This knockout from an unidentified and undated muay thai event video is as nasty as any we’ve seen.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/DesireisDeath20XX)
This knockout from an unidentified and undated muay thai event video is as nasty as any we’ve seen. The perfectly executed straight right, shin to the face combo renders the victim unconscious and makes him look like he suffers from cerebral palsy or epilepsy.
The upcoming welterweight tilt between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit at UFC 143 (February 4th, Las Vegas) is an exciting prospect for casual viewers and passionate fans alike. The match-up will answer no questions about Diaz or Condit’s ability to deal with the great wrestlers of the division — Diaz in fact hasn’t fought a real takedown artist in half a decade — but it promises to be a damn good tear-up. With Georges St. Pierre out of the fight game for a while and an interim title on the line it also provides just what UFC brass has likely been seeking: We will finally see an exciting striker at the top of the welterweight division.
The match is expected to stay on the feet and it is hoped the two men will “bang it out” until one is left standing. Assuming that neither fighter will come out with the plan of exposing the other’s takedown defense, this article examines the assets and deficits in each man’s bag of tricks from the standing position.
Nick Diaz’s Boxing
Much has been made of Nick Diaz’s pugilistic talent, and rightly so. His excellence while boxing against pure strikers over recent years almost excuses the lack of skilled wrestlers on his record in that time. Nick has taken on the likes of Paul Daley, Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos, KJ Noons, BJ Penn, and Marius Zaromskis in striking contests and got the better of all of them through his ferocity, grit and unique style.
Diaz is a prolific volume puncher, having been known to crash the Compustrike computer by throwing over a hundred punches a round. His form is not attractive in that it rarely provides one-punch knockouts, but his straights are uncompromisingly straight, his hooks loop in behind his opponents guard and when he sets his feet he rips terrific punches to his opponents’ torso; unquestionably he is the poster boy for body-punching in the sport.
Nick often attacks almost side-on in an old fashioned boxing stance with his lead foot turned in, allowing him to turn his lead shoulder further towards his opponent and gain a couple more inches on his already considerable reach (a stylistic feature he shares with his younger brother Nate). Often taking a few substantial punches in the opening exchanges, the Diaz brothers seem near impossible to knock unconscious, yet every opponent they face seems to labor under the illusion that they will be the first to do so.
The upcoming welterweight tilt between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit at UFC 143 (February 4th, Las Vegas) is an exciting prospect for casual viewers and passionate fans alike. The match-up will answer no questions about Diaz or Condit’s ability to deal with the great wrestlers of the division — Diaz in fact hasn’t fought a real takedown artist in half a decade — but it promises to be a damn good tear-up. With Georges St. Pierre out of the fight game for a while and an interim title on the line it also provides just what UFC brass has likely been seeking: We will finally see an exciting striker at the top of the welterweight division.
The match is expected to stay on the feet and it is hoped the two men will “bang it out” until one is left standing. Assuming that neither fighter will come out with the plan of exposing the other’s takedown defense, this article examines the assets and deficits in each man’s bag of tricks from the standing position.
Nick Diaz’s Boxing
Much has been made of Nick Diaz’s pugilistic talent, and rightly so. His excellence while boxing against pure strikers over recent years almost excuses the lack of skilled wrestlers on his record in that time. Nick has taken on the likes of Paul Daley, Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos, KJ Noons, BJ Penn, and Marius Zaromskis in striking contests and got the better of all of them through his ferocity, grit and unique style.
Diaz is a prolific volume puncher, having been known to crash the Compustrike computer by throwing over a hundred punches a round. His form is not attractive in that it rarely provides one-punch knockouts, but his straights are uncompromisingly straight, his hooks loop in behind his opponents guard and when he sets his feet he rips terrific punches to his opponents’ torso; unquestionably he is the poster boy for body-punching in the sport.
Nick often attacks almost side-on in an old fashioned boxing stance with his lead foot turned in, allowing him to turn his lead shoulder further towards his opponent and gain a couple more inches on his already considerable reach (a stylistic feature he shares with his younger brother Nate). Often taking a few substantial punches in the opening exchanges, the Diaz brothers seem near impossible to knock unconscious, yet every opponent they face seems to labor under the illusion that they will be the first to do so.
