Why was Aldo incapable of clean knockouts?

[fizzlehiss]

Just goes to my point how half the people in this thread are praising Aldo's sharpness and technique and the other half are saying he couldn't knock people out because his technique wasn't all there.

Despite being literally one of the most skilled strikers in MMA history, people would rather blame Aldo's technique for why he has no clean knockouts rather than call him pillowfisted. Even though we all know there are far worse strikers who still get knockouts.

He's not pillow fisted, it's that he doesnt land his shots. Aldo is overrated but and it's difficult to reason with his fanboys. A lot of his championship fights were playing safe with jabs and kicks. I think it is fair to say doesn't have crazy power you would expect from his physique, but having bodyshots that hurt people and rocking fighters like Max it is not fair to say he is pillowfisted.

 

[ChessJitsu]

I’ve always felt he lacked power in his hands…

But you can still achieve greatness without it.

Aldo dropped Jeremy Stephens with a body shot.

Few fighters drop opponents with body punches.

You also have to keep in mind that lower weight classes have less KOs because of head-bodyweight ratios.

 

[Poatan Power]

He didn't sit on punches. He created angles with really decent footwork and had great combinations in the 3-6 strike range. Was it out of utility or choice? No idea. Why ever he did what he did, it worked.

 

[cshireman4]

Some other 145ers that won and defended the featherweight belt over the years? Faber, Mike Brown, Max and Volk. KO power is the exception here, not the rule.

 

[AndrewGolota48]

Far less technical guys than Aldo have been able to spark people out just on virtue of being athletic—think Michael Johnson, Jeremy Stephens, Cub Swanson—and Aldo is one of the most naturally athletic and explosive fighters in MMA history. He should have at least one clean knockout with his fists even if just a lucky punch.

This is actually a good point, as Aldo is one of the most athletic fighters in MMA. Even a lower level uber athletic fighter like Sokoudjou...one thing you can't deny is that he was all fast twitch with huge KO power. Randleman was another explosive freak without many KOs I can think of, but he wasn't a striker, and of course he has the classic Crocop KO.

 

[RockyLockridge]

He's not pillow fisted, it's that he doesnt land his shots. Aldo is overrated but and it's difficult to reason with his fanboys. A lot of his championship fights were playing safe with jabs and kicks. I think it is fair to say doesn't have crazy power you would expect from his physique, but having bodyshots that hurt people and rocking fighters like Max it is not fair to say he is pillowfisted.

Aldo is a weird kind of overrated. He is a top 5-10 goat, but is treated like he is infallible god.

What gets me the worst is how everyone pretends he's treated so badly and he got screwed out of the McGregor rematch, When he himself caused that with pulling out. Then when he was offered the rematch he says no, and it is STILL the UFC mistreating him.

The thing I hate most about his fanboys, is how they always make him out to be some sort of victim of UFC politics, when that is not even close to remotely true.

as a fighter and a person, God bless him. but his fanbase is braindead.

 

[KAZSoliloquy]

not a huge puncher. much like mike tyson he got KO's with speed, power, and aggression

 

[achoo42]

Aldo dropped Jeremy Stephens with a body shot.

Few fighters drop opponents with body punches.

You also have to keep in mind that lower weight classes have less KOs because of head-bodyweight ratios.

You don't need power to drop someone with a liver shot. You need really good timing and accuracy.

Some other 145ers that won and defended the featherweight belt over the years? Faber, Mike Brown, Max and Volk. KO power is the exception here, not the rule.

And yet Max and Volk, not known for power at all, both have clean KOs. Volk starched current UFC lightweight Jamie Mullarkey. My point is that it's odd that Jose has none.

This is actually a good point, as Aldo is one of the most athletic fighters in MMA.

Right. With Aldo being one of the most fast-twitch fighters out of anyone, and actually having super crisp striking, am I wrong in thinking he should have at least one nice clean knockout shots with his hands?

 

[GrantB13]

Moraes gets knocked out by everybody post Cejudo yet Aldo didn't. Weird.

 

[Poatan Power]

You don't need power to drop someone with a liver shot. You need really good timing and accuracy.

Um, no, you need all 3. Nobody drops from a half-assed liver shot. You have to transfer power through a lot of tissue to impact the liver. I don't bump into the kitchen counter with my right abdomen and drop to the floor. I don't get dropped in sparring from 70% liver shots.

Aldo had plenty of power for a guy who walked around at 155-160. His style wasn't haymaker heavy.

You guys are killing me lol

Again, Aldo hit a lot of combinations. 3-6 strikes. Great entry and exits. Great angles. He didn't sit on punches and throw bombs, which typically at 145 you have to do to get clean KO's. "Clean, crisp striking" doesn't generally equate to huge power in MMA -- it equates to what I described. That's why Conor was so fun to watch -- dude had dynamite hands at 145 and could torch people with a touch.

