With even a casual look around the UFC today, something is immediately apparent as it relates to striking: changes are afoot. Whether it's the movement training of Conor McGregor, the novelty of the footwork of Dominick Cruz or the ability of T.J. Dillashaw to be unpredictable as he shifts in the pocket, there is a new wave of striker taking over the elite ranks. Just as MMA itself was proof more than one style of unarmed combat was necessary to succeed, the game's elite strikers adopt that mentality both to their overall game as well as specific domains like their striking arsenal. They take what's useful, drop what isn't, learn from many different styles and create something new on their own.
As a consequence, they're not merely having massive success, but demonstrating a version of the game that visually looks different than what MMA audiences are accustomed to seeing. The questions, however, is why did it take so long for this to finally happen, how replicable at scale is all of it and what else can reasonably be added to their already advanced striking arsenals?
To help better make sense of this phenomenon, JacksonWink MMA's striking coach Brandon Gibson spoke to MMA Fighting about what's happened, why only studying traditional forms of striking is antiquated for modern MMA, who is leading the charge in striking's development and what's the next step in the game's evolution.
View: https://soundcloud.com/thelukethomas/technique-talk-brandon-gibson-explains-the-future-of-mma-striking
LINK: Technique Talk: Brandon Gibson explains why MMA striking's future is now