In addition to his brilliant jab and body work, Diaz also draws punches better than any fighter in the sport — sticking his chin out and raising his hands in the taunting posture that has become iconic in MMA fight photography. As soon as his opponents attempt to punch his head he slips or parries and counters with a salvo of his own blows. Factor in Nick’s habit of throwing multiple punches with the same hand consecutively (“doubling up” or “lever punching”), his ability to launch double-digit punch combinations, his range, and his aptitude for changing rapidly from offense to counter-punching, and Diaz’s boxing begins to look more and more like a minefield for Carlos Condit.
What may interest some fans of fight strategy is the question mark over Nick’s ability to take a body shot. The last man to beat him was the lightweight KJ Noons, who had Diaz breathing hard and attempting to fight from the “butt scoot” position through the use of body punches in the opening stanza of their first meeting. Unfortunately this fight was called off due to the cuts which had opened on Nick’s face at the end of the first round and Noons largely neglected body work when they fought for a second time at welterweight, so the question mark over Diaz’s abdomen remains.
Carlos Condit’s Muay Thai
Condit for his part lacks the boxing prowess of Diaz — often allowing his elbows to flare out when on guard or punching, exposing his body — which could be costly against Diaz, but he has crisp combinations and power to his shots. Being a long, lanky fighter, Condit throws his punches in what are best described as “looping straights,” similar to the way Tommy Hearns threw his right hand in an arc to use momentum.
Condit is also the owner of a solid left hook as he demonstrated against Dan Hardy, though it was his attacking of Hardy’s front knee, taking away Hardy’s stance and making him reluctant to be the aggressor which meant Condit could step into punching range and land his power. If Condit has used that win over Hardy to convince himself that his hands are world-class he may run into problems as he finds out just the same way Donald Cerrone did a few weeks back against Nate Diaz that good punching does not equate to good boxing.
Where Condit does excel however is in combining kicks and punches and in throwing his opponents off of their game with his unusual arsenal of techniques. Great grapplers such as Dong Hyun Kim have had trouble with Condit because of his ability to keep them at range and punish them when they step in. His reach is substantial to begin with but he often uses front kicks to establish an even greater distance between himself and his opponent — such as the one he threw at Kim before finishing him with a spectacular flying knee strike.
One of the interesting points coming into this fight is the weakness against low kicks that both the Diaz brothers have show in the past. Evangelista Santos, Hayato Sakurai and Paul Daley use kicks far less commonly than Condit and found great success against Nick Diaz with low kicks before mysteriously abandoning them to swing for Diaz’s head when he taunted them. Several weeks ago, Donald Cerrone, after being beaten savagely in the first round attempting to box with Nate Diaz, showed how effective kicks could be against the Diaz brothers, but also demonstrated the need to commit to them early when he gassed — just as Santos did against Nick Diaz.
The front-foot-turned-in stances that the brothers present mean that they are particularly vulnerable to kicks to the outside of the leg, rather than the inside. As southpaws, kicking the outside of their lead leg requires the opponent to use his lead leg, just as Fedor Emelianenko did to break Jeff Monson’s leg in November, and this would be a good strategy for Condit to follow. His push kick to the knee may also buckle Nick’s leg inward while preventing Nick from entering punching range, and it would be sensible for Condit to commit to this from the beginning in an attempt to slow Diaz down and limit engagements. When he does find himself in punching range it is in his interest to immediately attempt a Thai Plum or neck clinch in order to prevent Diaz’s combination punching and enable himself to land the clinch knees that have changed the course of so many of his matches.
The Bottom Line:
Carlos Condit is not going to be able to knock Nick Diaz out with pure punching any more than Paul Daley, Cyborg Santos, or Scott Smith could. However, if he combines his biting kicks (particularly his push kick to the knee) with punching combinations, and never attempts to engage Diaz in prolonged exchanges, instead choosing to tie him up or circle out, he may be able to strike his way to a decision or even stop Nick with a high kick or knees.
