8th mma fight

biscuitsbrah

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Hey guys. Just fought for an amateur bantamweight belt last night in Orlando. Its supposed to be one of the bigger promotions in Florida.
Anyways it didn’t go my way. But it was a good learning experience for me.

My opponent was a young wrestler with a size advantage so the game plan was to keep it on the feet.

Here’s the video. It was streamed on a laptop and being recorded on a phone. So you can hear some of my cousins and stuff talking in the background. I’m in the blue tape.



My observations after the fight:
-Started way too slow
-Needed to engage and bang more
-Didn’t take advantage of the times he missed, could have came with some counters.
-Basically waited too much

Once again my lack of ability to bang has lost me another fight. I will continue to work to improve in this area

Anyways please watch and critique. Thanks
 
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You're actually quite good evasively - it feels to me a little bit like you're going for a Kyoji Horiguchi style. You're clearly a good fighter and athlete, but I think the reason you're underachieving might be rooted in your sparring/drilling habits.

I think you need to lean into your strengths and spend some good time sparring with some Japanese-style karatekas, something like Shotokan, where it's all about the blitz and intercepting. I think that's what will serve you well at the moment, practise some of that and try to apply it to your MMA - I could tell you to do all this muay thai shit - but I don't think it will benefit you because it's clearly not your style or mindset.

Well done on a good fight. Wasn't the result you wanted, but you travelled across America and fought it without a proper coach. You should be proud.
 
My 2 main gripes
1) You reset 10' out of range every time he feinted or threw something at you
2) You reset 10' out of range after every time you tried to hit him

It wasn't until the 3rd round that you started staying in range and actually hitting him for damage. Evasion & defensive responsibility is a good thing, but only if you actually hit him back for damage instead of lightly tapping him like in the first 2 rounds. Which leads to the next point.

-Didn’t take advantage of the times he missed, could have came with some counters.

You could, if you were actually in range to hit him back in time. Which you weren't until the 3rd round. You gave him freebies in the first 2 rounds since you were retreating so far back that you could never get back in and hit him when he missed wildly, so your opponent never had to worry about swinging at you and missing. So he just swung a bunch of power shots at you with no concern since he'd either hit you or you'd be too far out of range to make him pay.

So, yeah, your self-assessment is generally correct. You need to quit waiting around and you need to bang more. A full disengagement & reset to the outside is fine every once in a while to get a breather and/or reassess the situation, but doing it after every single sequence just wastes energy & opportunities. A lot of the time, all you need is a half step back or a sidestep or pivot to one side to reposition and start hitting him back. This keeps you in range to counter and make him pay for his mistakes. If you retreat halfway across the cage every time he jabs or feints something at you, you're never going to be in position to counter unless he goes full Ronda and runs face first at you.
 
My 2 main gripes
1) You reset 10' out of range every time he feinted or threw something at you
2) You reset 10' out of range after every time you tried to hit him

It wasn't until the 3rd round that you started staying in range and actually hitting him for damage. Evasion & defensive responsibility is a good thing, but only if you actually hit him back for damage instead of lightly tapping him like in the first 2 rounds. Which leads to the next point.



You could, if you were actually in range to hit him back in time. Which you weren't until the 3rd round. You gave him freebies in the first 2 rounds since you were retreating so far back that you could never get back in and hit him when he missed wildly, so your opponent never had to worry about swinging at you and missing. So he just swung a bunch of power shots at you with no concern since he'd either hit you or you'd be too far out of range to make him pay.

So, yeah, your self-assessment is generally correct. You need to quit waiting around and you need to bang more. A full disengagement & reset to the outside is fine every once in a while to get a breather and/or reassess the situation, but doing it after every single sequence just wastes energy & opportunities. A lot of the time, all you need is a half step back or a sidestep or pivot to one side to reposition and start hitting him back. This keeps you in range to counter and make him pay for his mistakes. If you retreat halfway across the cage every time he jabs or feints something at you, you're never going to be in position to counter unless he goes full Ronda and runs face first at you.

Easy drill to fix this issue- the “3-1-2” drill.

biscuitbrah throws 3 shots at his partner. Partner answers back with two, and then BB fires one back. If you do this drill dynamically with a live look- feints, angles, and a healthy mix of punches, kicks, knees and teeps then it helps develop good counter striking, evasive movement in and out and trains guys to be just a half step away when defending or finishing with a strike
 
You're actually quite good evasively - it feels to me a little bit like you're going for a Kyoji Horiguchi style. You're clearly a good fighter and athlete, but I think the reason you're underachieving might be rooted in your sparring/drilling habits.

