Why don't we see more soccer kicks to the body?

[BenjaminDuffy]

Not sure. They're awesome and pretty damn painful.

Also Robbie Lawler finished Scott Smith with one in EliteXC.

Nick Diaz wrecked Scott Smith to the body before the finish as well. And Pete Sell dropped Scott Smith with a body shot before running facefirst into Smith's fist.

I see a pattern.

 

[Steve08]

Nick Diaz wrecked Scott Smith to the body before the finish as well. And Pete Sell dropped Scott Smith with a body shot before running facefirst into Smith's fist.

I see a pattern.

Diaz wrecks pretty much everyone with body shots before he finishes them, Shamrock, Daley, Smith, etc. it's awesome.

Body work is truly amazing because you can do all the roadwork in the world and you STILL won't be getting punched to the solar plexus/belly/upper ribs/heart/etc. as you run. It pays dividends in a way that's really only evident in fights that go past the first round, for the reason that nothing really drains a man's conditioning (and will to fight) like a dozen or so good body shots, whether it be punches or kicks and knees and so forth. I can almost guarantee that any fighter would be noticeably slower after such a round or two, and it would only get worse as time went on and the body shots accumulated.

Fights like Maldonado-Villante really exemplify this-- many criticized Villante for "gassing" half-way through the second round, but in truth, his conditioning had simply been sapped by judicious, consistent body punching by Maldonado, who has terrible defense but will regularly enter behind a jab to land two/three nice body shots, will counter leads with his own body shots, etc.

The problem is that effective body punching requires commitment. So many fighters try to fell their opponents with one blow to the extent that they will land an otherwise worrying body-blow, yet because cannot discern an appreciable effect in the opponent, simply give up on it because they don't realize that every body shot you land is money in the bank, and the interest only adds up. Whenever you see a boxer crumple a guy in pain with a big left hook or right straight to the body, it's typically only after his body has already been worked well over, and his guts are sensitive to the puncher.

I also just realized that you were implying Smith is weak to body shots, which may be true. But, body shots are awesome and will drain almost anyone.

 

[FinBJJ]

Well knees to the body of a turtled opponent are pretty common.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

Stomps to any body part of a downed opponent are illegal, and soccer kicks to the head of a downed opponent are illegal under the unified rules.
However, soccer kicks to the BODY of a downed opponent are perfectly legal. So why do we see so few fighters use them in the UFC?

Rockhold vs Philippou and Matt Brown vs Erick Silva are the only fights that I can remember where fighters kick the downed opponents' body.
Often times when a fighter turtles up, we see fighters throwing punches to the head, or trying to take the back to sink in a RNC. Rarely do they ever kick the body of a turtled opponent. Here's to hoping to see more kicks against turtled opponents

I think a lot of it is because the refs seem to eliminate the up/down position a lot in the UFC. Think about Sakuraba vs Belfort and how he brutalized Belfort's legs while he was laying on his back, we never see anything like that in the UFC because the refs will normally separate them if the guy standing isn't going to go into his guard.

Other than that I just don't think fighters train it much so it's not instinctual and positions like that don't happen for long so if you don't have the instinct to kick the body you will miss your chance to do so.

 

[Magooglie]

I think most guys don't want to lose the position. They'd rather just ride the back and have control.

 

[MarloStanfield]

id never be on the bottom getting kicked but if i was id catch that foot and twist the shit out of it and prolly get a sub

 

[theincognito]

Matt Brown did it the other day

 

[BenjaminDuffy]

I also just realized that you were implying Smith is weak to body shots, which may be true. But, body shots are awesome and will drain almost anyone.

Oh, I wasn't implying he was weak to body shots; nobody shrugs off a hard liver shot. I was merely implying that he doesn't defend them very well. :icon_lol:

 

[TheViking]

if you only hit with the foot i don't see how damaging it can be. Sure, if you get it just right in the liver or hit a rib in the perfect way, but overall, i think you really need to get deep in and connect with the shin to be effective

 

[NoContest]

It's another example of the amount of head hunting that goes on MMA. So many fighters ignore the body, whether standing or on the ground. I can't count the amount of times I've seen a fighter hurt his opponent, then wail on his opponents blocking arms while the body is wide open.

Bas Rutten talked about this in Joe Rogan's podcast and mentioned that one of the few guys that goes to the body when they cover the head and then back to the head was Rory Mac

 

[Philtard]

Or you could be blind to miss "or" even when enlarging it 5 times.
There is no way I am gonna edit this.

You're not gonna get it anyway.

Lol, touch

 

[wowspare]

I have a feeling that Abel Trujilo might try it out in the near future. He coincidentally also likes to throw knees from side control

 

[Destroid]

Only effective against an opponent who is turtled up and so hurt or tired they can't move much, most guys opt to throw knees instead of kick, you get at least some control of them while you throw.

 

[bernsy666]

A great man once said "it's a copycat league".

 

[jmadtx]

yeah, there's lots of times when a fighter is turtled up against the cage and they could easily kick the body but they just keep trying to punch with most shots being blocked

 

[Timurd123]

People don't want to risk it with the rules, which is dumb
Super effective as super damaging, a kick at that low of a level is much harder than a standing kick

 

[SKITZADACTYL]

personally i'd like to see more knees to the body on the ground, especially side control or back side control. so many times i see a huge opening for them but most guys are just headhunters.

 

[goodie2sandles]

 

[Just Feed]

Pretty risky...what if you miss...and "clip" his head.

What are you risking though? I'd reckon a warning rather than point deduction would be in order if it was a mere "clip". There's a risk for the striker too - hitting the point of an elbow or hip would hurt you more than them!

I agree with TS, I'm surprised we don't see them more often. Also, knees to the body of a downed opponent, although more common, are still underutilised in my opinion. The gif above from goodie2sandals is the perfect example, it's so effective when the attacker delivers the knees from a standing position. McGregor used this in some of his earlier fights (first one that comes to mind).

 

[DarthChen731]

What are you risking though? I'd reckon a warning rather than point deduction would be in order if it was a mere "clip". There's a risk for the striker too - hitting the point of an elbow or hip would hurt you more than them!

I agree with TS, I'm surprised we don't see them more often. Also, knees to the body of a downed opponent, although more common, are still underutilised in my opinion. The gif above from goodie2sandals is the perfect example, it's so effective when the attacker delivers the knees from a standing position. McGregor used this in some of his earlier fights (first one that comes to mind).

You're risking smashing the dude in the head and getting yourself a DQ loss.