Tonight at UFC 141, Dong Hyun Kim battered and bruised Sean Pierson en route to a unanimous decision victory.
What were some of the lessons to be gleaned from the encounter? Two things.
First, the front kick is here to stay. It’s the “move of the moment.” It’s the iPhone 4 of MMA.
The Steven Seagal-inspired move took the MMA world by storm when Anderson Silva used it to knock out Vitor Belfort, then Lyoto Machida used it to finish Randy Couture.
Tonight, Kim took to the air to unleash a few flying front kicks of his own. One thrown at the end of the second round put Pierson on the canvas. The bell saved Pierson from a TKO, but the Canadian was wobbly getting up, and even walked the wrong way for a moment as he headed back to his corner.
Second, Kim is for real in the UFC welterweight division. His judo throws and grappling were as strong as ever, but he also displayed much-evolved striking against Pierson (and not just with the front kick).
With this win, Kim (15-1-1-1) recovered from his first career loss, suffered at the hands of Carlos Condit back in July. Kim also boasts wins over Matt Brown, Nate Diaz and Amir Sadollah. It’s time for him to take a step up in competition now. How about Rick Story or Johny Hendricks?
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