For Nick Diaz the game plan is clear — get close enough to volume punch against a taller opponent with an identical reach, a challenge he has never faced before. He must convince Condit to meet him in punching range (and his gamesmanship has proven to be up to the task before) or push Condit backwards to prevent him from kicking. Donald Cerrone had so much trouble kicking in the second and third rounds against Nate Diaz even though it was having an effect simply because it is impossible to kick with power while backing up, and eating any amount of punches is detrimental to a fighter’s discipline and wind. If Diaz can begin to back up Carlos Condit by the end of round one, we are unlikely to see Condit reverse the momentum of the fight in the second or third round.
Typically you don’t many instances that demonstrate the effectiveness of Taekwondo in combat sports.
Sure, guys like Anthony Pettis and David Loiseau (back in the day) have shown just how flashy and exciting the art can be, but as far as knockouts go, Muay Thai has become the weapon of choice for most fighters who want to finish opponents like Anderson Silva did Rich Franklin.
This kickboxing competition video out of Japan flipped that theory on its head in a matter of seconds when the Taekwondo dude immediately ran out to the center of the ring and spin-kicked the muay thai stylist into dreamland.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/WhatsOnVideos)
Typically you don’t many instances that demonstrate the effectiveness of Taekwondo in combat sports.
Sure, guys like Anthony Pettis and David Loiseau (back in the day) have shown just how flashy and exciting the art can be, but as far as knockouts go, Muay Thai has become the weapon of choice for most fighters who want to finish opponents like Anderson Silva did Rich Franklin.
This kickboxing competition video out of Japan flipped that theory on its head in a matter of seconds when the Taekwondo dude immediately ran out to the center of the ring and spin-kicked the muay thai stylist into dreamland.
I’ve been wary of Taekwondo guys ever since this one day five years ago when a Korean teenager with jeans and socks on proceeded to tear the mounting straps of of and fold in half two heavy bags with consecutive roundhouse kicks at my kickboxing gym. He apologized, put his shoes back on and walked out as quickly as he came in as we all stared at him in awe wondering what the hell style the guy trained in.
This makes me feel a little bit better about my irrational fear of Taekwondo experts.
If Jordan Mein’s brutal finish of Evangelista “The Other Cyborg” Santos this past weekend showed us anything, it’s that the elbow strike is easily one of the most underutilized, not to mention plain deadly, tools in the MMA game. Now I know, I know, there are a couplepeople out there who will say that the lesson has already been taught, but the fact remains that until we witnessed it, many of us had all but ruled out the elbow as a means to finish a fight on the feet. Well, except for one really, really epic way, which I’m not sure counts. So with that in mind, let us take a look at some of the finer instances of the elbow in combat sports.
Jongsanan Fairtex v. Sakmongkol
Props to Geezer for the find, which features former Muay Thai phenom Anucha Chaiyasen a.k.a “Jongsanan Fairtex” and fellow fighter Sakmongkol. And before you go thinking “Jongsanan Fairtex” is some kind of “Kimbo Slice” style alternate persona, it is actually part of a tradition in Thailand to take the name of your camp. The match, which became known as “the elbow match”, was actually the fifth out of eight times that these two had met in the ring, and was nominated for fight of the decade. The devastating power of the elbow strike was first showcased in Muay Thai, its sharpness equated to that of a razor, and this match is perhaps one of the best examples of its effectiveness.
If Jordan Mein’s brutal finish of Evangelista “The Other Cyborg” Santos this past weekend showed us anything, it’s that the elbow strike is easily one of the most underutilized, not to mention plain deadly, tools in the MMA game. Now I know, I know, there are a couplepeople out there who will say that the lesson has already been taught, but the fact remains that until we witnessed it, many of us had all but ruled out the elbow as a means to finish a fight on the feet. Well, except for one really, really epic way, which I’m not sure counts. So with that in mind, let us take a look at some of the finer instances of the elbow in combat sports.
