Read that this morning, some very good stuff, I especially liked the bit about Archie Moore, that crossed-armed guard is awesome.
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Jack Slack: Four More Strikers Every MMA Fan Should Be Studying
By Jack Slack
Archie Moore
Last year I wrote a list of four strikers you—as a fight fan—should be watching. Included on that list were Glory knockout artist, Andy Ristie, Kyokushin karate competitor, Valeri Dmitrov, Muay Thai legend Saenchai, and boxing world champion, Gennady Golovkin.
I'm assuming that if you wanted to research those fighters, you've had plenty of time since then. Therefore, I think it's high time that we look at a new batch of strikers, their quirks, and why they will help you to understand not just what is going on in MMA, but what is likely to catch on in the future.
Mike Zambidis
What to watch for: Cross Counter, Right Hook—Right Knee Double Attack, Body Work
'Iron' Mike Zambidis has been a favorite in kickboxing circles for many years. The Greek fighter often comes in considerably smaller than his opponents, but is known for his tremendous aggression and ability to end fights with one punch. The left hook and the cross counter are the favorites of Zambidis and, just like the real Iron Mike, he does some of his best work when he gets inside of an opponent's jab and fires the right hand across the top.
Zambidis famously knocked out Kid Yamamoto in one punch, which is pretty cool, but Yamamoto was not a kickboxer. What really turned heads was knocking out guys like Albert Kraus exactly the same way.
Kraus steps in with a jab, Zambidis performs the inside slip combined with an overhand right, creating a Cross Counter over Kraus' left arm. Just beautiful.
Zambidis is fascinating for the reason that he fought as such a height disadvantage in kickboxing. In any sport which permits kicks and knees, a height disadvantage is much more difficult to deal with than in plain boxing, because bobbing and slipping can lead to eating a brutal knee to the face.
Speaking of knees, Zambidis was a great exponent of the jumping knee despite his height disadvantage. Pairing the right hook with the right knee is nothing new (we spoke extensively about how this is Errol Zimmerman's go-to), but Zambidis' does it very well.
Zambidis' powerful right hook forces his opponent to raise their gloves, this leaves them with a pair of upright forearms through which his knee can travel. Notice this beautiful feinted right hand to hopping knee strike against Stanley Nandex (followed by a bicycle knee for the second knockdown and the finish).
And it works the other way too. Raising the right knee will often bring an opponent's left hand forward for an instance. Zambidis exploits this with the superman right hook—you'll remember that this is the punch that made Lyoto Machida face plant straight into a guillotine versus Jon Jones.
Continue reading here:
http://fightland.vice.com/blog/four-...ld-be-studying
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Jack Slack: Four More Strikers Every MMA Fan Should Be Studying
By Jack Slack
Archie Moore
Last year I wrote a list of four strikers you—as a fight fan—should be watching. Included on that list were Glory knockout artist, Andy Ristie, Kyokushin karate competitor, Valeri Dmitrov, Muay Thai legend Saenchai, and boxing world champion, Gennady Golovkin.
I'm assuming that if you wanted to research those fighters, you've had plenty of time since then. Therefore, I think it's high time that we look at a new batch of strikers, their quirks, and why they will help you to understand not just what is going on in MMA, but what is likely to catch on in the future.
Mike Zambidis
What to watch for: Cross Counter, Right Hook—Right Knee Double Attack, Body Work
'Iron' Mike Zambidis has been a favorite in kickboxing circles for many years. The Greek fighter often comes in considerably smaller than his opponents, but is known for his tremendous aggression and ability to end fights with one punch. The left hook and the cross counter are the favorites of Zambidis and, just like the real Iron Mike, he does some of his best work when he gets inside of an opponent's jab and fires the right hand across the top.
Zambidis famously knocked out Kid Yamamoto in one punch, which is pretty cool, but Yamamoto was not a kickboxer. What really turned heads was knocking out guys like Albert Kraus exactly the same way.
Kraus steps in with a jab, Zambidis performs the inside slip combined with an overhand right, creating a Cross Counter over Kraus' left arm. Just beautiful.
Zambidis is fascinating for the reason that he fought as such a height disadvantage in kickboxing. In any sport which permits kicks and knees, a height disadvantage is much more difficult to deal with than in plain boxing, because bobbing and slipping can lead to eating a brutal knee to the face.
Speaking of knees, Zambidis was a great exponent of the jumping knee despite his height disadvantage. Pairing the right hook with the right knee is nothing new (we spoke extensively about how this is Errol Zimmerman's go-to), but Zambidis' does it very well.
Zambidis' powerful right hook forces his opponent to raise their gloves, this leaves them with a pair of upright forearms through which his knee can travel. Notice this beautiful feinted right hand to hopping knee strike against Stanley Nandex (followed by a bicycle knee for the second knockdown and the finish).
And it works the other way too. Raising the right knee will often bring an opponent's left hand forward for an instance. Zambidis exploits this with the superman right hook—you'll remember that this is the punch that made Lyoto Machida face plant straight into a guillotine versus Jon Jones.
Continue reading here:
http://fightland.vice.com/blog/four-...ld-be-studying
