It’s been a while since I’ve done an entry in this series but here we are again. In “How Not to Punch” we take a look at simple mistakes made in striking that lead to the end of the fight.
In his bout with Takanori Gomi at UFC on Versus 2, Tyson Griffin made a mistake that plagues a lot of fighters in MMA by throwing a combination from relatively close quarters and throwing wide, looping punches. Gomi is actually doing the same thing but it’s where counterpunching and timing come into play. While Griffin is throwing his left hand “from his back pocket” he is doing it while Gomi is already firing punches at him. Gomi loads up his right hand as the kick from Griffin lands so Tyson isn’t going to be able to replant his foot and fire a solid punch by the time Gomi’s fist makes its journey.
GIF after the jump.
Gomi’s punch actually is similar to a right hook version of the left hook KO by Manny Pacquiao:
Both the Gomi and Manny KOs show that you can get away with loading up on the hook as long as you have a solid grasp on timing. Gomi has that solid counterpunchers timing and that allowed him to make sure his hook got there first and flipped Griffin’s light switch.