As we all witnessed over this weekend, Rafael dos Anjos dethroned champion Anthony Pettis in dominating fashion. The weapons dos Anjos used to do so were his wrestling, his strength, his cardio, his striking, his jiu-jitsu and his overall skill.
Fundamentals vs Flashiness in MMA
Flashy moves can be great for highlight reels and they are fun to watch, but they are taxing on cardio and can backfire if they do not work. Dos Anjos kept constant pressure on the feet and ground to overwhelm Pettis. Pettis tried a few spinning moves, but never even got the chance to use the flashy and unorthodox moves that he usually throws in fights because dos Anjos did not give him the space to do so.
Another prime example of this is when Chris Weidman fought Anderson Silva. Silva was dancing around the Octagon with his hands down and tried dodging punches with his “Matrix-like” moves and paid the ultimate price of getting knocked out. Weidman kept the right pressure on Silva and used a fundamental hook to become the new UFC Middleweight Champion.
Jose Aldo is a fighter that used to use a lot of flashy moves in the past, but has been more conservative and orthodox in his approach to the fight game lately. He has kept the belt the whole time that there has even been a UFC featherweight division, but fans are screaming to see the Aldo of old that dropped Cub Swanson with a double flying knee in 8 seconds. It is possible that Aldo has lost his killer instinct, but he may preserve his career by doing so.
Demetrious Johnson is the king of sticking to the basics and constant pressure. What Johnson has done is the fact that he uses orthodox approaches to his game and constant pressure to expose his opponents and find an opening. Johnson used to be known for just milking out decisions with jabs and takedowns, but now he uses his well-rounded arsenal of MMA skills to take out his opponents in a calculated way. He has the best balance of using fundamentals in an aggressive way to take out his opponents.
Even though flashy moves and risky fighting styles sell tickets and earn fans, it is the well-rounded approach to sharpening all aspects of the game is what separates the fighters that have defended their belt over and over between those that depend on catching people with flashy moves. Of course necessary risks need to be taken in MMA and it is not good to be a boring fighter, but dos Anjos, Aldo, Weidman and Johnson are great examples of extremely well-rounded fighters that have broke others by using fundamental techniques to overwhelm their opponents.
A Bruce Lee quote that really summarizes the point of this article is “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
