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ADVANCED STRIKING
Tactics of Boxing,
Boxing, Kickboxing
Kickboxing
and MMA Masters
Jack Slack
Advanced Striking
To Rachel and Rosie
©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com

www.FightsGoneBy.com 2
Advanced Striking
To Rachel and Rosie

Advanced Striking

Advanced Striking
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................6
The Purpose of This Book .........................................................................................6
For the Boxing, Kickboxing or MMA Student..........................................................6
For the Fan .................................................................................................................6
How to Watch a Fight ................................................................................................7
A Note on Photos .......................................................................................................8
Badr Hari – The Golden Boy of K-1..............................................................................9
Switch Kick..............................................................................................................10
Right Straight to the Body .......................................................................................11
Head – Body – Head – Head....................................................................................12
A Second Variation..................................................................................................14
Drawing Hook..........................................................................................................16
Ernesto Hoost – Mr. Perfect ........................................................................................17
3 – 4 – 3 Low Kick ..................................................................................................18
Counter Low Kick....................................................................................................19
Knee Spike ...............................................................................................................20
The Diaz Brothers – Machismo Powered Volume Punchers.......................................21
Lever Punch or “Doubling Up” ...............................................................................22
Drawing Parry..........................................................................................................23
Window Stance ........................................................................................................24
Floyd Mayweather Jr. - The Pretty Boy.......................................................................25
Elbow Block.............................................................................................................26
Hook and Clutch ......................................................................................................27
Body Jab...................................................................................................................28
The Mayweather Cross Counter Variation ..............................................................29
Shoulder Roll Counters............................................................................................30
A Second Variation..................................................................................................31
Buakaw Por. Pramuk – The White Lotus.....................................................................32
Probing Lead and Teep ............................................................................................33
Step Up Knee ...........................................................................................................34
Teep Defence ...........................................................................................................35
Frankie Edgar – The Undersized Answer....................................................................36
Jabbing to Knee Tap ................................................................................................37
Knee Tap to Liver Kick ...........................................................................................39
Outside Low Kick ....................................................................................................40
Edgar Pivot...............................................................................................................41
Junior dos Santos - Cigano.........................................................................................42
Hands Low Stance ...................................................................................................43
Body Straight Counter .............................................................................................44
Left Hook – Right Uppercut ....................................................................................45
Andy Hug – The Blue Eyed Samurai............................................................................46
Hug Tornado ............................................................................................................47
Axe Kick ..................................................................................................................49
Round Kick – Rear Straight .....................................................................................50
Sugar Ray Robinson – Boxing's Smoothest Fighter ....................................................51
'Operation Left Hook'...............................................................................................52
Safety Lead ..............................................................................................................54
Shoe Shine Flurries ..................................................................................................55
Anderson Silva – The Spider at the Center of the Middleweight Web.........................56
Southpaw Takedown Defense..................................................................................57
©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 4
Advanced Striking
Pursuing Right Hook................................................................................................58

Front Snap Kick .......................................................................................................59
Back Elbow..............................................................................................................60
Outside Low Kick Trap ...........................................................................................61
Inside Low Kick Trap ..............................................................................................62
Alistair Overeem – The Strongest in Seven Billion......................................................63
The Cross Counter ...................................................................................................64
'The Uberknee' .........................................................................................................65
Lunging Right Hand ................................................................................................66
Stepping Lead Uppercut ..........................................................................................67
Fedor Emelianenko – The Last Emperor.....................................................................68
Casting Punch ..........................................................................................................69
Right Straight – Left Uppercut – Left Hook ............................................................70
Zulu ..........................................................................................................................71
Inside Hand Trap......................................................................................................72
Joe Louis – The Brown Bomber...................................................................................73
Jab – Left Hook – Right Hook .................................................................................74
Braddock KO ...........................................................................................................75
Back-Step Jab – Uppercut – Left Hook ...................................................................76
Jersey Joe Walcott – The Savviest Man in Boxing ......................................................77
Side Steps.................................................................................................................78
Cakewalk..................................................................................................................79
'The Perfect Punch'...................................................................................................80
Manny Pacquiao – The Saviour of Boxing ..................................................................81
The Hatton Side Step ...............................................................................................82
Double Left Straight ................................................................................................83
Weaving Right Hook ...............................................................................................83
Weaving Right Hook ...............................................................................................84
B.J. Penn – The Prodigy ..............................................................................................85
Slipping Counter Jab................................................................................................86
Sean Sherk Running Combination...........................................................................88
Open Guard Cross Counter ......................................................................................89
Jack Johnson – The Galvaston Giant ..........................................................................90
Jabbing into the Clinch ............................................................................................91
The Jack Johnson Uppercut .....................................................................................92
Underhook Left Hook ..............................................................................................94
Roy Jones Jr. - Mr Unstoppable ..................................................................................95
Right Lead Stance ....................................................................................................96
Upper Arms Defence ...............................................................................................98
Step Back Lead Uppercut ........................................................................................99
Step Back Right Straight........................................................................................100
Jerome Le Banner – The Hercules of K-1 .................................................................101
Lead Low Kick ......................................................................................................102
Lead Low Counter .................................................................................................103
'The Millennium KO' .............................................................................................104
Giorgio Petrosyan – The Southpaw Doctor of Muay Thai ........................................105
Jab – Pull – Lead Hook ..........................................................................................106
Jab – Step Back – Cross Counter ...........................................................................107
Southpaw Knee Strike............................................................................................108
The Petrosyan Shift................................................................................................109
Against an Opponent..............................................................................................110

Advanced Striking
Introduction
The Purpose of This Book
The purpose of this book is not to reinvent the way the striking martial arts are
viewed, nor is it in any way meant to represent a comprehensive guide to striking in
boxing, kickboxing or MMA. Each of these disciplines could be the subject of
numerous tomes, and many exist on each, this book, however, intends to focus on the
unique strategies that make certain accomplished combatants so successful.
It is important to remember that in the world of combative sports – no matter
whether they allow kicks and grappling or not – few losses can be written off as dumb
luck. Almost every loss is the result of a basic error being made, or of an opponent's
game plan being implemented to success. This publication will attempt to pinpoint
why, despite average physical abilities, some fighters are so far superior to their
opposition. Many fighters will be featured in this book and some possess above
average physical abilities in their field – such as the lengthy Badr Hari, or the
seemingly tireless Diaz brothers. None, however, rely purely on their physical
attributes to win contests and each apply techniques in their bouts which may be
readily adapted and applied by casual and competitive stri kers alike.
For the Boxing, Kickboxing or MMA Student

For the striking practitioner, whether he be the casual hobbyist or the hardened
athlete, I hope this book can provide a few ideas for training. I would not go so far as
to claim that this is an instructional, but rather a case study in the techniques utilized
by those men whose brilliance is often written off as God-given talent. If thi s book
can illuminate for young fighters and martial artist just a few new strategies for
offence and defence, I shall be very pleased indeed.
Sadly, and quite rightly, the best fighters in the world are not the best people to
go to for advice on how they fight as they do. The majority of top fighters with books
out now on striking technique tend to still be in active competition. Why then would
they want to give away the certain techniques which make them so effective? Often,
they instead choose to depict 200 techniques varying from useful to bizarre, which fail
to illustrate to any degree why they themselves are successful. By highlighting the few
techniques for each fighter featured in this book that I feel l ed them to a great deal of
success, I hope to have eliminated the need for “filler” material.
For the Fan

Fans of combat sports are often in search of better intellectual understanding of their
chosen pastime, but unfortunately spend most of their lives being talked down to.
Many boxing, kickboxing or MMA organisations are so terrified that fans will change
the channel on the TV during a lull in action that their commentators spend the
majority of the time talking about a fi ghter's personal background, emotional state,
and screaming so loudly through any moments of actual action in the match that fans
are left watching a different fight with the same comments over and over again.
One can ask any NBA, NFL, football or hockey fan what they think a coach
did wrong and they will give you a list of formation changes and substitutions which
they believe were ineffectual. Speaking to a boxing, kickboxing or MMA fan,
however, you will find that the general belief is in “establishing the jab”, throwing
“punches in bunches” or “working the angles”. These are firstly, massive

Advanced Striking
generalisations, and secondly, phrases which people simply repeat from commentators
who didn't properly explain them to begin with.
It is my sincerest hope that through simple, step by step examination of a f ew
of the most successful strategies employed by some of the best strikers in boxing,
kickboxing and MMA, fans of these sports will finish this book with a greater
understanding of their favourite pastimes.
How to Watch a Fight

One thing that should be gained from this book is the knowledge that only suckers get
knocked out without a set up or without making an error, and the vast majority of
professional athletes are not suckers. They train their craft every day, have finely
tuned reactions and an understanding of damage limitation. Whenever you watch a
fight from now on, try to pinpoint why it turned out the way it did:
− What was giving the loser trouble?
− What was giving the winner trouble – should the loser have used this tactic
more readily?
− In the event of a knockout (or even submission) what made the hole for the
technique?
A final point before we move into the tricks and techniques of some of the savvy
masters of the last 150 years of combat sports, do not be deceived by techniques
which fighters try to have you notice. In his book, Outfighting, the legendary British
boxer, Jim Driscoll recounts how a young English boxer was having great success in
the ring and made sure that his chopping punch to the kidney from within t he clinch
was noticed by doing it constantly. Driscoll recounts how it was the fighter's intellect
and skills which were winning him fights, yet because of the obviousness of the
kidney punch almost all contests in Britain for the next two years devolved into bouts
of kidney slapping in the clinch. If a technique seems 100 times more discernible than
others, it is probably not responsible for a fighter's success, or his opponents would
have adapted to it by the time that he reached the big leagues.

Advanced Striking
A Note on Photos
Throughout this book models will be used to demonstrate the techniques of great
Kickboxing, Boxing and MMA fighters. The reasons for this are two fold;
 The impossibility of obtaining all the rights to use photographs and stills from
the many fights mentioned in this book.
 Clarity of understanding. Techniques are hard to see in fights as an opponent
will be attempting his own techniques simultaneous to those by the fighter we
are studying.
However, in addition to the demonstrative photographs, instances of the t echnique
being employed will also be listed. Footage of many K-1, boxing and MMA matches
is readily available on Youtube and other video sharing sites, and this is a golden age
for the study of fight film.
My sincere thanks are extended to the two young men who posed for these photos per
my instructions. They spent many hours enduring my rigorous demands from behind
the camera, and it would have been impossible to produce this book without them.

Advanced Striking
Badr Hari – The Golden Boy of K-1
Perhaps the most notable heavyweight in the last 3 years of the K-1 kickboxing
promotion's existence, the talented young Morrocan burst on to the K-1 scene with a
spinning back roundhouse kick knockout to avenge an earlier loss t o Stefan Leko.
This kick has been variously called the most spectacular kick and knockout in K-1's
history and led fans who had been unfamiliar with Hari to believe that he would be a
flashy kicker through his K-1 tenure. Fans and some pundits did not expect Hari to
develop one of the most dangerous boxing games in the entire kickboxing world. A
gangly fighter, Hari stands 6'5” but fights with all the aggression and punching power
of a young Mike Tyson.
Hari went on an unprecedented run in K-1, an organisation which has seen the same
few men pass around the titles since it's inception. Hari knocked out kickboxing
legends Ray Sefo and Peter Aerts with seeming ease, going on to demolish the 6'11”
Semmy Schilt in the first round in 2009. Hari's career has been marred by building
stunning knockout streaks, then seemingly becoming overconfident and getting
caught swinging. Much of his rapid improvement came through the rebuilding of his
game – almost all of Hari's losses have come through sudden knockouts, this is no
scratch on his chin, he fights huge punchers. Often it was through unpredictable
techniques such as Peter Graham's “Rolling Thunder”, a rolli ng kick or “Kaiten Geri”.
Consequently, Hari's style became one with an ultra tight guard, his gloves being held
almost above his head, using his forearms to guard his entire head rather than his
gloves. When Hari punches his other hand remains nailed in this position, having
fallen victim to too many counter-punches, and his combinations are smooth but
loaded with power.
While the strengths of Hari's style are his characteristic aggression, power and sharp
punching technique, his weakness is certainly his emotional fragility. The
heavyweight division of both boxing and kickboxing are both full of giants who lack
control over their emotions. Hari's anger issues have cost him much outside of the
ring, as assault charges kept him from competing during much of 2011, but have also
been responsible for many of his losses in the ring as he swings wide and gets caught
on his jaw.

