He's been doing it since the Nate Diaz fight. Could be a distraction, could be it actually can hurt. I've been hit in the thigh, ever hear of a charlie horse? Doesn't feel good.
The risk vs the reward makes this a move that's very situational. The chances of doing significant damage vs the chances of your opponent blasting you in the face with a counter.
bendo was just taunting cowboy... He would say, "who won the kentucky derby?" then say, "charlie horse!" and punch cowboy in the thigh. Pretty badass.
guys try out new things when they're sparing
Then again what's the point in foot stump and shoulder shrug
I think it's all about scoring points without really engaging. Same goes for those kicks to the thigh. Very low risk and you can pump up your total strikes landed really quickly. I appreciate that he wasn't throw them at the knees but I don't think those shots to the quads were hurting at all.