The wrestle-boxer is one of the most common stylistic archetypes in all of mixed martial arts, and one of the most consistently successful. The formula is simple: you take a skilled wrestler, teach him some rudimentary punching techniques, and have him alternate between double leg takedowns and overhand swings. For the most part, that’s how we’ve understood “wrestle-boxing” since the style first came to prominence in the early 2000s.
There’s just one problem with our understanding of the archetype, however–it ignores the vast breadth of styles that exist in wrestling alone. For the long-range wrestler, who specializes in high-impact power doubles, the fake-takedown-to-power-punch is still an eminently useful strategy. One look at the continued success of Chad Mendes is all it takes to remind one of the efficacy of this approach. But not all wrestlers are built for long-range. Men like Phil Davis and Jon Jones specialize in tie-ups–both of whom excel in using handfighting and tie-ups to execute upper body throws and gain control on the feet. By not developing striking styles well adapted to their wrestling skills, however, both men have struggled to implement their wrestling in MMA in recent years.
If we understand the wrestle-boxer to be, essentially, a blend of boxing and wrestling, then the archetype must expand to include all the variation of technique and personal style contained within those two arts, both of which are steeped in enough history and technical variation to fill a hundred thousand articles such as this. It’s time we view wrestle-boxing as something more than double legs and overhands.
So. Where is all of this talk going?
THE CHAMP
Nine months ago, Johny Hendricks defeated Robbie Lawler to become the UFC welterweight champion of the world, but many in the MMA sphere thought that Hendricks should have held the belt already. Four months prior, Hendricks had battled then-champion Georges St-Pierre to a five round decision that he, quite controversially, lost. In addition to stunning the long-time welterweight king with several punches in the second round, Hendricks notably dominated the clinch, using what can only be described as a bionic underhook to shove GSP around the Octagon, at times lifting him into the air like a child.
This is not something anyone had ever done to St-Pierre, himself arguably the greatest wrestle-boxer in the sport.
Now, were we to look at the takedown statistics of that fight, it might appear that Hendricks failed dramatically in the “wrestle” portion of the wrestle-boxer dynamic: Hendricks was successful with only two of four takedown attempts, while St-Pierre managed to hit three of his own. From a traditional wrestle-boxing perspective the paucity of takedowns from Hendricks isn’t nearly as bad as how rarely Hendricks faked the takedown to land his punches, the real staple of the wrestle-boxing style.
Going into that fight, I was very much in doubt of Hendricks’ ability to implement his wrestling in the context of MMA. Aside from his twelve takedowns against the eminently tackle-able Carlos Condit, Hendricks just hadn’t ever impressed me with his wrestling ability. He was not, I concluded, a very good wrestle-boxer.
A NEW BREED
The problem, of course, was not Hendricks’ wrestling. Rather, it was my expectation of his wrestling that consistently missed the mark. Rather than relying on the threat of his shot to set up strikes and vice versa, Hendricks’ MMA game has developed around his strengths, as it should. You see, even in his collegiate wrestling days, Hendricks was not effective from long range, to the point where he very rarely shot doubles at all. His wheelhouse then, as now, was the clinch.
See how he’s adapted it for MMA in this sequence against Mike Pierce.
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1. Hendricks flashes his right hand and steps forward.
2. Pierce ducks as expected, and Hendricks attempts a knee.
3. As Pierce tries to stand back up, Hendricks hooks a collar tie around back of his neck (circled).
4. And promptly pulls him into a short left hand.
5. Hendricks now grips the top of Pierce’s wrist with his left hand (cricled).
6. Keeping Pierce’s wrist turned to the inside, Hendricks is able to sneak in a knee strike under Pierce’s elbow.
7. Now Pierce prepares to block another knee.
8. But Hendricks fires an elbow over his shoulder instead.
Hendricks’ infighting involves a lot of oppositional forces. Pulling with one hand, he will strike out with the other. This is merely a more explosive version of the “steering wheel” movements familiar to every wrestler, wherein one hand pushes while the other pulls. Another fundamental wrestling concept plays a key part in Hendricks’ striking success, however.
The concept is called “head position,” but what it really means is “body position.” Wrestlers are taught to drive their forehead into the opponent’s cheek or temple, which results in the opponent standing somewhat turned to one side. The idea is to face the opponent while preventing him from facing you–essentially standing in a position from which you feel strong and opponent feels weak, thus gaining a leverage advantage.
The concept is not limited to wrestling, however, and continues to apply at longer ranges and with strikes thrown into the mix. In boxing, skilled infighters use the same angles of movement, adjusted somewhat for range, to hit the opponent without being hit back. Note how flyweight champion Roman Gonzalez constantly steps around Akira Yaegashi in the GIF below, repeatedly positioning himself so that Yaegashi can neither answer nor withstand his punches.