Advanced Striking
Switch Kick
Hari often begins a match by throwing his lead leg switch kick. This is where he
rapidly switches stance and throws a kick with his left leg (now behind him). This
technique rarely causes severe damage to his opponent, but to block it they must
square up their stance, which makes them vulnerable to his right straight.
Black faces White in stance Black switches his feet, preparing a

powerful left kick
Black unleashes a high kick which connects with White's forearm and forces his stance to
square up in order to absorb the kick. This kick helps Hari create a square target for his
powerful straights.

Advanced Striking
Right Straight to the Body

As a fighter who spent much of his career fighting under Muay Thai rules, Hari
generally likes to feel his opponents out for the first portion of a fight – though there
have been some notable exceptions – going into a higher gear once he has started
connecting his powerful pot shots and has an opponent trying to play catch up. One of
his key techniques in the feel out phase of a match is the long right straight to the
body, which he can throw as a lead or after a jab. Carrying a reach advantage into
most matches Badr does not need to weave or duck out after throwing this long punch
as the opponent cannot reach him with a hook and often has their hands up to deal
with his substantial power and frequent attempts at head kicks. It is important to note
that Hari changes levels to land this punch level with his own shoulder, where his
reach is greatest.
Black and White face off, Black's high kicks have forced White to take a more
squared stance – exposing White to long straights.
Black steps forward with his lead foot and changes levels. By dropping down
he ensures that he can strike the opponent's solar plexus level with his own
shoulder, maximising his reach. Any higher or lower than the shoulder will
result in a loss of reach.

Advanced Striking
Head – Body – Head – Head

One of Hari's go to combinations, this is often the first full combination he commits to
and often stuns or drops his opponent. Hari throws a jab, his long ri ght straight to the
body, followed by reverting to his upright posture with a left hook or uppercut and a
right hook or straight. Hari's main variations use the left uppercut to lift the head and
the right straight to floor the opponent, as he used on Errol Zimmerman, or a left hook
to move the opponent into a tight right hook as he did against Hesdy Gerges.
Black and White face off. Black pushes forward with a strong jab.
Black follows with a right straight to White's solar

plexus.

Advanced Striking
Black returns to an upright position with Having turned White to the right with his
a left hook. Moving his right foot left hook, Black unleashes a short right
forward. hook, stepping his left foot forward.

Advanced Striking
A Second Variation
Black and White face off. Black pushes forward with a strong jab.
Black follows with a right straight to

White's solar plexus.

Advanced Striking
Black rises with a left uppercut, moving Having lifted White's head, Black
his right foot forward. connects a right straight.

Advanced Striking
Drawing Hook
One of the key features of Badr's career has been his ability to seemingly stun
opponents in unclear exchanges. It is often difficult to see what exactly caused the
damage to his opponent, which only helps to perpetuate the reputation of his ungodly
punching power. One of the ways that he has stunned many of his opponents before
putting them away is with his drawing hook. With his hands well up and his forearms
reading to take punches, Hari uses his footwork to stand with his shoulders square to
his opponent, in the range at which they can only hope to hit him with long, straight
punches. When the lead is forthcoming, Hari takes it on his forearms before driving
off of his left leg and throwing his left hook at their right temple. He is often able to
catch his opponent cleanly with this counter punch even if they are properly guarding,
due to the difficulty in fully shielding the temple and t he unexpected timing of the
punch.
White attempts to close the distance with a White closes the distance, recovering from
jab, which Black takes on his forearms. his jab.
Black steps back with his right foot, re-

establishing the distance, and “closes the
door” for his opponent with a left hook to the
temple as he retreats.

Advanced Striking
Ernesto Hoost – Mr. Perfect
Ernesto Hoost, as his Mr. Perfect moniker implies, is the protot ype of the modern,
Dutch kickboxer. Making his professional début in the late 1980s, Hoost was already
quite advanced in years by the time the K-1 organisation began hosting it's legendary
Grand Prix; Hoost's career went through two distinct phases. In his youth he was a
one note fighter who used a one size fits all game plan and drove it down his
opponent's throat – throwing rapid fire punching combinations and punctuating with
low kicks. But in his last years in the K-1 promotion, Hoost relied on his experience
and intelligence en route to hospitalizing three top fighters in one night at the K-1
2002 Grand Prix.
Many have commented on Hoost's ability to seemingly land his powerful low kick at
will and this stemmed from his two main strategies of either; throwing a punching
combo to distract the opponent, or throwing the kick as the opponent stepped forward,
ensuring that Hoost's foe could not lift his lead leg to check the kick as his weight was
moving on to it.
The strength of Hoost's style has never been a secret, he has fast hands and incredible
low kicks. Hoost was close to perfect technically but lacked power in his punches.
When he was drawn into wild exchanges he occasionally ended up on the losing side,
suffering several KO losses to fighters who lacked the technical ability that he
possessed.

Advanced Striking
3 – 4 – 3 Low Kick
Hoost's trademark combination was his famous left hook, right hook, left hook to the
body and low kick. This combination of four strikes thrown at three different levels
was found to be overwhelming by almost all of Hoost's opponents. While not known
as a power puncher, Hoost could hit hard enough to make his opponents have to set
their weight to guard his punches, which made their lead leg a sitting duck f or his
infamous low kick. Many of Hoost's opponents came in to matches against him
focused entirely on checking his low kicks at all costs, and Hoost floored many of
these men with the liver shot in this combination while they were standing on one leg!
Black opens with a left hook on to the Black immediately follows with a straight
gloves of White. right.
Finally a low kick, which can be delivered

with a step outward to 45 degrees, or by
performing a jumping pivot on the standing
leg.

Advanced Striking
Counter Low Kick

Ernesto Hoost is a remarkable case in kickboxing, in that he very, very rarely collided
shin to shin with his opponents – despite them knowing his intention was to go fo r the
low kick at every opportunity. To accomplish this he interspersed the tactic illustrated
above of throwing a rapid combination with his hands and punctuating it with a low
kick, and the tactic of kicking whenever his opponent stepped forward. When an
opponent steps in with a jab, his leg is braced against the foor and unable to check the
kick into his thigh muscle.
Hoost would often back off, wait for his opponent to step in, and dive in with a kick.
Notably he kept his rear elbow up, over his face, so that should the opponent throw
another punch it would collide with his elbow and more likely break the opponent's
own hand.
Black and White are squared up in stance. As White jabs, Black parries with his left
hand, covers White's right hand, and steps
to the outside.
Black buckles White's leg with a hard low

kick. This sequence is done in one motion
rather than two.

Advanced Striking
Knee Spike
Ernesto Hoost became the oldest man to win the K-1 Grand Prix i n 2002 on merit of
his intelligence and skill alone. The positioning of his elbows mentioned above
caused Bob Sapp to break his hand while swinging at Hoost and allowed Hoost to
continue to the semi finals. There he met the younger, stronger Ray Sefo, whose leg
he broke while defending a low kick! The secret to this is to check the kick not with a
lift of the leg all the way up, catching it shin to shin. Hoost instead lifted his leg only
so much that he was on the ball of his foot, causing Sefo's shin to collide with the top
portion of Hoost's and his much, much harder knee cap. Sefo went down in agony and
Hoost won the match. This old school Muay Thai block should be in the repetoire of
every fighter who wishes to get by on more than athleticism and t oughness.
White and Black are squared up in stance.
As White throws a low kick, rather than

checking it with his shin, black checks it with
his knee, damaging White's shin bone.

Advanced Striking
The Diaz Brothers – Machismo Powered Volume

Punchers
Nick and Nate Diaz have been competing in MMA since the early 2000s and have
maintained interestingly divergent careers. While Nate Diaz spent time in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship as a middling level lightweight, his brother Nick
was dropped from the UFC after several unsuccessful showings and pursued his
fortune elsewhere. After defeating an out of shape Takanori Gomi (then the best
155lbs MMA fighter in the world) in a back and forth battle, Diaz began to catch the
public eye. Defeating many of the better strikers in the welterweight division,
including Paul Daley and Marius Zaromskis, Nick has been credited with having
some of the best hands in MMA. Many have critiqued his style, focusing their distaste
on his relatively poor head movement, lack of power and seeming reliance on his
excellent chin and cardiovascular ability. Diaz, however, routinely connects over two
hundred punches a fight, often in spectucular combinations such as the string of
nineteen punches that he unleashed on Scott Smith.
The Diaz's style is largely shared, fighting as southpaws and using a volume
punching approach whereby they throw their punches with 20 – 60 % of their power
but often land almost one hundred punches a round. Both brothers turn their lead foot
in to turn their shoulders and hips more side on when t hey jab, thus extending their
reach. The strengths of their style are obvious to all those who have seen them fight,
they grind down great fighters with the volume of their punches, confusing the
opponent with the frequency of the punches where other fighters would become
exhausted from throwing powerful punches. The weakness of their style is also
shared, they are susceptible to low kicks as they fight with their lead leg tu rned in, this
was ultimately taken advantage of by Carlos Condit against Nick Diaz.

Advanced Striking
Lever Punch or “Doubling Up”

A staple of the Diaz volume punching game is the act of doubling up, or “lever
punching”. Lever punching is the act of throwing two punches with the same hand
th
successively. Made famous by the 19 century pugilist Peter Jackson, the name comes
from the way the technique opens up a hole for a punch with the opposite hand. Most
opponents expect “left, right, left, right” if they receive “left, left, ri ght” the right can
often sneak through the confused opponent's defence. In the Di az's case it opens the
door for three or four more punches as they begin to overwhelm their adversary.
Black and White square off. Black is Black leads with a jab.
fighting southpaw.
A rear hook. A lead hook to the body.

And a second lead hook, to the head. 22
Advanced Striking
Drawing Parry
Nick Diaz's mugging toward opponents has become iconic – but it often serves a
purpose. When chasing an opponent down it is hard to tell when he is going to defend
and when he is going to attack. When standing in front of one's opponents with one's
hands out, one may be fairly certain of what he is going to attempt. When Diaz's
opponent fires at the seemingly wide open target, Diaz either pulls his head back and
counter strikes, or parries the opponent's blow, holding behind the tricep, and lands
two or three free shots with the other hand.
Black stands with his arms wide, inviting When White jabs, Black parries it over his
White to lead. shoulder.
And comes back with his own jab.

Advanced Striking
Window Stance
The Diaz brothers, particularly Nick, when faced with a southpaw opponent
(themselves being southpaws) utilize an arms extended guard. Placing the h ands up
and in front of their head, open and palms facing the opponent, it i s easy for them to
parry anything the opponent throws and land irritating slaps and short jabs. While it is
hard to do much damage from this guard, with the arms so far extended already, it is
certainly an intimidating way to fight, inspiring claustrophobia in an opponent as he
backs on to the ropes. A look at Nick Diaz vs Takanori Gomi will reveal how this
guard can be used to back up and frustrate even great strikers.
Black is in stance, holding his hands well As White jabs, Black parries.
forward of his head.
And counters with his own jab.

Advanced Striking
Floyd Mayweather Jr. - The Pretty Boy

Floyd Mayweather has proved a divisive figure through his decade long stint in
boxing's top ten pound-for-pound list. Often avoiding southpaw opponents, and many
of the best at welterweight despite his claims to be the best in the world at that weight.
Mayweather has also, however, had some of the finest defensive performances in
boxing history. His use of the shoulder roll, combined with his seeming to be one step
ahead of the opponent at every turn has led him to lop-sided victories over many top
fighters.
Mayweather's most famous techniques are his unorthodox leads; choosing to lead
with a left hook or right straight rather than the traditional jab, his blocks using the
shoulder roll where most fighters use their gloves, and his choice method of evading
punches; to pull his head back where other fighters would duck or slip. The
combination of these methods, and his ability to tie an opponent up in the cli nch at
will, make him the hardest fighter in boxing to hit.

