u/CloudyRailroad

Does the clinch make it harder for a smaller fighter to deal with a bigger fighter?

There's been plenty of examples of smaller fighters handling (much) bigger ones for instance in classic K-1, where there were no weight classes (later only 2, the 155 lbs. MAX division and the classic unlimited one). Kaoklai may be the most famous, but also Changpuek Kiatsongrit and Nokweed Devy. However, K-1 rules features limited clinch. I was watching some local ammy fights the other day and noticed some heavyweights have the strategy of just grabbing the clinch, pushing onto their opponent, and making the opponent carry their weight. I have already noticed in my own sparring rounds that I find it more difficult to be in the clinch with a taller opponent compared to a shorter one. David vs. Goliath outcomes are already rare and remarkable, but does the clinch make it even harder?

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u/CloudyRailroad — 15 hours ago
🔥 Hot ▲ 261 r/martialarts

Kaoklai Kaennorsing (172 lbs.) overcomes an over 100 lbs. weight disadvantage and knocks out the heavy power puncher Mighty Mo Siliga (280 lbs.)

u/CloudyRailroad — 19 hours ago
🔥 Hot ▲ 130 r/martialarts

A young Semmy Schilt (who would later become the most decorated kickboxer of all time in terms of championships and tournament wins) competing in Daido Juku/Kudo in 1996

u/CloudyRailroad — 3 days ago
🔥 Hot ▲ 698 r/martialarts

Francisco Filho blocks Andy Hug's signature axe kick with his foot, then knocks him out with a controversial roundhouse kick that lands right at the bell (sound on for the replay)

u/CloudyRailroad — 4 days ago
🔥 Hot ▲ 135 r/martialarts

Wanderlei Silva knocks out fellow MMA legend Cung Le with his signature knees from the Muay Thai clinch

u/CloudyRailroad — 5 days ago
🔥 Hot ▲ 389 r/martialarts

UFC women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko performing the ITF Taekwondo pattern/form "Ge-Baek". Shevchenko won a gold medal at the 2005 ITF and WTF European championships for team patterns (with her sister Antonina) and also won another gold at the same event for sparring

u/CloudyRailroad — 7 days ago

How big do you have to be to win an openweight MMA tournament? An analysis of UFC and PRIDE openweight tournament champions

Thought this would be a fun thing to do. I took the tournament winners from the early UFC tournaments before weight classes (UFC 12 was when weight classes were introduced, and UFC 9 had no tournament so it's not in the table) and the PRIDE openweight tournaments in 2000 and 2006, and recorded their weights in this table:

Tournament Winner Weight in lbs.
UFC 1 Royce Gracie 180
UFC 2 Royce Gracie 176
UFC 3 Steve Jennum 215
UFC 4 Royce Gracie 180
UFC 5 Dan Severn 260
UFC 6 Oleg Taktarov 215
UFC 7 Marco Ruas 210
Ultimate Ultimate '95 Dan Severn 260
UFC 8 Don Frye 206
UFC 10 Mark Coleman 245
UFC 11 Mark Coleman 250
Ultimate Ultimate '96 Don Frye 217
PRIDE Openweight GP 2000 Mark Coleman 235
PRIDE Openweight GP 2006 Mirko Cro Cop 234

Lightest tournament winner: Royce Gracie at UFC 2 (176 lbs.)

Heaviest tournament winner: Dan Severn at UFC 5 and UU '95 (260 lbs.)

Average weight of tournament winners: 220 lbs.

Additional notes: Mark Coleman's early MMA career was very impressive. Not only does he appear in this list three times (tied with Royce Gracie) but he also defeated Dan Severn and Don Frye, who each appear in this list twice. He also won the first UFC HW belt at UFC 12 by defeating Dan Severn.

The average weight of tournament winners is 220 lbs. In today's MMA landscape, a fighter that walks around at that weight would not be a heavyweight but a light heavyweight since they could cut to 205 lbs. pretty easily. Several of these fighters (Gracie, Jennum, Taktarov, Ruas, Frye) would be light heavyweights. Severn, Coleman, and Cro Cop are really the only true heavyweights, but it is worth noting that Coleman started (in freestyle wrestling) and ended (in MMA) his combat sports career at light heavyweight.

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u/CloudyRailroad — 8 days ago