Why is Thompson able to keep his hands down the whole fight?

[JosephDredd]

Tyson was taught to punch at weird angles because it's the punch you don't see that knocks you out.

Lots of TMA guys fight with low hands and it's great for stuffing takedowns, but they have to be like lightning on their feet

 

[listrahtes]

Thompson has shown good leg kicks himself; I'm sure he knows how to check a kick or two as well. I don't think even strong MT is going to work on Wonderboy.

I did not mean that Thompson doesnt have good kicks. The point is someone like Shogun was also a master of timing and his kicks did a lot of damage blocked or not blocked. If you punish someones lead leg consistently who fights like Thompson he looses a lot of mobility and range and is much more vulnerable.

When you "jump" into range, if timed well you cant deflect the incoming low kick because your body weight is on the leg. Its all about timing and enough damage kills your most precious skill "movement".

Someone like Cruz gets away with it because 96% of the time he does not shift weight, cant get countered but also cant put damage on the opponent. Cruz has phenomenal foot work but its nearly only about evading damage and well thats why I hope he will be the only one fighting like that. Think about two Cruz in the ring. That would be a dance marathon but not a fight. He needs an opponent who comes forward and takes the risk otherwise its solo dancing.

 

[listrahtes]

You're either very quick or very cocky to fight hands down. It doesn't end well for most that do it. Prime ali, sergio martinez, for boxing and prime anderson silva, and chuck for mma are the only good examples I can think of. They also got their shit smashed when they got older and did it.

I would even say prime Chuck paid a high price against Rampages tight defense and got clocked consistently.
Rampage vs. Chuck is also a very good example regarding the importance of a clean defense.

 

[HwoarangStyle]

Still think low kicks are the key to beat him.

me to. i know its a different thing but if you watch the kickboxing match between Raymond Daniels and Joseph Valtellini you'll see that was a huge part of Valtellini beating him.

 

[listrahtes]

Easy to do when you take away your opponents vision

Wow that looks incredibly shady and a planned combination.

 

[ReasonableMMAFan]

I did not mean that Thompson doesnt have good kicks. The point is someone like Shogun was also a master of timing and his kicks did a lot of damage blocked or not blocked. If you punish someones lead leg consistently who fights like Thompson he looses a lot of mobility and range and is much more vulnerable.

When you "jump" into range, if timed well you cant deflect the incoming low kick because your body weight is on the leg. Its all about timing and enough damage kills your most precious skill "movement".

Someone like Cruz gets away with it because 96% of the time he does not shift weight, cant get countered but also cant put damage on the opponent. Cruz has phenomenal foot work but its nearly only about evading damage and well thats why I hope he will be the only one fighting like that. Think about two Cruz in the ring. That would be a dance marathon but not a fight. He needs an opponent who comes forward and takes the risk otherwise its solo dancing.

I'd hope Stephen has a strong pain threshold. Because eventually you're going to start hurting the person throwing leg kicks more than they're hurting you.
Yeah, I agree. Well timed leg kicks are extremely difficult to get around. But Wonderboy just seems like too much of a creative striker for that to work on him. He's the type of guy who might land a spinning heel kick to the chin the first ten seconds of a fight; completely negating leg kicks.

 

[D3thr0n3d K1ng]

Pretty much every fighter, minus Anderson, keeps their hands up when fighting.

Almost the entire fight, Wonderboy had his hands down, and he still did terrific. I don't fully understand how he does this while every other fighter must block....it was really impressive.

How come more fighters don't do the same thing?

His karate background. Karate/TKD guys use footwork and distance to evade attacks more than blocks or head movement.

 

[ineverpost]

Hopefully cm punk has the same style in his debut.

 

[panzer723]

MVP and Wonderboy.........Karate domination in MMA is about to happen again....makes Machida proud.

 

[dontlaugh]

me to. i know its a different thing but if you watch the kickboxing match between Raymond Daniels and Joseph Valtellini you'll see that was a huge part of Valtellini beating him.

Is key to beat them. The toll they'll take on the legs will eventually slow them down and force them to be defensive. You kinda tear through their counter attacking. If they're not good with hands they're screwed, but either way you'll take away a lot of their sense of space and be able to hit them more.

 

[HwoarangStyle]

Easy to do when you take away your opponents vision

yo what the fuck. fuck wonderboy.

 

[ocfightfan]

Because he understands distance, timing, angles and footwork.