Advanced Striking
Elbow Block
Floyd Mayweather is notorious for his bending of rules. In a similar way that Evander
Holyfield attempts to make his opponents “run on to” his head, Mayweather carries
his lead elbow high in front of him when he feels an opponent intends to move into
infighting range or a clinch. This can be seen amply in his fights with Shane Mosley
and Ricky Hatton. While he is routinely warned for his use of the elbow block, he is
not actively elbowing his opponents, they are simply moving on to it, making it a
difficult charge to dock him a point for. By keeping the opponent on the end of his
elbow, Mayweather also knows that he is in range to land a right hook or uppercut
with ease and often unimpeded.
Black and White are squared up in Black lands a powerful lead on White.
fighting stances. White attempts to clinch.
As White moves in, Black holds his elbow out in front of
him, allowing White to drive on to it, in hopes of
deterring the clinch and opening a cut on White's face.

Advanced Striking
Hook and Clutch

One of the main points of Mayweather's game which has raised so much criticism is
also the factor which has kept him in such remarkable health for a man who has
punches thrown at him for a living. Lacking huge punching power, Mayweather can
add strength to his attacks by leaping into them, such as his leaping hook. To prevent
a counter Mayweather will often fall into a clinch immediately after. In many cases
Mayweather can even score points with the judges by landing his hook on his
opponent's gloves.
Black and White are in fighting stance. Black leaps in with a left hook. On this
occasion it hits White's glove.
To prevent a counter-attack, Black initiates a clinch.

Through clinching immediately afterward, A fighter can
throw power punches without worry of being countered.

Advanced Striking
Body Jab
Mayweather is a master of the body jab. Using it to the solar plexus, it is not a
pleasant technique to receive and is not one which the traditional boxing arsenal
provides a good defence against. When Mayweather's opponents begin modifying
their guard to protect themselves from the body jab, he will go upstairs to their head
with a lead hook or right straight.
Black raises his hands, to distract the opponent or

draw an attack for a counter.
When no attack is forthcoming, Black drops level

and thrusts a long jab, level with his shoulder, at
the opponent's solar plexus.
By committing to this technique early in a fight,
the opponent's hands can be forced to drop
whenever Black changes levels, allowing him to
fake the body jab and throw a right straight to the
head or a left hook.

Advanced Striking
The Mayweather Cross Counter Variation

This technique beings with Mayweather establishing his stance just out of range and
waiting for his opponent’s jab before leaning slightly back or to his left and throwing
a right straight. It is obvious to viewers when Mayweather is preparing for this
technique because he stands on the ball of his back foot, as if he is about to sprint
forward – but his opponent cannot see this subtle preparation and so isn't prepared for
the speed and power of his straight right.
Black raises his hands, creating a hole White attempts to strike through the gap
through the middle of his guard. with a jab. But Black pulls his head back.
As White draws his jab back, Black lands a

right straight over the top.

Advanced Striking
Shoulder Roll Counters

Mayweather is most famous for his “Philly Shell”, “Crab” or “Stonewall” defence –
which hinges around use of the shoulder roll. By standing relatively upright, dropping
his front hand and raising his lead shoulder to cover his chin, Mayweather can cause
most punches at his chin to bounce off of his shoulder. The remaining targets, his eyes
and temples, are taken away from their starting place by a turn of the hips and
shoulders – making it hard to hit the already relatively small targets. Using the right
hand to parry jabs and lead hooks, Mayweather reserves the front shoulder almost
exclusively for defending right hooks and straights.
When a right hook is thrown at Mayweather he shoulder rolls inside of it and
comes back, most often, with a right uppercut or a short right straight. When a long
right straight is thrown at Mayweather he will sometimes use his lead elbow on the
tricep of the opponent's extended right arm to off balance them and turn them i nto his
right straight.
Black and White are in exchanging As a looping right punch comes in,
range. Black keeps his chin tucked and Black rolls his shoulder to deflect the
his left shoulder high. punch.
Then counters with an uppercut.

Advanced Striking
A Second Variation
Against a long right straight, the shoulder roll

can be combined with a parry, performed with the
elbow. By doing this it is possible to push the
opponent off balance.
It is then easy to come back with a powerful right

straight.

Advanced Striking
Buakaw Por. Pramuk – The White Lotus

Buakaw por Pramuk is considered one of the most accomplished kickboxers in the
world, having won the K-1 Max Grand Prix title (devoted to the lighter weight
classes) twice. With dominating victories over Masato, Yoshihiro Sato and Mike
Zambidis, Buakaw defined Muay Thai in the K-1 kickboxing organisation throughout
his run there. It is widely speculated that K-1's banning of extended clinch work was
due to his domination of Japanese fighters with knees in the clinch.
Throughout Buakaw's career he has relied on the traditional Thai front kick (or teep),
stepping knees, and hard roundhouse kicks thrown in rapid succession. Though his
boxing has improved exponentially since his K-1 debut, it is Buakaw's punishing
work with his legs that has earned him his terrifying reputation.

Advanced Striking
Probing Lead and Teep

Buakaw's opening strategy is one of calm, collected assessment. He uses a feeling jab,
using the palm of his glove to cover the opponent's vision and to push against their
head, occasionally mixing in some harder jabs with the intention of doing damage.
While he is keeping his lead hand in the opponent's face, he begins committing to his
long, lead leg push kick. Lifting his knee and driving the ball of his foot hard into the
opponent's abdomen, Buakaw is able to score points behind his relatively safe probing
technique. This commitment to the teep is not hugely damaging but begins to wind his
opponents and force them back against their will, so they begin attempting to stand up
to it.
Buakaw's teep soon begins to force an opponent to rethink their strategy, as they are
on the lose end of very limited exchanges. The teep forces the opponent's hands out of
position over the course of the match as they become less mentally disciplined,
struggling to defend against the irritating kick. It is then that Buakaw's jab finds more
success.
White and Black are in fighting Black probes with his lead. Often it
stances. is useful to use the palm, as Buakaw
does.
Black drives the ball of his foot into

Black chambers his teep by raising
the pit of White's stomach.
his knee.

Advanced Striking
Step Up Knee
Once Buakaw begins to find success with his teep and his jab, opponents will begin to
move their head as he jabs at their face. As they slip his slow, probing jabs, Buakaw
uses the extending arm to cup the side of their neck and anchor himself to them as
they are bent over. Buakaw then steps his right foot forward and strikes his opponent
with a left knee to the midsection. He is also known to do a fast switch of feet instead
of stepping up.
After Black has established his teep and jab, Black presses down on the collar or neck of
White begins pushing forward and slips the ducking White. Then he switches feet (as
Black's probing jab. above) or steps his right foot forward.
Preparing for a left leg attack.
Pressuring the back of White's head, Black

lands a hard knee to the solar plexus or
floating rib.

Advanced Striking
Teep Defence
Buakaw por Pramuk, being a Thai fighter, is more than used to having his opponent
throw front kicks at him. Many unfortunate kickboxers in K-1 Max found this out the
hard way. Yoshihiro Sato was knocked down by Buakaw using this technique.
Catching the lead leg teep, Buakaw drags it past his body, unleashing a left hook at
the opponent who has no space to block as he is dragged on to the punch.
Black catches White's left push kick with Black drags White's foot across White's
his left hand underneath and his right hand body, stepping out to the right and
over the top to prevent a kick to his jaw. preparing a left hook.
As White's foot falls past Black, Black

throws a powerful left hook which
connects easily due to the shortened
angle caused by the position of both
combatants.

Advanced Striking
Frankie Edgar – The Undersized Answer
Frankie Edgar is an interesting case as a fighter in any sense of the phrase. Barely
cutting weight to reach the 155lbs limit of the UFC's lightweight division, Edgar
fights men much larger than him, going much against the grain of the traditional
mindset of mixed martial arts, where weight cutting is king. Furthermore, at the time
of writing Frankie Edgar is scheduled to rematch Benson Henderson which will mean
that 7 of his 17 fights will have been against the same three opponents, a bizarre
circumstance indeed. Edgar has, however, proved to be much more effective in
rematches than in first meetings. After edging out BJ Penn for the lightweight title,
Penn was gifted a rematch, which Edgar dominated. Immediately after Edgar scraped
a draw against Gray Maynard who had previously beaten him, then knocked Maynard
out in the rubber match.
Edgar, traditionally, is recognised as a fighter whose game depends on his
footwork. Due to his lack of finishing ability though, Edgar has never proven to be a
large draw. His ability to beat bigger names has caused great interest around his style,
however, which to the casual fan seems alienating and frustrating. Truly, Edgar's
brilliance lies in his limiting of exchanges and his blending wrestling with striking. As
the smaller man, he has shown to lack the power of many of the lightweights that he
fights, and does not take a punch as well as he would at featherweight. Edgar spends
much of the fight circling to prevent this, before attacking with jabs, a four punch
combination into the clinch, low kicks, or his trademark knee pick.

Advanced Striking
Jabbing to Knee Tap

Edgar spends a great deal of time in his fights limiting the number of exchanges by
using hyperactive movement. For the most part in the early rounds he will use a safety
lead (circling to the left while jabbing) which often falls short, and will occasionally
step in with a four punch flurry. Once he has established that he intends to jab, he
throws his lead hand at the opponent's lead shoulder while hooking his right hand
behind their knee, pushing forward and picking up the leg. From here Frankie is often
able to grip around their neck with his lead hand, circle his ri ght foot back and dump
his opponent to the mat.
Black and White Square off. Black attacks with a jab.
Black and White square off again, White is prepared

to defend Black's jabs.

Advanced Striking
Black lunges forward in a jab, but By taking the weight off of White's
connects with his palm on inside of lead leg, Black is able to pick it up
White's lead shoulder, from here he with ease. From here he can switch
is able to push through and lift the to a single leg takedown or a leg
weight off of White's lead leg. sweep with ease.

Advanced Striking
Knee Tap to Liver Kick

Edgar's knee tap takedown from a striking distance is so unorthodox that he was able
to take down BJ Penn, who is known for his ungodly counter wrestling, with it . Once
he has hit it on an opponent once, however, they tend to compensate for it and stop
him from hitting the knee tap takedown again. In this instance Edgar often takes
advantage by using the knee tap to force the opponent into struggling to stay upright,
then using a left middle kick as they hop backwards. Edgar has found a great home
for his lead leg kick to the body in this manner, which is normally a difficult
technique to land. In this manner Edgar was able to use BJ Penn's vaunted takedown
defence against him.
Black has hit the knee pick detailed White hops back, freeing his leg and
in the previous technique. beginning to recover his balance.
Black pushes White back and steps his
right leg up.
Black connects a liver kick on White

as White recovers his stance.

Advanced Striking
Outside Low Kick

Against Penn, Edgar was also able to land a significant number of low kicks on the
notoriously kicking averse champion. By circling to the outside of BJ's left hand he
exposed the champions' inability to deal with movement, and exposing the back of
Penn's left leg as a target. From here Edgar was able to kick into Penn's hamstring,
causing significant pain.
Black and White square off. Black steps off line to White's left.
Black connects a low kick to the tender

back portion of White's thigh, buckling
his leg inward.

Advanced Striking
Edgar Pivot
Much has been made of Edgar's movement, though it is often for the wrong reasons.
Edgar is perceived to be a brilliant striker because he moves so much, but the real
genius lies in the fact that his movement frustrates opponents and disguises his low
offensive output. One of the signature movements that Edgar employs is a clockwise
pivot. From his stance Edgar will step his left foot forward forty-five degrees and end
in a position similar to a Side Step (See Jersey Joe Walcott), following this he will
pivot clockwise to return to facing his opponent but slightly left of his original
position. It is hard to throw a punch at him confidently when he is using this
sidestepping technique, and it forces the opponent to catch up with his lateral
movement rather than focus on their own offensive output.
Black slips to his right. Black steps out at forty-five degrees to the
left.
Black pivots on the ball of his front foot,

ending the movement to the right of his
opponent.

Advanced Striking
Junior dos Santos - Cigano

UFC Heavyweight champion, Junior Dos Santos sprung on to the Mixed Martial Arts
main stage with a brutal knockout of the then top ten ranked Fabricio Werdum. Dos
Santos has been heralded as the best boxer in the UFC heavyweight division, and it's
certainly hard to dispute – he has produced a string of knockout victories using only
his hands when his opponents were fully aware that his game plan was to do so.
Dos Santos is not a traditionalist in his pugilism, eschewing the jab for the majority of
his fights and preferring to lead with hooks or his powerful right straight (which he
often uses to the midsection in a similar manner to Badr Hari). Dos Santos' accuracy
and power are the basis of his striking – turning his hips fully through into every
punch and throwing his hands from down by his chest – and the majority of his
defence consists of footwork rather than head movement.
Another intriguing feature of Dos Santos' style is his fondness of striking with the
heel of his palm, rather than with his knuckles. This is visible in the flurries of hooks
that he threw at Stefan Struve, Gilbert Yvel and Mirko Cro Cop. A glance at his hands
during the announcements before a fight will reveal Dos Santos' fondness for landing
with the inside of his fist also, he chooses to heavily wrap his thumb joints, where
most fighters wrap these parts of the hand comparatively little. The point of this
wrapping was demonstrated in his famous knock-out victory over Cain Velasquez,
photographs of which reveal that the knockout punch was landed with Dos Santos'
thumb knuckle first, which is very dangerous for a fighter's hands.

