Why is there such a low standard for striking in mma?

[itheuser]

Like what?

Like their own grappling tournaments with varying rule sets, and technical emphasis.

What does a boxer have? Boxing.

What does a kickboxer have? Kickboxing, or whatever traditional martial arts tournament they came from.

 

[tenniswhiz]

because you have to learn about six different disciplines instead of drilling down on just one?

It's not just that.

Using kickboxing while worrying about the other 5 disciplines (grappling arts that specialize in upper body clinch TD's, freestyle wrestling, BJJ, and boxing) makes kickboxing look sloppy.

 

[podsox]

Because great boxing will get u taken down. Have to adjust for mma.

 

[moreorless87]

It keeps improving and will continue to.

You have fewer fighters who are really clueless standing as the years go on but I'm not convinced its all forward progression. You look at the HW division for example and I think it was much better a decade ago than it is now, indeed I think in the mid 00's it was arguably the best striking we've seen in MMA with Fedor, Crocop, Sergei, Hunt, Semmy, Aleks, Arlovski, Nog, etc.

The big issue really is that todays MMA still generally holds true to the old idea that its about covering your weakneses, fighters with great strengths generally had a background in those areas beforehand. Sometimes a non striker can become a great one but this tends to be quite a rare thing and generally the number of quality strikers moving into MMA isn't what it was a decade ago.

 

[itheuser]

I think a big component of it is the expectation.

Example being this:

Holly Holm is constantly promoted as an elite female boxer, so you expect striking prowess and you see it immediately.

You then get told that Sage Northcutt is a 3rd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and Karate, then you see him get dropped by a guy with zero striking background in Mickey Gall.

It just leaves a sour taste in your mouth, because you feel like you're being lied to.

Quite simply, the majority of them are just not very good at striking.

Better strikers have been KO'ed many times by lesser strikers.

In MMA, chance plays a greater role in the stand-up game than it does in grappling because the distance has been closed. The space has been filled. The gloves are smaller, so expecting to absorb numerous punches throughout a fight like in boxing, is no longer reasonable.

It's not uncommon for poor striking technique to overcome sound striking technique because of the various angles a strike can come from, and the importance of natural attributes such as speed, reach, and aggression in the striking game.

 

[Polish Punisher]

Really getting over the striking only trolls.

MMA striking is real striking its what the closest thing to striking in a street fight looks like minus the dirty illegal strikes(unless your John Jones).

Its not striking only rules that protect a fighter and allow them to do things they would never do under MMA rules or on the street without these restrictions.

9 out of 10 Pro boxers and Kickboxers who have come to MMA have been crushed.

The top guys have been Crocop and Hunt. There hasnt been a high level pro boxer who has come close to sniffing a belt. Most have been past their prime like Mercer and Toney who got spanked.

But the pro boxers who are high level and in their prime either keep their mouths shut and then you have the occasional fighter like Mayweather who talked shit until he got into MMA as a fan but he will never step in the octogon as he knows it will tarnish his legacy.

I too started out as a K-1 and Kyokushin Karate guy. I still enjoy the striking arts and still practice them along with grappling to this day. But only trolls or ignorant new to MMA fans think the type of crap that gets posted by people like TS.

 

[king of theRing]

I still don't think most of you know where I'm coming from. I'm saying fans in general have low standards. They will look at guys like Frankie Edgar and say ' he has great boxing". But in reality, it's day 1 basic stuff. Even that jouban kid last night, I seen people thinking what he did was amazing, when in reality it was mid level at best

Stop with these post about all the different aspects bs. I'm not dumb. A good friend of mine was a kickboxer turned mma fighter, and in 30 something mma fights, he has only looked great and shown his true skills in a handful of them. I'm saying from a viewers stand point

 

[mon]

It's been a long time since I wrote at sherdog, but I just had to make a comment this time

I've been doing martial arts since 1989 and come from a family of boxers, one even with great acclaim. I've trained with top fighters, been in the national team in one sport and gone through most efficient stand-up sports for my leisure. I consider myself a very proficient stand-up fighter (even though getting old now).

Take it for what you want, believe it or not but..

My experience is this, with pure stand-up rules some mma fighters are not world beaters. But they didn't train for that did they?!

However, when you then spar or fight in mma rules that same fighter tends to beat you even in the stand-up game. It's because the foundations change, you can't keep the same footwork, you can't keep the same postures and positions due to the risk of being taken down. The cage is also larger than most sports rings so you need to cover more ground as well so the range changes.

Only time it changes is with fighters that are world class standing up but don't mid getting taken down because their bottom game is awesome.

So you can't judge mma-standup with boxing, Thai or kickboxing eyes. You have to see it for what it is, different.

Superb post though there has been a few I must say so its a good thread.

Its the mental aspect as much as anything and why you sometimes see a shitty striker/good grappler winning the striking exchanges vs a good striker/shitty grappler. They can let go and not care about the takedown but the good striker has to go back to consciously proficient from unconsciously proficient and this has a massive cost on timing, speed and confidence.
The game is changed when you lose the ability to be comfortable and relax into your game and you have lost a massive part of your game- to just do with minimal ongoing adjustments during the fight which involves the subconscious mind.... Now everything is chaotic mess and doubt enters after comfort leaves. .

Big props for the join date and low posts, most people seem to have far too much to say with too little content.