I think you need to lean into your strengths and spend some good time sparring with some Japanese-style karatekas, something like Shotokan, where it's all about the blitz and intercepting. I think that's what will serve you well at the moment, practise some of that and try to apply it to your MMA - I could tell you to do all this muay thai shit - but I don't think it will benefit you because it's clearly not your style or mindset.

Well done on a good fight. Wasn't the result you wanted, but you travelled across America and fought it without a proper coach. You should be proud.
Thanks for the advice man. I don’t think I’m nearly as springy or explosive as horiguchi for that kind of style. I’m definitely trying to learn more pocket fighting though lol. I do think I just have to be more willing to get hit, since I’m getting hit anyway.
 
My 2 main gripes
1) You reset 10' out of range every time he feinted or threw something at you
2) You reset 10' out of range after every time you tried to hit him

It wasn't until the 3rd round that you started staying in range and actually hitting him for damage. Evasion & defensive responsibility is a good thing, but only if you actually hit him back for damage instead of lightly tapping him like in the first 2 rounds. Which leads to the next point.



You could, if you were actually in range to hit him back in time. Which you weren't until the 3rd round. You gave him freebies in the first 2 rounds since you were retreating so far back that you could never get back in and hit him when he missed wildly, so your opponent never had to worry about swinging at you and missing. So he just swung a bunch of power shots at you with no concern since he'd either hit you or you'd be too far out of range to make him pay.

So, yeah, your self-assessment is generally correct. You need to quit waiting around and you need to bang more. A full disengagement & reset to the outside is fine every once in a while to get a breather and/or reassess the situation, but doing it after every single sequence just wastes energy & opportunities. A lot of the time, all you need is a half step back or a sidestep or pivot to one side to reposition and start hitting him back. This keeps you in range to counter and make him pay for his mistakes. If you retreat halfway across the cage every time he jabs or feints something at you, you're never going to be in position to counter unless he goes full Ronda and runs face first at you.
Yeah this has always been my problem. It works well against guys I’m taller than but that’s few and far in between. Need to get inside and go for it more often than just running from punches
 
Easy drill to fix this issue- the “3-1-2” drill.

biscuitbrah throws 3 shots at his partner. Partner answers back with two, and then BB fires one back. If you do this drill dynamically with a live look- feints, angles, and a healthy mix of punches, kicks, knees and teeps then it helps develop good counter striking, evasive movement in and out and trains guys to be just a half step away when defending or finishing with a strike
I actually really like that. Sounds like a really good live drill.
 
Easy drill to fix this issue- the “3-1-2” drill.

biscuitbrah throws 3 shots at his partner. Partner answers back with two, and then BB fires one back. If you do this drill dynamically with a live look- feints, angles, and a healthy mix of punches, kicks, knees and teeps then it helps develop good counter striking, evasive movement in and out and trains guys to be just a half step away when defending or finishing with a strike

I was about to make a joke about tying him to his sparring partner with a rope so he can't run away.
I'm pretty sure your drill will work better, but the rope training could result in some serious lols.
 
First of all, congrats for stepping into the cage. You put on a good fight and can be proud of yourself man, win or lose.
Now, regarding what you could have done better, I think the 2 main mistakes you made were to be too far out, and to not engage enough when in hitting range.
So my guess would be:
-work on your distance. Being a few inches outside of hitting range is enough, no need to be all the way out;
-when in hitting range, just let it go bro. Good tight guard, chin down, and let's bang.

So if I were you, I would work on quick in and out movement (shotokan is a great option, like Andymabobs said). Taking good angles with pivots is also a good alternative. I would also work on being more explosive on the inside. There are very good drills to work on handspeed, drill the fuck out of them.

So basically the game plan is to be just enough outside of hitting range most of the time (so you can counter when he overextends himself, which he did plenty o times in this fight, but he knew you weren't there to make him pay for that), and when you blitz let it go, and after that go out of hitting range by sliding back like they do in Shotokan (preferably by taking an angle while doing so, which generally opens other attacks, like a straight right (à la Wonderboy), or by pivoting out. If you feel you are the better wrestler, you can also shoot.