Advanced Striking
Hands Low Stance

Junior dos Santos uses a peculiar stance when compared to most fighters in the UFC.
When fighting, “Cigano” carries both of his hands low. This is for several reasons;
firstly it gives him extra power in his punches – swinging them from below his waist
ensures that they are more attached to his hip movement. Secondly, his punches are
hard to see coming, particularly his jab which often enters through the blind angle
below the opponent's vision. Finally, his hands being low allows dos Santos to
automatically obtain an underhook on his left side when an opponent shoots a
takedown at him – a useful trick as Cigano lacks the wrestling pedigree which many
heavyweight mixed martial artists own.
This stance can only be utilized effectively, however, because Junior Dos Santos has
excellent footwork and maintains a distance between himself and the opponent where
he can always step out of range when they attack but explode into range when he
wishes to engage. To attempt this type of stance without advanced level footwork
would be suicidal against competent punchers.
White and Black are in fighting stance. White moves in to take Black down but his
lead arm is already in position to secure
the underhook.
Black removes his lead leg from White's

reach, setting up a left knee strike.

Advanced Striking
Body Straight Counter

Dos Santos is primarily a head hunter in his fights, preferring not to commit too much
to body punching – or even a jab for that matter. Although this is true, one of dos
Santos' most effective and unique counters is his right straight to the body in counter
to a jab. It puts him in position to come back upstairs with a left hook to the head of
his winded opponent. This simple counter combination was responsible for dos
Santos' destruction of Gilbert Yvel.
White and Black face each other. As White jabs, Black changes level,
slips to his left, and lands a right
straight to the solar plexus or
floating rib.
Black explodes out of his crouch with a left hook to the

jaw. Junior Dos Santos often chooses to connect with
the heel of his palm, rather than the knuckles, and this
is shown here.

Advanced Striking
Left Hook – Right Uppercut

Junior dos Santos burst to the forefront of most fans' minds when he knocked out the
top ten ranked Fabricio Werdum inside of one round, after taking t he fight as a
replacement at short notice. While he likely benefited from Werdum's arrogance on
the feet, he found a hole in his fellow Brazilian's game early on and immediately
exploited. Noting Werdum's fondness or perhaps subconscious reflex to duck his head
when blocking a hook, dos Santos exploited this by feinting with his left and
following with a powerful right uppercut. Dos Santos also put this combination to
work on Roy Nelson, a shorter fighter, also prone to ducking.
A second interesting variation on this technique that dos Santos uses is to use the left
hand to cover the opponent's right, while stepping the right foot out to the right side
and turning the right hip all the way through to deliver a short uppercut.
White is fighting defensively, covering Black backs off and reassesses his
up against Black's hooks. attack.
Black fakes a left hook, and White Black connects an uppercut, the force
reverts to his covering up posture. of which is amplified by White's
ducking in to it.

Advanced Striking
Andy Hug – The Blue Eyed Samurai

There are few more inspiring or tragic stories in competitive martial arts than that of
Andy Hug. Born in Switzerland, Hug travelled to Japan to study karate under the
legendary Mas Oyama “The God Hand”. After having brilliant success in Kyokushin
rules karate tournaments (which allow bareknuckle punching to the body but not to
the head, and kicks to head, body and legs), Hug made the step of transitioning to the
K-1 kickboxing organisation. Despite not knowing much about boxing or Muay Thai
– which proved costly in his first few matches – Hug worked harder than almost
anyone in K-1 to raise his game. Hug eventually rounded his style out with a decent
defence and good boxing technique, but maintained the quirks which made him such a
difficult fighter to defend against; his axe kicks, his stance switches and his spinning
back kicks. Hug won the 1994 K-1 Grand Prix, and continued to improve. His career
ended on a 4 fight winning streak, containing many of the best performances of his
career, when he was diagnosed with leukaemia just a week after knocking out Nabu
Hayashi in 2 minutes. Hug died within two weeks of the diagnosis, but was
remembered as Japan's favourite K-1 fighter, and the best Western karateka to date,
earning him the nickname The Blue Eyed Samurai.
The secret to Hug's success, despite being the smallest heavyweight in K-1, was his
unconventional movement and attacks. The weaknesses which plagued his career
aside from his weak chin were his average boxing, and being undersized in the K-1
open weight Grand Prix.

Advanced Striking
Hug Tornado
A technique which has only really found success under Andy Hug, the Hug Tornado is
a spinning back roundhouse kick to the opponent's leg. A southpaw, Hug utilized this
technique most famously against his orthodox rival, Mike Bernardo. By circling
towards Bernardo's right side, he was able to land hard, right legged kicks to
Bernardo's lead leg, and to draw right round house kicks from Bernardo. When Mike
Bernardo threw his right roundhouse kick at Hug, Hug spun on the spot and threw his
Hug Tornado, landing with his heel above the knee joint on the weight-baring leg of
Bernardo. This hyper-extended Bernardo's knee and led to the match being stopped.
While the technique is difficult to throw, risky, and has not found success since Hug's
death, the strategy is on film for young fighters to see. Stand in an opposite stance to
your opponent, draw his rear leg kick by moving toward it, then spin and buckle his
standing leg.
Black and White are squared off. Black is Black is circling to his left and steps up to
southpaw. prepare a kick.
Black's right low kicks are an effective

offence.

Advanced Striking
Black's continued circling toward White's right encourages him to

throw a roundhouse kick. As he does, Black steps across himself,
preparing to spin.
Black completes the turn, connecting with his calf and heel to White's
weight-baring leg, causing significant damage.

Advanced Striking
Axe Kick
Another technique which was a trademark of Hug throughout his career. He had many
variations which he faked, threw while running and landed variously on the
collarbones or heads of his opponents. The main two variations, however, are the axe
kick rising on the same side of the body as the kicking leg, and th e axe kick which
rises across the body, from the standing leg side.
While both are difficult to throw, they are often unexpected and do damage to t he
opponent's collar bones through the weight of the limb and gravity working in the
same direction. The only risk is straining a muscle executing this technique, or hyper-
extending one's own knee on the opponent's shoulder by locking the leg before
bringing it down.
Starting Position
Rising on the Outside Rising on the Inside
Top Position
Advanced Striking
Round Kick – Rear Straight

A trademark technique of the Andy Hug and fellow karateka, Lyoto Machida, this
technique consists of throwing a rear leg roundhouse kick, followed by a short rear
hand straight while the kicking leg is returning. It i s possible to catch opponent's
through the small hole that is maintained in the opponents guard by their bracing
against the force of the kick.
Black and White are in fighting stances. Black steps his right foot outside of his
Black is southpaw. opponent's left and throws a left middle
kick to his opponents forearm.
Before his foot has returned to the ground,

Black fires a left straight inside of White's
braced uard.

Advanced Striking
Sugar Ray Robinson – Boxing's Smoothest Fighter
If ever a fighter's style could be described as “textbook”, it was Sugar Ray

Robinson's. Almost universally respected as the “Greatest of All Time” (a title which
even Muhammad Ali bestowed upon him), Ray Robinson's impact on the sport of
boxing was prolific. Born Walker Smith Junior, he took the name Ray Robinson when
borrowing a friend's amateur boxing license, and the alias stuck. With 173
professional wins, 108 of which came by way of knockout, and almost all of which
came against the best fighters of his day, Robinson's record is impressive to even the
most particular of critics.
Robinson was known not only for having smooth footwork and a good jab, he has
been likened to a small Joe Louis (one of his mentors) in his ability to throw
powerful, rapid combinations. Robinson's stance was identical to that taken by Louis,
though he used far more lateral movement, carrying his lead hand relatively low to jab
with more power.

Advanced Striking
'Operation Left Hook'

Robinson's match against the iron headed Gene Fulmer was finished by what has been
called by many; the Perfect Punch. Fulmer was a ferocious puncher with his right
hand, and Robinson realised that Fulmer's looping, powerful rights would leave the
right side of his chin vulnerable to Robinson's left hook. Robinson was far past his
prime when the two met, and Fulmer had never been stopped, yet Robinson was able
to knock Fulmer out with one punch.
In order to bait Fulmer into firing his right hand, Robinson winged a looping right
hook to Fulmer's body, convincing Fulmer that he wanted to brawl. Robinson took a
step back and as Fulmer pursued him, Robinson faked the same body shot with his
right hand and threw a tight left hook. When watching the film it seems that Robinson
gets knockout power while moving backwards – he achieves this by pushing off of his
led leg and pivoting on the ball of his left foot in order to turn his lead knee in.
Black and White are fighting. Black is Black sneaks a looping right hand in to the
conscious of White's powerful right hand. midsection. Convincing White that he
wishes to trade unches.
Black retreats to a safe range.

Advanced Striking
Black fakes a right hand, causing White to react with a right

hand of his own.
Black “walks” to the right, stepping out with his right hand as
he connects a powerful left hook inside of White's looping
right. When Sugar Ray Robinson performed this technique
against the iron jawed Gene Fullmer, he seemed to be moving
backward when he knocked Fulmer out.

Advanced Striking
Safety Lead
Robinson had the habit of circling to his left, into his opponent's power hand, but was
able to achieve this safely by maintaining a slightly hunched stance with his lead
shoulder raised. Carrying his lead hand low he would fire it upwards into his
opponent's right eye while stepping to the left with his lead foot. Keeping his lead toes
turned slightly inward, Robinson could get significant power on his safety lead
despite it's conservative nature.
The secret of the safety lead is to hold the right hand in position to catch the
opponent's left hook while stepping away from it, and to dip the head off-line to
nullify the opponent's jab. It is also necessary to shrug the shoulder of the punching,
left hand in order to deflect any right handed strikes from the opponent to the
practitioner's jaw.
Black is searching for openings in White's Black steps his left foot outward at forty-five
defence. degrees to his left, turning it in. Turning his
hip, he throws a jab, and raises his lead
shoulder to cover his jaw as he does so. His
right hand remains in position to block hooks
and jabs.
Black pivots on his lead foot and recovers to the left of

his original position. Edwin Haislet purports that the
safety lead is the least risky technique in the boxing
arsenal, and it seems to hold true.

Advanced Striking
Shoe Shine Flurries

One of Robinson's key manoeuvres was what has historically been called a “shoe
shine”. This is a rapid fire series of punches which alternates hands and resembles the
back and forth motion of polishing a shoe. Robinson often threw these flurries
exclusively to the body, followed by a left hook to the head in order to break away
and re-establish distance between himself and his opponent.
From infighting range, Black fires a right hook to the

body, a left hook to the body, a second right hook to the
body, a left hook to the head, then pushes with his left
glove as he pivots to the left and re-establishes outfighting
range.

Advanced Striking
Anderson Silva – The Spider at the Center of the

Middleweight Web
Anderson Silva has maintained an unparalleled run inside the Ultimate Fighting
Championship. During his reign as middleweight champion of the world, other great
fighters have come and gone, but Silva remains. Silva is known as perhaps the
greatest striker in mixed martial arts, owning savage Muay Thai elbows, knees and
kicks, and some of the best boxing in MMA history. Having a hit and miss career
during the PRIDE era, Silva found success in the British Cage Rage promotion before
making his way into the UFC. In his first match he knocked out top ranked contender,
Chris Leben, who was not known as a competent striker, but was recognised as
having the best chin in the division. This knockout remains the only one on Leben's
record to this day. What is more impressive is that Silva knocked Leben down with
punches while Silva himself was moving backwards. Following this 2006 victory,
Silva immediately challenged Rich Franklin for the UFC middleweight title.
Destroying Franklin in their first meeting and a rematch, Silva has continued
undefeated in the UFC since his promotional début.
Silva's dominance is rooted primarily in his excellent striking, which
befuddles and frightens most of the men that he fights. Anderson is naturally right
handed but often fights southpaw and will switch between the two stances effectively,
confusing fighters who are limited to one stance. Further to this, Silva's excellent
pushing and snapping front kicks are useful in controlling the distance and frustrating
opponents hoping to take him down. Silva is often credited with having a brilliant jab,
but it is not hugely important to his success. Silva is, for the most part, a counter
puncher – often to the point of inactivity, choosing to fight with straights while
retreating, or hooks. Silva's offensive arsenal is made up of kicks and knees for the
most part, but the uppercut and over the top elbows that he util izes have also become
iconic of his style.