Jongsanan Fairtex v. Sakmongkol
Props to Geezer for the find, which features former Muay Thai phenom Anucha Chaiyasen a.k.a “Jongsanan Fairtex” and fellow fighter Sakmongkol. And before you go thinking “Jongsanan Fairtex” is some kind of “Kimbo Slice” style alternate persona, it is actually part of a tradition in Thailand to take the name of your camp. The match, which became known as “the elbow match”, was actually the fifth out of eight times that these two had met in the ring, and was nominated for fight of the decade. The devastating power of the elbow strike was first showcased in Muay Thai, its sharpness equated to that of a razor, and this match is perhaps one of the best examples of its effectiveness.
Gary Goodridge v. Paul Herrera
Though the first UFC was meant to demonstrate the effectiveness of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it also showed that you can do serious work with them elbows, son. The fight featured CP Army Captain Gary Goodridge against Paul Herrera. Poor, Poor, Paul Herrera. In the less than half a minute, Goodridge was able to land a rapid fire series of elbows that would make Riki-Oh blush with blood-soaked envy. Never before and never again would the mainstream audience be treated to such a vicious display of the elbow’s power…until Patrick Smith did this to Scott Morris at the very next UFC event. But after that, never again. Probably.
Anderson Silva v Tony Fryklund
You knew this was coming, because one cannot discuss the elbow strike, or any strike for that matter, without mentioning Anderson Silva. Inspired by a move from the Tony Jaa vehicle Ong-Bak, Silva practiced this puppy hundreds of times a night at home before unleashing it on journeyman Tony Fryklund at Cage Rage 16 back in 2006, sending him into a pose that Tank Abbott would have something to say about. It was not only his best KO of all time, but one of the best walk off KO’s of all time, and a testament to the greatness that is the elbow strike.
Jon Jones’ Career
No one, not Kenflo, not Ortiz, not even God himself has demonstrated the effectiveness of elbows in MMA than current Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones. In his wins over Stephan Bonnar, Brandon Vera, and Vladimir Matyushenko, “Bones” practically created his own AND 1 mixtape of elbow laced annihilation. It took a DQ loss to Matt Hamill at the TUF 10 Finale for Bones to truly hone those instruments of destruction, and holy hell did he ever. If Jones’ elbows had a spirit animal, it would be a Sabre-tooth Tiger with ice picks for eyes and sledgehammers for paws. I’m just saying, stay away from those things if you value your face and/or life.
Perhaps Mein’s spectacular finish was just the beginning of forthcoming trend, like double knockouts or Nick Diaz succumbing to expectations. In any case, I think it’s fair to say that the elbow’s stock is rising, and my greedy ass is going to buy every last share. You hear that Michael Douglas?!
Knockout videos are a dime a dozen, particularly in the unforgiving sport of Muay Thai. What makes this one stand out is the anomaly of a one armed man delivering the final blow. As it turns out, this is no anomaly; this is Baxter Humby.
Humby’s right arm was amputated following a complication at birth, and rather than accepting that he’d never play recreational sports he pushed himself to excel at the professional level. “The One Armed Bandit” competed internationally as a member of Canada’s National Track Team. Having trained in the martial arts as a youth, Humby made the questionable decision to embark on a career as a professional fighter and soundly answered those who doubted his resolve.
Baxter has won over 15 kickboxing and muay thai titles, including: Canadian Super Welterweight Kickboxing Champion, IMTC World Middleweight Champion, IKBA International Kickboxing Champion, and IKKC USA Kickboxing Champion. The above first round knockout over Zidov Domenik took place Friday night at the Muaythai Premier League “Stars and Stripes” event. Humby successfully defended his WMC Intercontinental Championship.
Knockout videos are a dime a dozen, particularly in the unforgiving sport of Muay Thai. What makes this one stand out is the anomaly of a one armed man delivering the final blow. As it turns out, this is no anomaly; this is Baxter Humby.
Humby’s right arm was amputated following a complication at birth, and rather than accepting that he’d never play recreational sports he pushed himself to excel at the professional level. “The One Armed Bandit” competed internationally as a member of Canada’s National Track Team. Having trained in the martial arts as a youth, Humby made the questionable decision to embark on a career as a professional fighter and soundly answered those who doubted his resolve.