"Typical" combinations that work very well:
-jab to the head while sliding in, hard cross to the body, left hook to the head while pivoting out;
-jab to the head while sliding in, hard cross to the body, left hook to the head, head outside double (you can also do head inside but for some reason, the outside double feels more comfortable with this combo) and pay attention to the guillotines;
-gazelle punch, head inside double (you can also do an outside double, but on this one it's the inside that somehow feels better);
-simple 1-2 (while sliding in with the 1) and immediately slide back out ater the 2 : I personally like to take a slight angle to the right while sliding out so I can come back with a straight right or even better straight right-left high kick if the occasion presents itself. Corkscrew the right if his hands are in the way.
 
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Thanks for the advice man. I don’t think I’m nearly as springy or explosive as horiguchi for that kind of style. I’m definitely trying to learn more pocket fighting though lol. I do think I just have to be more willing to get hit, since I’m getting hit anyway.
Then Hula Hoop sparring is the way to go bro (speaking from experience).
Don't do it too often and put on headgear and 16oz gloves though, since you irretrievably will get more hit by doing that than you would in normal sparring.
 
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Panic wrestle....

Your right hand at 10:28 hurt him hence the shoot....

If you have 2 clear rounds with that skill plus stuffing the TD spams = U win!

U were clearly lighting him up at the end.

Great cardio, good technique blitz to finish the fight!
 
First congratulations for stepping in the cage again and putting it on the line. Respect.

I can't give you insight because I'm a super beginner so sorry on that part. I imagine you were extra cautious with your strikes because he was a wrestler.

Aside from that what makes it amateur and not pro are the 3mn rounds and the shin pads ? That's all ? Because everything else looks pro to me.

Do you get paid for that kind of fight ? If it's not too personal to ask of course.

And was that Kayla Harrison in the commentary ? (awful commentary team btw, they almost didn't comment the whole 3rd round except at the end).
 
Panic wrestle....

Your right hand at 10:28 hurt him hence the shoot....

If you have 2 clear rounds with that skill plus stuffing the TD spams = U win!

U were clearly lighting him up at the end.

Great cardio, good technique blitz to finish the fight!
Thanks dude. If I was just slightly more consistent I know I could have taken the dub lol.


First congratulations for stepping in the cage again and putting it on the line. Respect.

I can't give you insight because I'm a super beginner so sorry on that part. I imagine you were extra cautious with your strikes because he was a wrestler.

Aside from that what makes it amateur and not pro are the 3mn rounds and the shin pads ? That's all ? Because everything else looks pro to me.

Do you get paid for that kind of fight ? If it's not too personal to ask of course.

And was that Kayla Harrison in the commentary ? (awful commentary team btw, they almost didn't comment the whole 3rd round except at the end).
Idk does Kayla live in Florida and does that sound like her voice? I didn’t look at the commentary booth so I have no idea. She def sounds like a fighter though and she was saying she trains judo with Justin Florence.

In Florida there are no knees to the head, no elbows at all, and no up kicks. That’s the biggest differences. And since we are wearing shin guards no twisting leg lock submissions like heel hooks and toe holds.

Thanks for watching man
 
Thanks for the advice man. I don’t think I’m nearly as springy or explosive as horiguchi for that kind of style. I’m definitely trying to learn more pocket fighting though lol. I do think I just have to be more willing to get hit, since I’m getting hit anyway.

You might not be yet, but that doesn't mean you won't be next year, you have the blue prints of it there, it's just practise
 
Thanks dude. If I was just slightly more consistent I know I could have taken the dub lol.



Idk does Kayla live in Florida and does that sound like her voice? I didn’t look at the commentary booth so I have no idea. She def sounds like a fighter though and she was saying she trains judo with Justin Florence.

In Florida there are no knees to the head, no elbows at all, and no up kicks. That’s the biggest differences. And since we are wearing shin guards no twisting leg lock submissions like heel hooks and toe holds.

Thanks for watching man

ure welcome

Kayla trains at ATT with Dustin so i guess she lives in Florida, at least when she's in camp
 
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My 2 main gripes
1) You reset 10' out of range every time he feinted or threw something at you
2) You reset 10' out of range after every time you tried to hit him

It wasn't until the 3rd round that you started staying in range and actually hitting him for damage. Evasion & defensive responsibility is a good thing, but only if you actually hit him back for damage instead of lightly tapping him like in the first 2 rounds. Which leads to the next point.