Advanced Striking
Southpaw Takedown Defense

Anderson Silva is not a great wrestler. He is a passable one, of course, but he should
not be able to defend the takedowns of men who have been grappling their entire
lives, and yet he does. This is not down to flawless wrestling technique but due to the
distance he keeps. Anderson Silva is not a natural southpaw, signing his autographs
right handed and packing more power and dexterity in his right handed punches. Yet
he fights southpaw for the reason that most wrestlers in MMA train to strike from an
orthodox stance even if they wrestle from a southpaw one.
The southpaw vs orthodox stance is a different dynamic from two men in the
same stance meeting and the distance is greater. Anderson's southpaw stance
effectively eliminates the opponent's ability to shoot a double leg takedown, and feeds
them his right leg if they manage to close the distance enough to shoot. This means
that Anderson only needs to work single leg takedown defense, which is not only
easier than dealing with powerful double leg shots, but he can devote more time to
training it as he encounters southpaw double leg takedowns so rarely. Chael Sonnen,
the last man to decidedly outwrestle Silva, was a southpaw wrestler and shot double
leg takedowns on Anderson with incredible ease, strengthening the theory that Silva's
stance aids in his takedown defence.

Advanced Striking
Pursuing Right Hook

One of Silva's most beautiful tactical set pieces came against Forrest Griffin.
Anderson is known as a counter puncher – to the extent that if an opponent refuses to
lead, Anderson will do nothing. He had done this in his last two matches at
middleweight and UFC brass decided to match him against the ultra aggressive but
less than powerful puncher Forrest Griffin at light-heavyweight to rebuild some of the
goodwill that Silva had lost.
While Forrest played in to Silva's hands, just as UFC matchmaker Joe Silva
likely intended, the first technique that Anderson hurt Forrest with was a masterful
counter which he set up with an offensive flurry, an unusual move for the Brazilian
counter-puncher. Charging Griffin down with a powerful double jab, Silva backed his
opponent across the cage before stopping in range of Forrest. Knowing Forrest would
attempt to jab and circle out, Silva slipped the jabs Forrest threw in panic. Forrest then
circled to his left while jabbing but stood straight upright (without the shrugged
shoulder or slight dip of the head which make a “safety lead” effective – see Sugar
Ray Robinson). Forrest circled out at a considerable distance from Silva, so a “cross
counter” (See Alistair Overeem) was out of the question, Anderson stepped out to his
right with his right foot before throwing a lead right hook and catching Forrest clean
as he circled. This excellent counter which Anderson Silva initiated with a rare
moment of offence was far more impressive to the striking connoisseur than the
show-boating in the rest of the match as Silva put Griffin away.
Black is pursuing White, who Black steps his right foot out at ninety
attempts to circle out to Black's right. degrees to cut White's escape off, and
establishes a southpaw stance.
Black springs toward White with a right hook.

Catching White while he is circling in to the punch
will result in a much increased impact and a high
probability of knocking him down or unconscious.
Advanced Striking
Front Snap Kick

One of Silva's most iconic knockouts came over Vitor Belfort as he threw a front snap
kick which connected with Belfort's chin and crumpled him to the mat. This technique
has been a staple of Karate and Kung Fu styles for hundreds of years but had never
been used to great effect in MMA before. Differing from the Muay Thai Teep (See
Buakaw Por Pramuk) in that it is a snapping kick and not a thrusting kick, this kick is
usually thrown by coiling the heel of the kicking leg as close to t he buttock as
possible, though Silva did not commit to this. Instead he disguised it a roundhouse
kick by bringing it straight from the floor. It's efficacy can be seen in the slow motion
replays which one can find all over the internet, as Belfort keeps his forearms out to
defend the round kick, while raising his lead leg to check it. This created a completely
clear path for Anderson to land the kick up the middle, and we have seen it used
numerous times effectively since. Lyoto Machida, Josh Thomson, Dong Hyun Kim
and Rousimar Palhares have all connected this kick in major promotions since Silva
brought it to the forefront.
Black and White are in stance. To obtain a fast and whip like kick,
Black chambers the heel close to
his buttock
Black snaps the ball of his foot up Black snaps his foot back rapidly to
under White's chin. prevent White from catching it as he
reels from the kick. If the kick has
been chambered properly it should
sna back easil .

Advanced Striking
Back Elbow
Another technique which Silva was responsible for publicising is the lead arm back
elbow. This technique, however, has not been replicated effectively by other mixed
martial artists. Urijah Faber attempted it and got brutally knocked unconscious for his
troubles by Mike Thomas Brown. Silva used it against the severely over-matched
Tony Friklund and provided a highlight reel knockout for the ages. From a southpaw
stance Silva covered Friklund's vision with his lead hand before dropping it below
Friklund's vision and bringing it up, elbow first, underneath Friklund's chin. As a
comparative viewing of Faber and Silva's attempts at this technique will show, it helps
to be on the offensive against a hurt opponent when attempting the back elbow, rather
than on the back foot and trying to surprise an aggressive one.
Black places his glove on White's lead Black drops his hand below White's
glove, preventing a hook or jab. vision, into the “Blind Angle”.
Black drives his arm back up, elbow

first, under the jaw of White.

Advanced Striking
Outside Low Kick Trap

Silva rarely checks his opponent's low kicks, as such an act would be purely defensive
and contrary to his philosophy as a counter-striker (unless he utilized the Muay Boran
style knee spike – see Ernesto Hoost). Instead Silva chooses to take the kick, catch it
and fire back a strike of his own. Against a kick to the outside of his lead leg this
means turning his lead foot out and bending his knee so that the thick front of his
quadriceps meets the blow and the kick rides up to his hip, where he can grip it with
his lead hand, before firing back an assortment of counter blows. This technique was
the only one he used in his short match against James Irving.
Black and White are searching for As White attempts a low kick to the
openings. outside of Black's left leg, Black steps
out with his right foot, taking him
away from the attack. This removes
much of the force, and allows him to
reach down and catch behind White's
heel.
Pulling White's ankle up, and trapping it

against his hip, Black fires a right straight at
White's jaw. Anderson Silva was able to knock
out James Irving in the first exchange of their
match with this technique.

Advanced Striking
Inside Low Kick Trap

Against a kick coming to the inside of his lead leg, Silva will turn his knee intwards,
against taking the kick on the front of his quad or on his knee, simultaneously
catching the kick agaist his leg with his rear hand, and throwing a lead hand over the
top elbow. This technique was able to put Chael Sonnen on his back rather
spectacularly.
White steps up to throw a lead leg Black turns his thigh in to absorb as
kick. much of the impact as possible on the
thicker portion of his quadriceps. He
traps the kick with his left hand.
Silva's enormous height and reach

allowed him to connect this on Sonnen
without dropping the leg, but most
practitioners will have to drag the foot
forward, forcing the opponent to land
on their over the top elbow.

Advanced Striking
Alistair Overeem – The Strongest in Seven Billion

Alistair Overeem was the first man to win major titles in both mixed martial arts
and kickboxing, owning the Strikeforce belt in MMA before conquering the K-1
Grand Prix in 2010 and winning the (largely ornamental) Dream belt to see out that
year. Overeem began his career in Mixed Martial Arts as a gangly li ght
heavyweight, fighting many of the best fi ghters in the world under the legendary
PRIDE FC promotion, and often coming up short. After a chequered career at
205lbs, with losses to Chuck Liddell, Mauricio Rua, Ricardo Arona and Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem opted to move up to heavyweight full time
and had enormous success.
After packing on enormous amounts of muscle, many were ready to write Overeem
off as a brute. His technique, however, improved exponentially and he seemed an
altogether different fighter following the change in weightclass. Overeem's
signature knees have been a major part of his striking style since his early career,
but in recent years he has improved his boxing many-fold, and now works from
behind his powerful cross counter.

Advanced Striking
The Cross Counter

Alistair Overeem's hands were not highly rated even during his emergence in K-1,
partly because the majority of his knockouts coming by way of clinching knee
strikes. Once K-1 banned two handed neck clinches, Overeem demonstrated his
boxing ability. Against Ben Edwards, Overeem countered Edward's jab by utilizing
a right hook combined with a slip to his left.
The resulting overhand which travels over the top of the opponent's jab was
utilized by Joe Gans at the turn of the twentieth century and is referred to as a
“Cross Counter”.
Black stands square to White, with his hands high,

hoping to force his opponent to jab.
As White pushes forward with a jab, Black slips to the

inside of it, simultaneously throwing a right hook
which loops over the top of White's missed jab. This
can connect flush on either White's jaw or temple and
is one of the most dangerous counter punches in any
combat sport.
Advanced Striking
'The Uberknee'
Alistair Overeem's Uberknee has become the stuff of internet memes and legend.
The variation which has proven particularly effective, most notably against Brock
Lesnar, has been Overeem's step up knee. Stepping in to a southpaw stance,
Overeem uses his right hand to check his opponent's left, and his left to check their
right, before unleashing his left knee strike on their abdomen. He utilized the same
technique to knock out the shorter Kazayuki Fujita by striking him in t he head.
White and Black square off. To cover his entrance, Black

smothers White's lead hand with his
rear hand. This prevents him from
being jabbed or hooked as he steps.
Stepping his right foot outside of Black connects with the point of his
White's lead foot, Black covers knee. Here he attacks the solar
White's right hand, eliminating his plexus, as Overeem did against
offense altogether. Lesnar, but against shorter
opponents, or for the more flexible
fighter, the head is a viable target.

Advanced Striking
Lunging Right Hand

Overeem is one of the few fighters to successfully utilize a lunging punch. He steps
forward with his right foot and lands his right hook simultaneously. He then steps
back into his original, orthodox stance. He utilized this punch to hurt Sergei
Kharitanov in their second match. Though he went on to lose, it was visibly
baffling the granite jawed Russian.
White and Black are searching for openings.
Black steps forward with his right foot, outside of

White's lead foot. Turning this foot in, he thrusts a
looping punch over White's left glove. From here,
Overeem would step back the same way.

Advanced Striking
Stepping Lead Uppercut

Overeem is a major exponent of “shifts” or stepping punches – his most prominent
being the stepping corkscrew uppercut which he unleashed several times on Peter
Aerts in the K-1 Grand Prix Final. By stepping off-line with his right leg as he
threw the corkscrew left uppercut, Overeem was able to take a slight angle. When
he stepped back through with his left leg, he unleashed a right hook – stunning
Aerts, and followed this with several more, damaging punches.
Black and White hunt for openings. Black makes a right shoulder feint, seeming
to load up for a left hook.
Black steps his right foot forward at forty-five

degrees and drives a straight uppercut
underneath White's chin. Overeem backed
Aerts on to the ropes with this technique and
followed with a salvo of punches that dropped
the Dutch legend.

Advanced Striking
Fedor Emelianenko – The Last Emperor

Fedor Emelianenko is unarguably the greatest heavyweight in Mixed Martial Arts'
short history. Having emerged from the Russian mining town of Stary Oskol to
climb the ranks of PRIDE FC as an underdog against Semmy Schilt and Heath
Herring before meeting Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira – then thought to be the most
perfect heavyweight to that point – and embarrassing the Brazilian in not one but
three meetings.
Going for over a decade undefeated, Emelianenko was considered a grappler on his
emergence on the PRIDE stage, but soon proved to be as devastating on the feet as
he was on the floor. Coming from a Judo background with boxing experience from
his childhood, Fedor's true skill was using his powerful punches to flow seamlessly
in and out of clinches from which he could use his throws and trips. When Fedor
Emelianenko took on Mirko Cro Cop, the most dangerous striker in MMA, and
beat the Croatian standing, he proved that through his craftiness he could stand
with any man alive.