You're also just conflating so many variables together and making this weird analytical soup it's hard to dissect. Getting clean KO's isn't just on the striker, it's on the opponent. It's on the weight class. It's on the era of MMA it was in. It's a lot of variables to isolate and discuss.

 

[chiefwiggum]

You can do this in any combat sports with anybody. . Most kos aren’t flat line deaths.

 

[Thawing Mammoth]

What's with these aldo threads lookintoit.jpg

 

[achoo42]

Um, no, you need all 3. Nobody drops from a half-assed liver shot. You have to transfer power through a lot of tissue to impact the liver. I don't bump into the kitchen counter with my right abdomen and drop to the floor. I don't get dropped in sparring from 70% liver shots.

You're intentionally misreading my point. Obviously you need to throw a hard punch—the difference is you don't need to be a power puncher to KO someone with a liver shot like you would to knock them unconscious. If Yan Xiaonan threw a perfect shovel hook straight to the liver of Francis Ngannou it would double him over.

Again, Aldo hit a lot of combinations. 3-6 strikes. Great entry and exits. Great angles. He didn't sit on punches and throw bombs, which typically at 145 you have to do to get clean KO's. "Clean, crisp striking" doesn't generally equate to huge power in MMA -- it equates to what I described. That's why Conor was so fun to watch -- dude had dynamite hands at 145 and could torch people with a touch.

There are lots of guys who aren't "haymaker heavy" but have at least one clean knockout. Max Holloway for one, who is nowhere near the fast-twitch fiber guy that Aldo is. Frankie Edgar cleaned the clock of a couple of people and all he threw was combinations.

Maybe it's a stretch to say Aldo is pillowfisted. But what is true is that he doesn't have heavy hands.

You're also just conflating so many variables together and making this weird analytical soup it's hard to dissect. Getting clean KO's isn't just on the striker, it's on the opponent. It's on the weight class. It's on the era of MMA it was in. It's a lot of variables to isolate and discuss.

Earlier, I provided a huge list of names (including many fighters not known for their striking or power) of featherweights, bantamweights, and flyweights who have clean KOs. It seems that, in a thirty-odd fight stretch, you're liable to get a KO as a professional fighter even if just by luck.

So everything you say here is correct. But can't you also admit that it's unusual that explosive, famed, striker Jose Aldo has not one KO with his boxing?

 

[achoo42]

You can do this in any combat sports with anybody. . Most kos aren’t flat line deaths.

No you can't. Refer here:

Brian Kelleher, Umar Nurmagomedov, Max Holloway, Francisco Rivera, Nate Landwehr, Ricky Simon, John Moraga, Alexandre Pantoja, John Dodson, Manel Kape, Aiemann Zahabi, Raul Rosas Jr, Sumaderji, all have at least one clean knockout with their hands. Of course there are many more. This is not even mentioning known heavy hitters like Ilia Topuria, Conor McGregor, Sean O'Malley, Song Yadong, Cody Garbrandt, John Lineker etc. who have multiple clean knockouts.

 

[Tyler Durden]

He didn't sit down on his punches as much I'm assuming to avoid counter shots. Some of the few times you did see him really over commit with his hands he paid for it.

Just coming to post "he doesn't sit down on his punches" and you nailed it on 1st post

 

[KarateYeah]

He wasn' the hardest hitter, but he did put one of the hardest hits on one of the hardest hitters on 145

He said he could'nt shit for two weeks

 

[chiefwiggum]

No you can't. Refer here:

I don’t know what that means or who anyone on the list is.
Dade county!! Hail Murray ! Hail Murray. Bloody Murray!
Hoody hoooooo! Hooody hoooooo&

You have been served

 

[achoo42]

I don’t know what that means or who anyone on the list is.
Dade county!! Hail Murray ! Hail Murray. Bloody Murray!
Hoody hoooooo! Hooody hoooooo&

You have been served

You said that "you can do this with any fighter."

I just gave you a list of featherweights, bantamweights, and flyweights who have flatline KOs.

So no, you can't "do that with any fighter".

 

[HerpDerp]

I see your point.

I think it's mainly about stance and weight distribution. An example of a very similar fighter in terms of style and stance, and who also happens to fit the criteria of being one of the most insane fast-twitch athletes we've ever seen in the sport, is Edson Barboza.

An interesting parallel between them in this case is that Edson also has very few finishes that didn't involve knees or kicks, and in general, always has seemed very ineffective and plain uncomfortable with his hands when you compare that to his elite level striking game overall.

Edson does atleast have 3 clean KO's listed on his record though, even if they did happen on the regional scene against absolute 'cans', and were at the very beginning of his MMA career.

 

[Flower2dPeople]

KO artists have no choice but to spam their overhand rights. Aldo have options.