Fighters who prefer to strike as opposed to engage in grappling scrambles often have a favored style they want to use... but even wrestlers have their own type of striking category in which they tend to dominate. Look no further than ground and pound, which is a striking style that elite top control wrestlers tend to truly excel in.
Obviously, Mark Coleman, the Godfather of GnP style, put it on full display when he proved he could just use his physical control to land down hammer fists and other strikes from top control.
If those options weren't available to him, he would use dominant head control and land brutal knees while on the ground with an opponent - and to demonstrate how effective he was mixing GnP strikes into submissions, or just battering an opponent, here is every Coleman victory from his professional career:
Fedor Emelianenko, one of the best heavyweight fighters in mixed martial arts history, was recently linked to a return to combat sports at age 50, sometime next year. The news made me begin thinking about some of The Last Emperor's top-tier fight moments during his dominant run through the PRIDE heavyweight days - and how his technical ability allowed him to persevere against larger heavyweight foes.
There have been very few fighters able to blend powerful striking with great grappling, as well as Fedor, with that explosive speed and elite sambo, who have been able to neutralize size differences for most of his career. Something I believe made Fedor especially notable was his quick hands and strong hips against bigger opponents, with that speed matched with sneaky strength.
He was just so effective and clean, mixing his judo and sambo background into his overwhelming submissions or ground-and-pound. He also had a mad scramble that proved difficult for the larger, slower heavyweights to keep up with. The Russian sambo practitioner used those ankle picks with crazy efficiency, for example, with slick setups off the clinch or when an opponent slipped or overcommitted.
MY NOTE: I turned to artificial intelligence to help explore the topic of soccer kicks I spoke of yesterday, in an attempt to have the AI offer a different perspective to new MMA fans. Here is the first iteration, and I plan to tinker with it to get the AI to generate different perspectives on topics. This content was created by Google Gemini.
The PRIDE Difference: Why "Stomps and Soccer Kicks" Changed the Ground Game
If you just watched Mauricio "Shogun" Rua’s legendary run in the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix, you saw a version of MMA that looks like a completely different sport than today’s UFC. In the Unified Rules of MMA (which the UFC follows), a "grounded opponent" is protected from kicks and knees to the head. But in the PRIDE ring? If you were on the ground, you were in the "danger zone."
In the current unified rules followed by the UFC, there is a fighter safety rule that prohibits kicks to the head of a downed opponent - I understand why the rule exists, though it's hard not to desire moments from those old PRIDE rules. There were some fighters able to use soccer kicks to punish opponents - or finish the fight - and no one can be mentioned before we talk about former Brazilian champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.
Many fighters tended to throw soccer kicks rather wildly when the opportunity arose, but Shogun had a methodical, almost clinical approach to the strike. During his prime, he trained at the famed Chute Boxe Academy in Curitiba, Brazil.
The gym was known for developing absolute MMA monsters, including Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva, a former PRIDE and UFC champion also known for his knees, soccer kicks, and stomps to grounded opponents back in PRIDE. As part of their Vale Tudo-style fight teachings in the academy, they honed an intense, pressure-heavy style that led to knees, stomps, and soccer kicks.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is one of the most iconic fighters in both the UFC and Japan's famed PRIDE FC MMA organization.
Rampage is the only fighter to officially unify the PRIDE title (middleweight championship) with a UFC title (light heavyweight championship), a tremendous feat, as he was only taking high-profile fights against top-tier competition.
During their rematch in the main event of UFC 71 in 2007, Liddell attempted a body shot, a technique that made Rampage audibly grunt in pain during their first fight, but the story didn't reach the same conclusion a second time.
Instead, Rampage learned from the lead hook to the body, a natural setup for his overhand right that popped him during their PRIDE encounter. Apparently, it was a lesson learned, as Rampage looked out for the specific level change and had a taller posture. Throughout his career, Jackson was a reactive striker, and it was proven when his intended uppercut seamlessly became a hook.
With my "Look Back" series, I want to help introduce the new school fans to some of the old school MMA fights that they might not be aware of - and I think some of these moments should absolutely be known about. I have no idea how frequently I will publish these blog posts - especially here to kick things off at the beginning - and only want to really share things I find interesting that can be somewhat educational.