Advanced Striking
Casting Punch
Fedor Emelianenko was able to rag doll Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira around the ring
with the use of his casting punch. Throwing a looping right straight to bring
Nogueira's arms up, Emelianenko was able to weave his head under Nogueira's left
armpit, following this up with a double leg scoop slam which left Nogueira on the
floor and Fedor standing over him.
Black and White hunt for openings. Black thrusts a looping right punch at
White, turning his hand all the way
over so that his thumb knuckle points
downward, and slipping his head to the
left.
Black ducks his head and weaves to the Black stands up into White and takes
outside of White's right arm. If White has him over to the left. Dragging his legs
blocked it is easy to weave under his out will slam him to the floor while
elbow. If White has been hit or attempts Black remains standing over him as
to counter, this will take Black under his Fedor did so many times against
left hook. Nogueira and even against the
gargantuan Brett Rogers.

Advanced Striking
Right Straight – Left Uppercut – Left Hook

A useful combination which Fedor used against the southpaw Mirko Cro Cop was
to strike the Croatian in the sternum with a right straight, forcing his head to come
forward, before throwing a left uppercut and a hook with the same hand in order to
catch Cro Cop cleanly with medium power strikes.
Black faces White. White is southpaw. Black lands a hard right straight to
the sternum.
Black rises from his crouch with a left Black catches White off guard with a
uppercut. quick left hook to the temple.

Advanced Striking
Zulu
The technique which has become known as the “Zulu” is a simple right hand trap,
followed by a left hook. As the jab or left hook is the most concerning direct
counter when leaping in with a left hook, taking that arm out of the equation with a
hand trap reduces the opponent to a completely defensive role. Fedor then only had
to concern himself with sneaking his hook around the opponent's remaining hand –
often landing a punch on their neck. The name comes from Fedor's destruction of
the gigantic Brazilian, Zuluzinho, in under a minute with the technique. Several
years later, in his first performance state side, he floored and finished top 3 ranked
heavyweight and former UFC heavyweight champion, Tim Sylvia in 26 seconds
with the same technique.
Black and White are searching for openings. Faking a right punch, Black slaps White's
hand downward, eliminating the jab and
allowing Black to leap forward freely.
Black leaps forward, connecting a hard left

hook behind White's right glove. Against
Sylvia, Fedor connected the punch on the
side of Sylvia's neck – on the jugular vein.
Striking this vein will often result in
unconsciousness and is extremely common
with high kicks in Muay Thai.
Advanced Striking
Inside Hand Trap

A technique which Fedor used to great effect throughout his career was to use his
lead hand to clear the opponent's lead hand to the outside of their body and fire a
right hand through the middle. Fedor used this to great effect against Nogueira in
their third meeting and it has also been used rather effectively by Belarus' Andre
Arlovski.
Black and White are facing off. White's Black hooks White's hand from the inside
lead hand is noticeably forward. and drags it outward.
Black follows through with a right

hand.

Advanced Striking
Joe Louis – The Brown Bomber
Joe Louis is considered the best heavyweight in boxing history and certainly the
most successful champion. With an unrivalled 25 successful defences of his
heavyweight crown against a mixed bag of talent, Louis maintained a knock-out
percentage of 93% up to his first retirement. His ill-fated attempt at a comeback
saw him knocked out by the significantly younger Rocky Marciano, but few
pretend that Louis was anywhere near his best when this fight took place. Joe
Louis, the first black contender for the heavyweight title since the outrageous Jack
Johnson had challenged the white supremacy of heavyweight boxing thirty years
earlier, also proved to be a true ambassador for African Americans in the face of
unjust prejudice from white Americans.
Louis' style was slow and methodical as he shuffled forward in his stance behind a
solid jab. Often he would take a step back in order to bait his opponents on to his
combinations. These combinations were some of the most rapid and certainly the
most powerful in the heavyweight division up to that point. Louis could fire fi ve or
six punches with knockout power behind each of them and continue this kind of
output for 15 rounds.

Advanced Striking
Jab – Left Hook – Right Hook

Few men have landed a right hook as well as Joe Louis did throughout his career.
The most memorable right hook which he landed was against Max Schmeling
during their second match in this combination. Louis used his right palm to cover
Schmeling's lead hand and fired a jab of his own. Schmeling's defence was as good
as expected and caught Louis' jab, but Louis immediately hooked off of the same
hand, sneaking around Schmeling's guard and stunning him, before Louis turned
his hips through and landed a tight, jolting right hook, sending Max to the mat.
This combination is so beautiful because it is far safer than most. B y covering the
lead hand and doubling up with the lead it is possible to catch the opponent off
guard while staying out of harm's way oneself.
Black and White face off. Black attacks with a jab, which White
checks, reaching simultaneously to
cover White's own jab.
Black immediately throws a short Followed by a powerful right hook.

hook with his left hand.

Advanced Striking
Braddock KO
A rather unique knockout combination was the one which Louis used to win his
heavyweight title from The Cinderella Man, James J. Braddock. Braddock's lead
hand was away from his body, so Louis threw a left hook, connecting with the
inside of Braddock's left elbow – deadening and throwing his arm out of the way
simultaneously. A straight right hand followed immediately down the pipe and put
Braddock on his back.
White and Black are searching for Black throws a left hook to the inside
openings. White's lead elbow is too far of White's left elbow joint. This gives
from his body. him a dead arm and removes his
defence.
Black follows with a powerful right

straight on to the exposed chin of
White.

Advanced Striking
Back-Step Jab – Uppercut – Left Hook

This is a combination that Louis used to stop Nate Mann. When Mann jabbed at
Louis, Louis caught it in his glove and fired back his own. As Nate was coming
forward when he jabbed, he continued moving forward, missing wild with his right
hand as he had been stunned by the jab. He walked on to Louis' legendary right
uppercut – left hook combination and was knocked out cold.
As White steps in with a jab, Black catches Black steps back again and White lunges
it and fires back his own. Black can step forward, missing his follow up.
backward while doing this, as White will
be moving on to his punch.
White walks on to Black's uppercut. Black follows with a left hook. This
uppercut, left hook combination was
Louis' staple finisher, and when he
connected both punches an knockdown
was assured.

Advanced Striking
Jersey Joe Walcott – The Savviest Man in Boxing

Jersey Joe Walcott's life was bizarrely twinned with the great Joe Louis. Both came
from humble beginnings and rose to become world heavyweight champion, yet
while Louis was picking up enormous pay days fighting his “bum of the month”
club, Walcott was working shifts to feed his family and unable to train full time for
his bouts. Even more interesting is the fact that Walcott was originally the protégée
of notorious coach, Jack Blackburn, Walcott was dropped by Blackburn when a
more promising prospect was brought to him, in the form of Joe Louis.
Walcott fought Louis on two occasions and in both fights dropped the
champion, making him look very average where before he had seemed invincible.
Walcott did not have the punch, the combinations or the technical finesse that
Louis did, but he had enormous quantities of savvy. His entire game was based
around smooth, confusing movement. Dancing around the ring, switching stances
gracefully and often, and throwing power punches and jabs from both hands.
Walcott eventually got his dues, defeating Ezzard Charles for the heavyweight title,
but failing to defend it when he was knocked by Rocky Marciano after putting on a
boxing clinic for 12 rounds.
Walcott's career is worth examining in detail because until George Foreman's
comeback in the 1990s he was the oldest man to win a world heavyweight title in
boxing, at 39 years old. Lacking the physicality of younger heavyweights made
Jersey Joe Walcott one of the craftiest ring technicians of all time. For those
strikers who lack athleticism but still would like to get the better of their stronger,
faster sparring partners, his techniques are a wonderful way to slow down action,
limit exchanges and counter whole combinations with a big punch or two.

Advanced Striking
Side Steps
Side Steps were the main technique of Jersey Joe Walcott's impeccable defence and
also played a major part of his offence. From an orthodox stance (Walcott changed
frequently) this consisted of a step with his right f oot between 45 degrees forward
and right and 45 degree backward and right. The angle deployed depended on
whether Walcott wanted to employ long punches or short ones. The side step which
Walcott used against Joe Louis was backward and took Walcott's head out of reach
of Louis who had to readjust his footwork. As Louis shuffled closer with a punch
Walcott fired back a big right hand and dropped Louis to the canvas.
Black and White hunt for openings. As White jabs, Black steps with his right foot
to the right, dropping his lead hand but
keeping his shoulder shrugged. He has now
achieved a dominant angle on his opponent.
From here Black can connect almost at will.

Walcott would usually throw a powerful looping
right,just as he used to knock down Joe Louis
twice.

Advanced Striking
Cakewalk
Walcott used to combine multiple side steps, moving from left to ri ght foot to
confuse his opponents. It took his head from left to ri ght and made his opponents
reluctant to punch at him, sometimes he would accompany the sidesteps with jabs
and very often would end up in the opposite stance to the one he started in.
It was through constantly changing the d ynamic of a match by switching stances
that Walcott was able to drag younger, more athletic men into his foreign world of
side steps and counter punches.
A series of right and left side steps, this move

confuses and infuriates opponents, leaves one
constantly in a position to counter, and can be turned
into an offensive punching combination at any point.
Moreover, it is fun to watch.

Advanced Striking
'The Perfect Punch'

Joe Walcott's perfect punch came against Ezzard Charles – likely the greatest light-
heavyweight boxer who ever lived. Charles had beaten Joe Louis and was severely
out-boxing Walcott when the two clinched, were broken by the referee and
returned to the centre of the ring. Walcott slipped to the inside of Charles' jab – an
unorthodox and risky defence and it takes the head towards the opponent's right
hand – before unleashing a hellish left uppercut/hook hybrid. Charles crumpled to
the canvas and Walcott became the oldest heavyweight champion to that date.
Black and White face each other. Black Black slips to the inside of White's jab.
attempts to draw a jab by lingering in Walcott often accompanied this unorthodox
punching range. defensive movement with a throwing out of
both of his hands. Perhaps as a distraction,
or perhaps simply to add to his eccentric
reputation.
Black steps his right foot forward and out to

the right, throwing a left hook / uppercut
hybrid.

Advanced Striking
Manny Pacquiao – The Saviour of Boxing
Manny Pacquiao has been called the most entertaining fi ghter of this generation,
and HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant famously stated that if every division had
a Manny Pacquiao, boxing would not be in the shameful state it is. Pacquiao is the
antithesis of the problems that plague modern boxing; he doesn't quibble over
weight divisions or spend long hiatuses seeking out tailor made opponents against
which to achieve an easy pay day. Pacquiao has fought brawlers and boxers in
eight different minor weight divisions, and has overwhelmed the vast majority of
them with his ambidextrous punching power and rapid combinations.
Pacquiao uses a multitude of techniques to compensate for the often substantial

weight disadvantage he carries into his fights. Against Antonio Magarito, for
instance, Pacquiao gave up almost thirty pounds to the Mexican, and still
brutalised him for twelve rounds. Often this is through Pacquiao's discipline in his
movement. After any combination, Pacquiao immediately weaves underneath an
opponent's counter, or side steps out to the left or right. It seems simple to
remember to use head movement or foot movement after each combination, but the
conditioning and mental discipline required to continue operating this way over ten
or twelve rounds is truly something to admire.

Advanced Striking
The Hatton Side Step

Manny Pacquiao's counter to the relentless aggression of Ri cky Hatton was to side
step the Briton's predictable attacks on a straight line. As a southpaw, side stepping
would take Pacquiao into an orthodox fighter's power hand, except that Hatton's
money punch was his left hook and so he stood almost square on – taking the
power potential out of his right. This made the side-step a brilliant counter to
Hatton's aggression. As Hatton rushed Pacquiao, Pacquiao side-stepped to the left
and unleashed an overhand left hook onto Hatton's jaw.
White is pushing forward aggressively. Black Black sidesteps to his left, combined with a
is fighting southpaw. flicking jab to distract the opponent and
obscure his vision.
Having achieved a dominant angle, Black throws

an overhand left hook. The damage sustained
through this counter effectively ended the durable
Ricky Hatton's fighting career.

Advanced Striking
Double Left Straight

One of Pacquiao's staples as a southpaw is his left straight – both as a lead and as
part of a 1-2. Often Pacquiao uses his left straight to the body as his first power
punch – as he is measuring his opponent for his trademark flurries. Pacquiao also
uses his straight left as a jab, and often has success by throwing a powerful straight
to the body and using a jabbing straight with the same hand to t he head
immediately after. This doubling up of the left straight is a unique strategy and
rarely fails for Pacquiao.
Black steps outside of White's lead foot and lands a left straight to the
body.
Drawing his punch back only half way, Black then lands a second left
straight on White's face, catching him by surprise.