For Hendricks, these movements are a matter of instinct, instilled through years and years of experience in the wrestling room. With the correct angles already in mind, it is a relatively simple thing for him to slip in a punch or elbow where, in the past, he might have simply taken his opponent down.
Hendricks is obviously a very dangerous striker, but it is not the threat of the double leg that sets up his punches. Where the stereotypical wrestle-boxer would like to either hit the takedown or land a punch while the opponent drops his hands to sprawl, Hendricks is more than happy to have his opponent sprawl on his naked takedown attempts, because it is not the threat of his wrestling that sets up his strikes, but the wrestling itself.
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1. Lawler moves forward.
2. Hendricks shoots, and Lawler immediately sprawls.
3. Lawler secures a headlock and circles to his left, attempting to twist Hendricks down to the canvas. Hendricks flares his right arm out (circled) to keep from being broken down, and to create space on his right side.
4. Once he feels a gap between Lawler’s hands, Hendricks takes a hard step to his right and whizzer’s Lawler’s right arm with his left.
5. Off-balanced, Lawler stumbles past, and Hendricks spies an opening.
6. He capitalizes with a short overhand left to the cheek of Lawler.
Viewed from the standpoint of the traditional wrestle-boxer, this sequence looks at first like a complete failure. Hendricks’ takedown is immediately stuffed, and he ends up being momentarily controlled by his opponent, a textbook sprawl-and-brawler in Robbie Lawler. Now that we better understand Hendricks’ strengths and goals, however, we can reevaluate the chain of events. Hendricks winds up momentarily under Lawler, but his skill in the tie-up allows him to easily turn Lawler’s headlock into an advantageous position for himself. Then, after creating a strong wrestling angle, Hendricks takes advantage by switching back to his striking, landing a clean punch on the break. Who really got the better of the exchange?
Of course, Hendricks’ wrestling ability was severely hampered by a torn right biceps in the Lawler bout, rendering some of his favorite tactics ineffective. To better grasp the breadth of Hendricks’ infighting abilities, we must go back to his first title fight, the infamous bout with Georges St-Pierre.
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1. Having hurt GSP mere moments ago, Hendricks steps into range and grips the back of the champ’s neck (circled) with his right hand.
2. Stepping his left foot back, Hendricks creates some space.
3. Space which is immediately filled by a thudding left uppercut.
4. St-Pierre moves forward to smother Hendricks’ punches, sliding in a left underhook.
5. Hendricks abandons his collar tie for a shallower grip on St-Pierre’s shoulder, and then sucks his right elbow (circled) toward his own ribs, creating a sort of imitation overhook that puts pressure on GSP’s shoulder and weakens his underhook.
6. Hendricks backpedals and St-Pierre gives up his underhook in order to remain standing, at which point Hendricks goes back to his collar tie (circled).
7. And another left uppercut to the chin of St-Pierre.
Hendricks’ constant shifting between striking and wrestling may appear artless at first–his exchanges often look about as pretty as a hockey fight, after all–but there is surprising depth and practicality to his approach. By striking with one hand and tying up with the other, Hendricks was able to force St-Pierre to engage with him. The only realistic solution to Hendricks’ bullish strength is to engage in a wrestling exchange and battle his grips, at which point Hendricks will once again create space to strike.
Hendricks also continues to evolve his distance striking under the tutelage of Steven Wright and Tony Cabello. While his jabs and kicks were immensely effective against Lawler, however, Hendricks looked most comfortable when he was within wrestling distance of his opponent. Specifically, Hendricks used handfighting tactics to circumnavigate Lawler’s respectable defense.
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1. Lawler winds up on a right hook to get around Hendricks’ guarding right arm.
2. Hendricks stifles the punch with an inside tie, blocking Lawler’s biceps mid-punch.
3. As Lawler retracts his right hand, Hendricks follows it. He uses his left hand to push Lawler’s right out of the way . . .
4. . . . and shoots a short left hand through the gap.
5. A pawing right jab to reassess the distance.
6. And as Lawler tries to do some handfighting of his own (circled) he leaves himself completely unguarded.
7. At which point Hendricks capitalizes with yet another left hand.
Hendricks’ style of striking is, like his wrestling, inherently physical. While the traditional wrestle-boxer relies on implication and threat to land his strikes, Hendricks takes a more direct approach, physically peeling away the opponent’s defenses and capitalizing on the openings. It is, essentially, exactly what he did during his wrestling days. The only difference is that now, instead of pummeling for grips, Johny is more likely to use his openings to land a jaw-cracking knockout punch.
For more analysis, check out Heavy Hands, the only podcast dedicated to the finer points of face-punching. This week’s episode featured Steven Wright, the trainer behind the ever-improving striking of Johny Hendricks himself.