Losing an MMA fight is both risky and undesirable, but it’s also not without perks. The two sides of the coin are obvious with the recent fight between Smith and Teixeira at the recent UFC Jacksonville.
Smith was beaten down to the point of losing a couple of teeth and being sent to a hospital with a fractured bone, but his resilience and refusal to give up earned him popularity among the fans, who now call him ‘Lionheart’.
Spinning Wheel Kick
It’s easy to imagine the body spinning and the leg slowly going around in an attempt to hit the opponent, but the strength of the kick is much less apparent. Contrary to our subconscious idea, the seemingly long time it takes for the foot to accelerate and finish the maneuver is what gives the spinning wheel kick its power.
The perfect example of that is the KO from Uriah Hall in a fight with Adam Cella in 2016. The situation was stable and both fighters were cautious. That is until Cella created a mere second of opportunity to which Hall responded with a quick spin and a nail-hitting kick. The foot hit just above Adam’s ear, sending him to sleep before he even started to go down.
Spinning Wheel Kick
Speaking of unexpected turns, the inverted triangle choke is one of the most effective tools to reverse the fight. In 2009, Jorge Masvidal had been dominating Toby Imada for three rounds and already started the beatdown when the opponent decided to grab his neck with his legs.
The result was both ridiculous and terrifying: Masvidal was standing on his two legs while Imada hung upside down on his back, legs squeezing his neck.
Although Jorge Masvidal seemed in control just previously and was visibly ready to just thrown Imada to the ground, the fighter collapsed (together with his opponent) just seconds later. The tight triangle choke from Imada sent him dreaming.
Head Kick
The Head kick is similar to the spinning wheel kick, but the main difference is that it doesn’t have to be perfect in order to knock out the opponent. It just has to be accurate. Most of the time, it will send the ‘receiver’ down without any chances for recovery.
Conclusion
UFC is an exciting sport because it’s exceptionally diverse. We’ve listed a few of the most devastating techniques, but defeat can come in more ways than we can count.
What do you think about these ways of losing in MMA fights?
You can also read about the Top-5 devastating fighting styles in the MMA.
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