You could, if you were actually in range to hit him back in time. Which you weren't until the 3rd round. You gave him freebies in the first 2 rounds since you were retreating so far back that you could never get back in and hit him when he missed wildly, so your opponent never had to worry about swinging at you and missing. So he just swung a bunch of power shots at you with no concern since he'd either hit you or you'd be too far out of range to make him pay.

So, yeah, your self-assessment is generally correct. You need to quit waiting around and you need to bang more. A full disengagement & reset to the outside is fine every once in a while to get a breather and/or reassess the situation, but doing it after every single sequence just wastes energy & opportunities. A lot of the time, all you need is a half step back or a sidestep or pivot to one side to reposition and start hitting him back. This keeps you in range to counter and make him pay for his mistakes. If you retreat halfway across the cage every time he jabs or feints something at you, you're never going to be in position to counter unless he goes full Ronda and runs face first at you.


Take Canelo for example. He is always on point right there at the critical distance when stalking opponents, just slightly outside their balanced reach - but no further. In order to git gud at actually useful distance management in general, you need to build your confidence in offensive counterstriking in particular.

Also you can't win at MMA without gitting gud at fighting in the clinch. Im always repeating that, but that's because it always bears repeating.
 
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First of all, congrats for stepping into the cage. You put on a good fight and can be proud of yourself man, win or lose.
Now, regarding what you could have done better, I think the 2 main mistakes you made were to be too far out, and to not engage enough when in hitting range.
So my guess would be:
-work on your distance. Being a few inches outside of hitting range is enough, no need to be all the way out;
-when in hitting range, just let it go bro. Good tight guard, chin down, and let's bang.

So if I were you, I would work on quick in and out movement (shotokan is a great option, like Andymabobs said). Taking good angles with pivots is also a good alternative. I would also work on being more explosive on the inside. There are very good drills to work on handspeed, drill the fuck out of them.

So basically the game plan is to be just enough outside of hitting range most of the time (so you can counter when he overextends himself, which he did plenty o times in this fight, but he knew you weren't there to make him pay for that), and when you blitz let it go, and after that go out of hitting range by sliding back like they do in Shotokan (preferably by taking an angle while doing so, which generally opens other attacks, like a straight right (à la Wonderboy), or by pivoting out. If you feel you are the better wrestler, you can also shoot.

"Typical" combinations that work very well:
-jab to the head while sliding in, hard cross to the body, left hook to the head while pivoting out;
-jab to the head while sliding in, hard cross to the body, left hook to the head, head outside double (you can also do head inside but for some reason, the outside double feels more comfortable with this combo) and pay attention to the guillotines;
-gazelle punch, head inside double (you can also do an outside double, but on this one it's the inside that somehow feels better);
-simple 1-2 (while sliding in with the 1) and immediately slide back out ater the 2 : I personally like to take a slight angle to the right while sliding out so I can come back with a straight right or even better straight right-left high kick if the occasion presents itself. Corkscrew the right if his hands are in the way.
Yeah thanks man. Will be working on all these things. Tight high guard, chin down, let the hands go lol


Take Canelo for example. He is always on point right there at the critical distance when stalking opponents, just slightly outside their balanced reach - but no further. In order to git gud at actually useful distance management in general, you need to build your confidence in offensive counterstriking in particular.

Also you can't win at MMA without gitting gud at fighting in the clinch. Im always repeating that, but that's because it always bears repeating.
Yeah I gotta work on getting a little more comfortable up close for sure. Im always working on my clinch tactics too
 
Good fight.

He looked bigger then you, what do you walk around at? Are you a flyweight who went up a weight class to get a fight?

You slipped his punch and dropped him with a nice right hand counter in the 1st which was the best thing either guy landed in the fight IMO. You also slipped his attack and hit him with a nice 3 piece combo in the 2nd I believe. You slipped/evaded most of his attacks the whole fight but I think these were the only 2 times you countered with something of your own and these were probably your best 2 moments of the fight along with your nice aggressive flurry at the end of the 3rd round. I know it's easier said then done but work on always coming back with something of your own after you slip his punches/evade his attack as both times you did it in the fight you were successful.

He was basically just pot shotting 1 big strike at a time to keep you at bay with his reach advantage the entire fight, had you slipped/countered more like I mentioned in the paragraph above I think you would have landed a lot more but I know its a lot easier said then done. Having someone swing those foam noodle things at you and work on slipping/rolling under those and fire back a couple shots in the air is a good drill to help that. Good work anyways.
 
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