Advanced Striking
Weaving Right Hook

If an orthodox opponent has a particularly good left hook, such as Marco Antonio
Barerra or Ricky Hatton did, Pacquiao often attempts to land his own lead, right
hook and weave under their responding left hook. He had great success with this
strategy against both men, and often his opponents overbalance from the force of
throwing their own punch after being struck by Pacquiao's.
Black throws a right hook, which White blocks.
An experienced counter puncher, White immediately throws his own lead hook. Black ducks immediately
after his own hook to avoid the most common counter punch. These movements make Pacquiao's reactions
seem superhuman, when in fact he is just disciplined enough to move his head after every assault.

Advanced Striking
B.J. Penn – The Prodigy
B.J. Penn is one of the most accomplished mixed martial artists in the history of that
young sport. Having received his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at a young age after
less than five years training, he won the Mundials in the black belt division.
Following this unprecedented feat he debuted in the Ultimate Fighting Championship
and stormed toward a title shot against Jens Pulver. Following his loss to Pulver, Penn
took a great many bizarre match ups in Japan, refusing to fight li ghtweights and
instead choosing matches against larger men and members of the G racie family.
Upon returning to the UFC B.J. Penn put together a win streak against top
lightweight competition which was surpassed only by Takanori Gomi's in 2005. While
Penn had made his début in the sport being known for his world class grappling, it
was as a ruthless striker that he found massive success during his second stint inside
the UFC. Despite his ability to get up from his back seemingly at will, Penn was never
fond of kicking and instead dismantled his opponents with boxing, knees and elbows.
While Penn was constantly heralded for his heavy hands, it was his unerring accuracy
and simple, well timed counter punches which carried so much weight.

Advanced Striking
Slipping Counter Jab

Few men have done more for the reputation of the jab in Mixed Martial Arts
competition than BJ Penn. Formerly known largely for his left hook, undoubtedly his
money punch through the first half of his career, Penn's return to the UFC lightweight
division and title unification match against Sean Sherk showed Penn's new pet strike
to it's full potential. Abandoning his head on stance for a more side on one, every time
Sherk attacked with his inferior reach, Penn slipped to his right and simultaneously
threw a jab.
Fans were stunned by the remarkable accuracy and frequency with which Penn landed
his jab and many other fighters attempted to imitate Penn's success, to little avail. The
secret to Penn's success in “establishing the jab” was his using it as a go to counter,
backing his opponents up until they attacked him .

Advanced Striking
Black walks White down, in hopes of forcing White to lead.
As White obliges, and jabs at Black, Black slips to his right
while throwing his own jab. He is now in position to throw
power punches at his stunned opponent.

Advanced Striking
Sean Sherk Running Combination

The combination which Penn used to stop Sean Sherk was a thing of o f beauty.
beauty. Penn
chased Sherk down with urgency,
urgency, clearly hoping to meet his own prediction of
stopping the fight in the third round. When Penn's corner shouted at him to step up the
pace he threw a left hook followed by a right
ri ght uppercut, which landed cleanly and
backed Sherk up. He then stepped forward and threw his left hand again, though it
was now his rear hand and served as a powerful straight. From here Sherk fell against
the fence and Penn sprang on him with a jumping knee and some uppercuts to finish
the fight. The initial combination was a beautiful example of chasing an opponent
midway through a salvo.
Black throws
throws a left hook which
which is blocked. Black connects
connects a right uppercut
uppercut as White
White
retreats.
To continue the assault, Black steps forward into a

southpaw stance, simultaneously throwing a left
straight.

Advanced Striking
Open Guard Cross Counter

In striking, an open guard is where one man is in an orthodox stance and the other is
in a southpaw stance. This mismatch of stances makes for a completely different
dynamic of fight and often changes the emphasis of the match from head movement
and combinations to footwork and speed.
When facing the southpaw Diego

Diego Sanchez, B. J. Penn could not have nearly
nearly so much
success with his slipping jab, so instead backed Diego on to the fence with pressure
and awaited Sanchez's attack. When Sanchez rushed Penn with running punches,
Penn took a shuffle back, then (while covering Diego's lead hand) changed level to
duck under Diego's left hand and landed a clean right hook over the top. This open
guard variation of the Cross
Cr oss Counter (explained in Alistair Overeem's chapter) set the
tone of the match and Sanchez never recovered, being forced to survive as well as he
could until the fifth round when a cut on his head stopped the fight.
In the sequence below, Black is playing the part of Penn, but is fighting southpaw.
This technique works as a southpaw or orthodox fighter, providing you are fighting
someone in the opposite stance.
Black is southpaw
southpaw. Black walks White down White charges with a jab, which Black
until White is forced to attack. avoids with a step backwards.
As White follows with a right straight,

Black ducks and fires a rear
rear hook over
over
White's missed straight.

Advanced Striking
Jack Johnson – The Galvaston Giant
Few sportsmen have caused the apocalyptic level panic in society that Jack Johnson
th
did when he defeated the formerly unbeatable Jim Jeffries on July 4 1910. The
Galvaston Giant was forced to work for years to overcome the colour line which
Jeffries maintained when selecting challengers for his title. Eventually he won the title
in 1908, once Jeffries had retired, against a weak field of heavyweights.
Destroying Tommy
Tommy Burns in Melbourne for the title, Johnson was and always had
been considered one of the smartest men in i n boxing. Occasionally this made for boring
fights, as when he stopped Sam McVey
McVey in the twentieth
t wentieth round of their desperately dull
fight. Once he had realised that his alienating style of fighting was preventing his
heavyweight
heavyweight title
tit le challenge from achieving public support, however, he began
knocking out contenders left, right and centre.
Pursuing the Canadian, Tommy
Tommy Burns, across three continents to obtain a title match,
Johnson eventually found a backer
backer willing to put up the money for Burns' extortionate
fee to fight a black man. Considered a great scientific boxer, it was in the clinch
where Johnson did his best work as he used biceps control and under-hooks to
brutalise his opponents to a stoppage. Often, as against the severely mismatched
Stanley Ketchel, a middleweight, Johnson would hold his opponents up once he had
hit them to prevent them from taking a knee and recovering during the referee's count.
Following his defeat of Jeffries in 1910, Johnson became public enemy number one as
the American
American public looked to punish him for humiliating
humili ating their hero. Eventually
brought before the court on trumped up charges of “white slavery” under the Mann
Act (which Johnson was the first man to be tried under), Johnson fled to France
before he could be incarcerated and boxing's heavyweight division became the
weakest it had since it's inception.

Advanced Striking
Jabbing into the Clinch

Jack Johnson's strength was in the clinch, having only a 72 inch reach on a 6'2” frame
he preferred not to outfight. In order to get into the clinch Johnson would carry his left
hand low, slap the opponent's lead hand down with his right, and dive in wit h a jab.
Then he would establish the clinch by pummeling his left underneath the opponent's
right armpit, or cup his hands over their upper arms for biceps control. Johnson used
this against Tommy Burns and Jim Jeffries almost at will despite their attempts to stay
outside and to swing at him as he approached.
White and Black circle, Black wishes to infight. Black slaps White's lead hand down,
negating White's jab.
And enters with a jab of his own. Before gaining biceps control on his opponent
by gripping over White's biceps and keeping
his elbows tight to his body.

Advanced Striking
The Jack Johnson Uppercut

Jack Johnson's uppercut at close quarters was a thing of beauty. Turning his hips so
far that he was actually throwing the uppercut almost perpendicular to the opponent,
Johnson was able to throw his uppercut in a much shorter space. One of the most
common ways Johnson used this was from his bicep control clinch, using a cross face
to create space and force the opponent to lean against him, amplifying the power of
his punch. Tim Boetsch used this same technique to knock out Yushin Okami. Another
variation was to maintain bicep control and create the space by pushing his forehead
against his opponent's face, which he used numerous times against Tommy Burns.
Black and White are infighting. Black is Sensing a lull in the struggle, Black
preventing why from striking or brings his left arm inside and uses the
grasphing him by controlling White's blade of his hand to cross face White's
biceps and keeping his own elbows head away from him.
inside.
As White pushes back toward Black, Another view of the uppercut.
Black steps his right foot outside White's If Black doesn't turn his right hip all
left foot. From here Black turns his hips the way past his centreline, the punch
all the way through and throws an will not be tight enough to infiltrate the
uppercut in an extremely short space. small space the cross face has created.

Advanced Striking
Here is Jack Johnson himself, demonstrating the punch in the San

Francisco Call. This photo was taken in 1909, in the build up to his
fight with Stanley Ketchel.

Advanced Striking
Underhook Left Hook

The technique which Johnson used to knock out the undefeated and legendarily
durable Jim Jeffries, this technique has more place in MMA nowadays than it does in
boxing. Johnson pummelled his right arm underneath Jeffries' left armpit and gripped
over his shoulder. Then using this grip as a handle he turned side on to Jeffries and
unleashed three solid left hooks straight onto Jeffries' jaw. Johnson had used this sort
of technique throughout his entire career to grind his opponents down, but as Jeffries
was one of the few men near Johnson's height, it was particularly useful as Johnson
could get underneath Jeffries' arm with ease.
. Black has biceps control on White's left arm and an underhook on his right. Pushing with
the left hand and lifting with the right, he off balances White. From here he lands short left
hook to White's face. After a relatively restrained couple of rounds, Jack Johnson used this
technique to hammer home three left hooks on Jeffries who had been lulled into a sense of
©Jack Slack inactivity www.FightsGoneBy.com
in the fifteenth round of The Fight of the Century. 94
Advanced Striking
Roy Jones Jr. - Mr Unstoppable
Roy Jones Jr. is one of those fighters whose fighting style has been almost entirely
written off as due to ungodly physical talent, while his intelligence in the ri ng has
been sadly and consistently under-rated. Jones, who began his career in the lighter
weights and moved all the way up to win one version of the world heavyweight title
after years of dominance as a middleweight and light-heavyweight. Jones, famously
fond of cock-fighting, has credited many of his strategies as being inspired by
techniques that he saw game cocks use in their life and death battles.
After Roy Jones Jr. was robbed of a decision in a fight which everyone but the judges
seemed to think he had won in the finals of the Seoul Olympic Games, he certainly
competed with the urgency of a fi ghting rooster. Jones KO'd 40 of 47 opponents up to
his move to heavyweight (which many feel was the beginning of his decline, as the
weight gain took a noticeable toll on his body). Jones often eschewed the jab,
checking his opponent's own jab with his right hand and leaping in with lead hooks
and uppercuts. He was also famous for his showboating and his right hand leads.

Advanced Striking
Right Lead Stance

Roy Jones Jr.'s unique stance, standing with his left hand low and his right extended
slightly in front of him, provided Jones with an entire system of landing power
punches. Having his right hand extended toward the opponent's left, he was able to
parry and catch the opponent's jabs with ease. If the opponent desired to hook with his
left hand, it would have to travel outside of Jones' right hand and he would block it
with his upper arm. If the opponent attempting to throw his right hand at Jones, Jones
simply wasn't there as the right hand is so slow to reach it's target when thrown as a
lead. Jones could jab, lead hook and lead uppercut to great affect from this position –
either weaving out to his left or clinching up afterwards.
By carrying his lead hand low and swaying it back and forth it also made Jones'
punches harder to see coming and harder to predict. He could interchangeably throw
hooks, uppercuts and jabs to the head or body with his lead hand, without much being
given away about his intentions. This technique can be seen in full force from Jones'
olympic days, proving particularly baffling to his opponent in the semi-finals.
Black carries his right hand forward,

prepared to smother White's jabs.
From here Black sways his hand back Alternatively he can swing his arm out
and forth. As he swings it out to his left to his side then bring it in as an
he can easily bring it back toward his uppercut, inside of White's defence.
centreline in the form of a left hook.
Advanced Striking
Here, Black demonstrates that White's jab will prove

completely ineffectual if he attempts it against Black's
right hand lead stance.