Baxter has won over 15 kickboxing and muay thai titles, including: Canadian Super Welterweight Kickboxing Champion, IMTC World Middleweight Champion, IKBA International Kickboxing Champion, and IKKC USA Kickboxing Champion. The above first round knockout over Zidov Domenik took place Friday night at the Muaythai Premier League “Stars and Stripes” event. Humby successfully defended his WMC Intercontinental Championship.
Cosmo Alexandre could pan out to be a very exciting addition to Bellator’s roster
Yesterday, Liverkick.com passed along a report that Bellator has signed accomplished Muay Thai kickboxer Cosmo Alexandre to compete in their lightweight division. Fighting mostly at 160 and 170 pounds, Cosmo has compiled a 40-14-1 kickboxing record over the past seven years, as well as a 2-0 professional boxing record. As for his mixed martial arts experience, the Brazilian currently has none in the form of professional fights. Alexandre trains out of Imperial Athletics, whose notable fighters include Rashad Evans, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Jorge Santiago.
Intriguing signing, to say the least. It is certainly consistent with Bjorn Rebney’s model for developing fighters. Cosmo Alexandre is an unknown name to the American MMA fan that could essentially develop into Bellator’s version of Donald Cerrone: An elite striker who isn’t a fish out of water on the ground. Yet while Cosmo Alexandre may be able to translate his elite striking pedigree and strong camp into a successful MMA career, it is just as likely that he may be Bellator’s version of Ray Sefo: The world class kickboxer who gets caught in submissions that most of the white belts at your gym would feel embarrassed for succumbing to. Bellator’s lightweight division (and welterweight division, if he decides he’s more comfortable at 170) is stacked with good grapplers. While it helps to have Rashad Evans as a training partner, Alexandre is going to find himself getting taken down often due to the lack of fighters willing to stand and trade with him. If he doesn’t have good enough jiu jitsu to mount some offense off of his back, or at least avoid submission attempts, we may be in store for some pretty dissappointing fights. I’ll pause for you to make your own “It’s cool, he’s Brazilian” jokes.
Highlights from his Muay Thai career after the jump.
Cosmo Alexandre could pan out to be a very exciting addition to Bellator’s roster
Yesterday, Liverkick.com passed along a report that Bellator has signed accomplished Muay Thai kickboxer Cosmo Alexandre to compete in their lightweight division. Fighting mostly at 160 and 170 pounds, Cosmo has compiled a 40-14-1 kickboxing record over the past seven years, as well as a 2-0 professional boxing record. As for his mixed martial arts experience, the Brazilian currently has none in the form of professional fights. Alexandre trains out of Imperial Athletics, whose notable fighters include Rashad Evans, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Jorge Santiago.
Intriguing signing, to say the least. It is certainly consistent with Bjorn Rebney’s model for developing fighters. Cosmo Alexandre is an unknown name to the American MMA fan that could essentially develop into Bellator’s version of Donald Cerrone: An elite striker who isn’t a fish out of water on the ground. Yet while Cosmo Alexandre may be able to translate his elite striking pedigree and strong camp into a successful MMA career, it is just as likely that he may be Bellator’s version of Ray Sefo: The world class kickboxer who gets caught in submissions that most of the white belts at your gym would feel embarrassed for succumbing to. Bellator’s lightweight division (and welterweight division, if he decides he’s more comfortable at 170) is stacked with good grapplers. While it helps to have Rashad Evans as a training partner, Alexandre is going to find himself getting taken down often due to the lack of fighters willing to stand and trade with him. If he doesn’t have good enough jiu jitsu to mount some offense off of his back, or at least avoid submission attempts, we may be in store for some pretty dissappointing fights. I’ll pause for you to make your own “It’s cool, he’s Brazilian” jokes.
So, are we going to be seeing highlight reel knockouts, or will he be taken down and dry humped to death before we can say “Cole Konrad really isn’t that boring”? Tell us in the comments section.