How ‘The Count Michael Bisping became Count Champula”
Study/lesson in the importance of fundamentals at the highest level. In particular, the boxing fundamentals-friendly striking of Michael Bisping. In one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, Bisping went beyond fundamentals, and for my smarks out there, if I had told you ‘The Count’ was ‘shifting’ his way to a MW Championship around the time most of MMA’s studious fans became more aware of the concept (Dillashaw vs. Barao 1, IMO), you’d have told me I was a silly person.
In an open stance striking affair (Orthodox vs. Southpaw) the “righty” relies on 1. Footwork and Positional Dominance: (Almost) Always avoiding the L power side of the opponent 2. Throwing jabs with great variance, as a southpaw has many advantageous counter-punches to the jab 3.
Your R cross / 2 (especially when you’re in a position to take your own head down and away to the left, throwing “under” opponents right hand. Some call this “shooting your cross”) and an angled and or distanced L hook / 3 (angle due to check hook pivots, angle of punch/distance control via keying off the jab, but not getting caught by it either)
3. Staying “lead hand long” when you have a reach disadvantage in the open stance. Normally the southpaw fighter uses this in the form of a probing/rangefinder jab (see Guillermo Rigondeaux). 4. When you aren’t using your lead hand as a rangefinder, make sure that the jab has distance upon entry and exit alike. It also is in your interest to not quite up jab but to throw the jab from a lower seated stance, and come up with it to target. 5. Avoid the L cross / 2 and R Hook / 3 of your opponent, they are their best counter-punches, respectively. 6. Keep your feckin hand’s up!
Additional Notes:
I won’t cover much of the kicking game here, as it really what the focus should be on here. Also, the B-Hop discussion is about a minute and a half long, but a year’s worth of information for beginner’s (especially the tennis ball trick, which I’ve totally stolen in “real life”). If you aren’t Roy Jones Jr., don’t “drape” your lead hand too much. At a distance, it’s not the worst thing to do, but within close proximity your need to have your hands up. “Pride Goeth Before the Fall”………always.
Bernard Hopkins is a brilliant boxing mind, so I included an old clip of him and Rashad Evans discussing the importance of protecting your chin (among other things). Search YouTube for B-HOP knowledge bombs.
Original B-Hop / Rashad Clip – Bernard Hopkins “teaches” Rashad Evans how to throw a right hand…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-urM2RZLM4
Music:
- [Indie Electronica] Liquid Memoirs – Enigma https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikpvFyLQGd4
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