Set ups are a gorgeous and underrated thing in MMA. In today’s technique heavy landscape, you’re more likely to see a fighter spam the same couple of combinations or single strikes over and over in hopes of connecting just once, than you are to see well executed and timed set ups. That is what makes Luis Palomino’s KO of Lewis Gonzalez all the sweeter. Even in the brief clip above, Palomino’s setup of the finishing strike is obvious, and glorious.
In the second highlight replay of the fight, a sequence is shown, in which Luis Palomino hits an outside calf kick, to left hook combination. It’s a nifty little combo in which Gonzalez’s temporary lack of balance sets him up perfectly to eat a hard shot coming in at the opposite angle (away from the side he’s trying to re-brace). By itself, it almost finishes the fight. In the second, shorter, finishing sequence, Palomino hits the same outside calf kick, causing Gonzalez’s leg to crumple in exactly the same way.
This time, however, he comes over the top with a left high kick, whose first movements are exactly the same as the left hook. As Gonzalez goes off balance again you can see him looking for the hook to follow up and leaving himself completely unprepared for the kick even as it comes at a similar angle. The change of strike causes him to throw his hands out in a last ditch attempt to block but it connects flush on his chin over his outstretched hands. Not just a beautifully executed KO, but an excellently set up one as well. Check it out and enjoy.
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