Truthfully, I sometimes mindlessly scroll around YouTube, where the algorithm shows me quite a bit of MMA highlights and discussions. Before I knew it, I was down the proverbial combat sports rabbit hole, with my mind running after watching both new and older clips. Realistically, I'm not interested in a lot of the clickbaity drama content that blows up on the socials - and would rather focus on the fights and technical discussions. As such, I thought about my brief tenure as a blogger covering MMA, with content published on Bleacher Report, Heavy, Concede MMA, and more, with a lot of fun times at regional and major MMA/grappling events.
Forget
G Fuel or sugary, caffeinated energy drinks to give you a competitive
advantage during extended gaming sessions - drink sparkling water to
keep the vibes going. If a gamer is looking to stay alert and sustain
a long-form session, carbonated water outperforms regular water,
according to researchers from the University of Tsukuba in Japan.
The
researchers observed a small handful of gamers playing video game soccer for three hours across two sessions, with participants drinking either plain water or sparkling water, while researchers monitored heart rate, pupil diameter, and other physical characteristics.
Compared head-to-head, drinking sparkling water over regular water
helped boost game enjoyment, reduced subjective fatigue, prevented
pupil constriction, and improved executive function test performance.
While there were no changes in offensive or defensive
performance metrics, the players committed fewer fouls after drinking
sparkling water.
Since
dehydration hinders cognitive performance―the foundation of the
motor skills, reaction times, and visual processing speed that competitive
gamers depend on―proper hydration is paramount. The gaming market,
however, has largely been flooded with "gamer" supplements
and insanely caffeinated energy drinks.
The United States-Israel war against Iran nears its fourth week of bloodshed and global controversy. While Tehran's political infrastructure and military resources are in tatters, the regime maintains the ability to launch missiles and suicide drone attacks against nearby allies. Although relentless bombardment by the US and Israel has degraded Iranian drone capabilities—and air defenses successfully intercepted many launched drones—some still manage to find their way through.
In its current war with Iran, the US military is scrambling to quickly adapt to its first major drone war engagement. Usually, the US and its allies are accustomed to dominating airspaces rather than being contested by thousands of low-cost attritable systems.
After the fallout of the initial war's beginning, Gulf countries near Iran are also trying to improve their capabilities to neutralize drone threats as cost-effectively as possible. The Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) platform is a drone that was created based on a reverse-engineered Shahed-136 drone the US acquired years ago.
The Iranian military spent years funneling research funds into developing its surprisingly effective, low-cost, long-range Shahed class of drones, which are now wreaking havoc across the Middle East. The Shahed-136 costs around $35,000 per unit to manufacture, yet it can fly up to 1,000 miles, can reach almost 115 mph, and packs an explosive payload weighing between 66 to 123 pounds.
To combat these unprecedented drone attacks, the US and its allies have had to become rather creative. Surface-to-air missile systems protect high-value targets and are extremely effective, but the high price tag of each missile makes them economically unsustainable for every interception.
Sure, the Patriot missiles and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system can shoot down the drones - but it's not financially feasible to shoot down $35,000 drones with missiles that cost millions each. Experts also point out that it's not just the missile itself - warships, escort ships, manned crews, fuel and maintenance, and other financial costs go into launching missiles to shoot down cheap drones.
Earlier this month, the United Arab Emirates showed footage of a Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter shooting down the feared Iranian one-way attack Shahed drones. This marks a shift toward using internal 30mm chain guns—a much cheaper alternative to guided missiles—to combat the fairly inexpensive drones.
There are a number of companies that make sunglasses, but when it comes to cycling and athletics, a handful of companies aim directly to athletes.
One such company is Rudy Project -- a company I first learned about while watching big Jan Ullrich crush the pavement -- but I never owned a pair. I bought a pair a couple of years ago and simply shoved them in a drawer and forgot about them for a while. Big mistake.
I don't want to say I crash a lot while cycling, but I've had weird mishaps that lead to carnage to my body and my sunglasses. I've worn several Rudy Project sunglasses, and the strong build quality ensures a product that is less likely to break.
My dad's pair of uber pricey Maui Jim sunglasses are great for running and cycling, while my Rudy Project Ekynox seem a bit better for cycling, and not running.
Either way, when it comes to sunglasses for cycling, I don't know if I can abandon Rudy Project any time soon.
As a writer and technology analyst in the Bay Area, I find a lot of interesting news and gadgets I am unable to write about through my publications... so I made this blog! :)
