, but not only does everyone hate him for it but he's now losing fights with that style.

 

[HHJ]

Strickland is the only guy that seems to have success with a defensive boxing style, but not only does everyone hate him for it but he's now losing fights with that style.

Petr Yan has good defensive style early in the fight but ramps up the offense once he's got the reads down.

People would like Strickland more if he did that

 

[muel]

He has literal k1 experience lol