Advanced Striking
Upper Arms Defence

Jones proved himself to be a defensive genius, though his defence was not always
attractive. One particularly ugly but effective move was to use his upper arms –
biceps and triceps – rather than his forearms to defend himself from hooks. To do this
it was necessary to extend his arm out in front, making it look as if he were a rank
amateur, but defending with all the effectiveness of a boxing great.
The opponent's only choices for an attack are a

telegraphed right hand, or a left hook. To perform the
left hook White will have to circle his lead hand
outside of Black's. This telegraphs the movement
significantly, and Black can use his forearm to block
or his triceps, from which position he can easily
overhook White's arm and initiate a clinch.

Advanced Striking
Step Back Lead Uppercut

When retreating Jones often liked to post his right foot out behind him, in a sprinters
style stance, square his hips up and leap in with a lead uppercut at the pursuing
opponent. This same technique was also utilized to great ability by heavyweight
'Razor' Ruddock, who dubbed it “The Smash”.
White is pursuing Black, who is retreating. Black steps back with his right foot, squaring
his hips and loading his weight onto his legs.
As White moves in to fill the space formed by

Black's step back, Black springs forward with
an uppercut. This rapid change from
retreating to attacking merited a great many
knockdowns for Roy Jones Jr.

Advanced Striking
Step Back Right Straight

Similar to the previous technique, this would start with Jones Jr. retreating and posting
his right leg behind him to push off of. Instead of squaring his hips, however, he
would push his left hand out in front of him to obscure the opponent's vision, then fire
forward a right straight. He floored Murqui Sosa with this technique when Sosa had
never hit the canvas before.
White is pursuing Black. Black steps back with his right leg as in the
previous technique, but instead of squaring his
hips, Black turns side on, extending his lead
arm to obscure White's vision.
Black springs forward with a right straight as

White moves in. This technique will often result
in one of the hardest and cleanest punches it is
possible for most fighters to land, due to the
opponent's movement towards the punch.

Advanced Striking
Jerome Le Banner – The Hercules of K-1

Jerome Le Banner stormed the kickboxing scene in the early nineties, establishing
himself as a regular feature in the final eight of the K-1 Grand Prix. His enormous
build and strength made him a fan favourite in Japan, where gigantic men are always
a draw, and skilled giants even more so. Le Banner is considered one of the finest K-1
fighters to never win a K-1 Grand Prix title, coming up short against men he had
knocked out on other nights, such as Ernesto Hoost.
Part of Le Banner's style, which was famously difficult to manage for his
opponents, was to fight in a southpaw stance despite being right handed. This meant
that his stronger, more dexterous hand was able to connect on the shorter, faster
attacks, while his weaker left hand had considerable distance in which to accelerate
and develop power. Le Banner's lead leg was also his stronger kicking leg, and the
same rules applied. His powerful right leg connected more often as it was closer and
easier to set up, while his weaker, left leg had power it otherwise wouldn't. The way
Le Banner based his game-plan around the lead low kick was largely responsible for
his success and is worth examining.

Advanced Striking
Lead Low Kick

Le Banner's lead low kick was a brutal and effective method of forcing openings in
his opponent's guard. By stepping his left foot up shortly behind his right, often
concealed with a jab to his opponent's face, Le Banner placed himself in position to
drive his lead hip through in a powerful kick. The short, easily disguised movement
and brutal power (this being his stronger leg) meant that Le Banner could do
considerable damage without putting himself in danger.
Black is fighting southpaw. Black steps his left foot up towards his right,
and out to the left. This movement can be
combined with a jab, or a covering of the
opponent's lead glove.
Black brings his hip through and connects a

powerful kick to the thigh of White.

Advanced Striking
Lead Low Counter

Le Banner also landed his lead low kick as an effective counter to an orthodox
opponent's jabs. Often opponent's turn their lead leg slightly inward when they jab, so
Le Banner's kick could fully collapse the leg of the opponent, rather than bite into the
thick muscle on the front of the quadriceps. When his foe threw a jab at Le Banner's
head, Le Banner would slip inside the punch while simultaneously throwing his l ead
low kick. He successfully scored a TKO victory over his friendly rival Mike Bernardo
using this same technique, Bernardo was unable to stand for some time after the bout
had been called.
Black and White are facing off in fighting As White jabs, Black initiates his
stance. Black is southpaw. preparatory step and uses his lead hand
to parry the jab downward and out to his
right.
Black kicks and buckles the knee. This entire movement

should be performed in an instant.
This technique often proves extremely effective against
classically trained boxers, who tend to turn their lead foot
in when they jab, making the knee easier to buckle and
injure.

Advanced Striking
'The Millennium KO'

The assault which Jerome Le Banner sustained upon his opponent's lead leg would
result in even the lowest level kickboxer lifting his lead leg up i n an attempt to limit
the damage. This effectively rooted him to the ground as it is impossible to move
around the ring while on one leg. Le Banner would take advantage of this in
numerous ways, perhaps with a high kick as he did to Gary Goodridge, or in the case
of Francisco Filho, with an overhand left hook. Le Banner, faking his right low kick,
used the step up with the left foot to close the distance between himself and Filho,
before pushing off of his left foot and swinging his right hand on t o the chin of the
Brazilian. Filho fell, tangled in the ropes and unable to answer the referee's count, and
the knockout came to be voted by Japanese fans as the best knockout in K-1 history,
The Millennium KO.
Black has already connected his lead kick Black steps up with his left leg, setting up
several times, and White is looking to the kick. This can be combined with a jab.
defend. White lifts his leg to check the low kick.
Instead of throwing the kick, Black pushes

off of his back foot, and throws an
overhand left between White's arms. The
step which would have set up the kick has
served to close the range from a kicking
one to a punching one, without the
opponent realising.

Advanced Striking
Giorgio Petrosyan – The Southpaw Doctor of Muay

Thai
Not many men have visibly flustered as many top fighters as the Muay Thai fighter
and kickboxer, Giorgio Petrosyan has. Many southpaws, such as Giorgio, can find it
difficult to find top tier opponents, due to the custom of avoiding southpaws. This is
down to the awkward dynamic that an orthodox fighter will face if he fights a
southpaw one. Petrosyan, however, is an excellent technical fighter on top of his
southpaw stance, making him a nightmare opponent for many of the power punching
knockout artists who are picking up large purses worldwide, such as Mike Zambidis.
When Petrosyan met Zambidis in the K-1 Max Grand Prix, he manhandled the power
punching Greek for three rounds, coming out of it completely unmarked.
Petrosyan's greatness as a technical fighter can be seen by his sterling record.
In over 70 matches he has lost just once, by decision, and has dominated marquee
fighters such as Albert Krauss, Andy Souwer, Yoshihiro Sato, Sudsakorn Sor
Klinmee and Artur Kyshenko. Lacking the big punch of his K-1 cohorts, Petrosyan
has focused his abilities on getting hit as little as possible, while scoring blows strong
enough to frustrate the opponent and get ahead with the judges.
Petrosyan often begins his match by establishing his right push kick, then
landing a couple of strong right jabs. Being a southpaw it is difficult for Giorgio to
continually land the jab so after establishing one or two he will switch to throwing his
jabs purely to instigate a counter, often deliberately striking the opponent's gloves.
From here he will lean back or slip the opponent's counter and throw a counter of his
own. Through this “counter-counter” method, Petrosyan is able to drag elite fighters
out of their depth and clinically out strike them through the entire fight.
Petrosyan's footwork is especially crafty and worth close study. One of his
more flashy tricks, which the author has dubbed “the Petroysan Shift”, is covered in
detail here, but to be truly understood should be viewed. Unlike many of the boxers
and UFC fighters in this publication, Giorgio Petrosyan has fought all over the world
under dozens of different promotions, meaning that there are hours of footage of his
fights and training on popular video sharing sites. There are few more valuable
exercises, outside of the traditional training regimen, than studying Petrosyan's tapes.

Advanced Striking
Jab – Pull – Lead Hook

Giorgio Petrosyan's strategy often relies on liberal use of his lead leg teep, and
establishment of several hard jabs. Once he has landed a couple of hard jabs he begins
to use missed jabs to draw jabs from the opponent. Petrosyan jabs at his opponent's
gloves, then leans back to evade the returned jab, landing his southpaw right hook
over the top. Petrosyan out-struck the hard punching Albert Krauss with this
technique repeatedly.
Black is fighting southpaw and has Black jabs at White, knowing that White
already connected a jab. will block it.
Black steps back with his left foot and White's momentum carries him in to
pulls his head back as White attempts to Black's right hook.
return fire with a jab of his own.

Advanced Striking
Jab – Step Back – Cross Counter

Another technique which Petrosyan uses once he has established the jab, is to jab at
his opponents gloves, step back away from their return, and land a left hook over the
top of their attack. He used this to great effect against the taller fighter, Yoshihiro Sato
Black and White are Square off in Black attacks with a jab, which White
fighting stance. blocks.
Black steps back and leans away from As White follows with a straight right,
White's counter jab. Black counters with a left hook, or
cross counter, over the top.

Advanced Striking
Southpaw Knee Strike

Petrosyan makes great use of his left knee strike. Often when an opponent has their
gloves up he will reach his left hand forward, as if to throw a straight, but cover the
opponent's rear hand instead. Covering their front hand with his own, he then throws a
knee at their right floating rib before ducking out t o the side. Petrosyan was able to
significantly out-point and hurt Mike Zambidis with this technique.
White is proving reluctant to lead. Black covers White's lead glove and
obscures White's vision with his
right hand.
Black steps his right foot outside of Black, having neutralised White's
White's lead foot, and pushes hands and taken a slight angle by
White's right hand into his head stepping out, fires a knee into the
with his left. midsection of White.

Advanced Striking
The Petrosyan Shift

A signature technique of Giorgio Petrosyan is his shift following a left straight.
Giorgio leads with his rear left hand then skips his left foot up to where his right foot
was, bringing him up beside the opponent. He turns 90 degrees inward to face their
side, and steps his right foot out behind him. This whole movement is accomplished
in one step and gives Giorgio and dominant angle from which he can throw lead left
hooks to the opponent's face and solar plexus, and right straights and hooks to the
opponent's temple and the back of his opponent's head. He then attacks the opponent
from a 90 degree angle to their left. He was able to clip Sato with a powerful
overhand right across the back of the head in the final round of their match using this
technique.
Black stands in a southpaw fighting Black steps forward at forty-five

stance. degrees with his lead foot, as he
would throwing a rear straight.
Black skips his left foot up and Black drops his right foot back into
turns 90 degrees to the left. an orthodox fighting stance.

Advanced Striking
Against an Opponent
White and Black face each other. White Black steps out at forty-five degrees with
is flat footed. a straight left punch.
Black skips his left foot up beside his

right.
Then drops his right foot back so that he From here, Black can throw lefts or
is in an orthodox stance. rights at will. Petrosyan, against Sato,
opted to throw a right hook over the
back of Sato's head.

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To Rachel and Rosie

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com

To Rachel and Rosie

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com

Pursuing Right Hook................................................................................................58

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 5

For the Boxing, Kickboxing or MMA Student

For the Fan

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 6

How to Watch a Fight

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 7

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 8

Badr Hari – The Golden Boy of K-1

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 9

Black faces White in stance Black switches his feet, preparing a

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 10

Right Straight to the Body

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 11

Head – Body – Head – Head

Black follows with a right straight to White's solar

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 12

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 13

Black follows with a right straight to

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 14

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 15

Black steps back with his right foot, re-

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 16

Ernesto Hoost – Mr. Perfect

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 17

Finally a low kick, which can be delivered

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 18

Counter Low Kick

Black buckles White's leg with a hard low

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 19

White and Black are squared up in stance.

As White throws a low kick, rather than

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 20

The Diaz Brothers – Machismo Powered Volume

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 21

Lever Punch or “Doubling Up”

A rear hook. A lead hook to the body.

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com

And comes back with his own jab.

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 23

And counters with his own jab.

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 24

Floyd Mayweather Jr. - The Pretty Boy

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 25

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 26

Hook and Clutch

To prevent a counter-attack, Black initiates a clinch.

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 27

Black raises his hands, to distract the opponent or

When no attack is forthcoming, Black drops level

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 28

The Mayweather Cross Counter Variation

As White draws his jab back, Black lands a

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 29

Shoulder Roll Counters

Then counters with an uppercut.

©Jack Slack www.FightsGoneBy.com 30

Against a long right straight, the shoulder roll