Consider this, if the kicks were not used before hand, would the 2 takedowns have been successful. Also the snap kicks to midsection do a lot of damage, and drain energy like mad.Yeah, I get that, but every takedown he went for he landed. And once he was ontop it was a mauling. Sometimes it's best to just stick to your bread and butter.
Aljo's kicking game just seems disjointed and not really setting anything up. It does do damage, of course, and body shots will always pay off later, so there is that.