You wouldn’t know from the last dozen or so seasons of the Ultimate Fighter, but MMA is full of exciting prospects, young fighters full of potential. A prospect is the promise of greatness, and few things are more satisfying as a fight fan than seeing that promise fulfilled. With the deluge of televised and streamed MMA these days, however, prospects remain hard to pick out and analyze, despite the fact that there are almost certainly more true prospects than ever.
In this new series, we will attempt to tackle that tall task, one prospect at a time. Bloody Elbow already has its excellent MMA Scouting Report, as well as the superb Prospectus video series, both of which do a better job of finding prospects than I ever could. As a result, most of the fighters you read about in this series will have already been “discovered” by the BE scouting team.
So instead of simply saying “so-and-so is a prospect, and here is a summary of his skills,” I’ll try to give you a unique perspective with each installment of the series, not only on the skillset of the fighter in question, but also on his future potential, his weaknesses, and on the nature of prospect status on the whole.
With all of that preamble out of the way, let’s go ahead and take a look at our first subject. You may know him from Patrick Wyman’s “Searching for Future Champions” series–or, if you happen to be Paul Redmond or Lucas Martins, your nightmares.
Mirsad Bektic is the coming storm. This is his forecast.
STRATAGEM
All of Bektic’s individual movements and techniqeus are smooth and well-executed, but the best measure of his skill is in the way that these pieces fit together. From the word “fight,” Bektic is a brutally attritive fighter, his entire style built on a foundation of tremendous pressure, both physical and mental.
This, for example, is a very respectable jab. Bektic is low, with his knees bent, and his head off-line to avoid the counter jab of his opponent. His legs are a little wider than ideal, but he clearly knows what he’s doing.
And this is a lovely overhand right. The overhand catches Martins standing tall, just as it’s meant to do, while moving Bektic’s own head off line to avoid the uppercut coming back at him. The head movement is a little more exaggerated than need be, but the basic mechanics are there.
And this is one hell of a good entry for a double leg takedown. Bektic has Martins standing tall with his hips square and his hands committed offensively. Bektic has also taken a deep penetration step, planting his lead foot between Martins’ own feet, allowing him great leverage with which to drive into his tackle once he has connected with Martins’ hips.
But again, it’s not necessarily the specific techniques that make Bektic such a force,but rather the way they are tactically employed. To really appreciate the brutal beauty of Bektic’s style, we have to see those individual techniques in sequence.
1. First, the jab, which scores and allows Bektic to measure Martins’ reactions.
2. Martins’ first reaction is to throw a counter right. Bektic pulls his head back and exits range to avoid it.
3. Bektic enters again with another jab.
4. Martins looks to catch him leaning forward with an uppercut, and Bektic once again pulls his head back to avoid it.
5. And a little extra footwork helps him avoid the follow-up left hook as well.
6. Now Bektic is standing closer to Martins, and not retreating as far when Martins looks to counter him. He prompts another counter with that same jab . . .
7. . . . and sees an uppercut coming his way once again.
8. Now Bektic takes advantage of his close proximity, slipping outside Martins’ uppercut and smashing an overhand right into his jaw at the same time.
9. Now Martins is near the fence and in a completely reactive mindset. Bektic takes advantage by feinting high with his left hand . . .
10. . . . then feinting low.
11. He slides under the expected right hand, penetrating Martins’ stance with a single step.
12. And latches onto Martins’ hips before he can sprawl, angle, or work for grips.
This is the measured, relentless pressure of Mirsad Bektic. Fans sometimes think of pressure fighters as raw or unrefined, but in truth the style benefits from technique and defense as much as any other, if not even more. The key to effective pressure is initiative. Specifically, grabbing and holding onto it for dear life.
In other words, Bektic succeeds by demanding that the opponent react to him at all times, not by recklessly attacking but with the fundamental building block of all good boxing: the jab. The jab is safe, fast, and very easy to feint. With such a simply reliable weapon at his disposal, Bektic is free to force reactions out of his opponent.
The more the opponent reacts to him, the more chances Bektic has to change things up and catch them unawares. With the initiative on his side, the Bosnian bruiser can pick and choose his openings as he pleases. And that’s the secret beauty of pressure fighting: with constant aggression, Bektic grants himself the time to observe and plan, while the opponent is too busy to do anything but react.
Bektic showed some of the best striking of his career against Martins, but each punch served a larger purpose. With each landed jab, Martins became more and more determined to find a way to counter the man in front of him. And when Bektic began countering his counters, he had no choice but to commit to longer combinations in the hopes of catching Bektic mid-exchange. And just as Martins was developing counter-puncher’s tunnel vision, Bektic changed things up and finished the takedown.
If the concepts of pressure fighting interest you, you might enjoy myself and Pat Wyman’s in-depth analysis of the style on our podcast Heavy Hands.
PURE MMA
Bektic is not a striker, nor is he a wrestler or a submission grappler. He is a mixed martial artist. His technique in the specific disciplines will likely continue to improve, but he is a connoisseur of the blend, and a true student of the game of MMA.
Perhaps that’s why Bektic’s greatest skillset is the one that is almost entirely unique to MMA, the practice we fondly term “ground and pound.” While some fighters use grounded strikes as an afterthought, Bektic’s GnP is utterly deliberate and precise. It is as technical as it is vicious. I could point to dozens of examples, but this one sequence from the Martins fight should give you the idea.
1. Bektic starts with both hands on the back of Martins’ head, in a grounded double collar tie. Martins begins crossfacing him with his left arm.
2. Sensing an armlock attempt on that side, Bektic turns and limp-arms his right hand free.
3. And because Martins’ left arm remains committed to the crossface a little too long . . .
4. . . . he clobbers him with a right hook to the temple, with the left collar tie keeping his head in place for the blow.
5. Bektic pummels his right arm under Martins’ left to keep from being tied up, and slides in a collar tie on that side.
6. With Martins’ knee shield across his chest, Bektic knows that his right arm is safe, and so he pulls back his left to punch with that hand. Martins has control of his wrist, however.
7. But unlike boxing, it can be beneficial to wind up on ground strikes, and Bektic simply rips his left arm behind his back to break the wrist control . . .
8. . . . and clubs Martins once again from the other side.
There is a lot that could be said about the subtle mechanics of really effective ground n’ pound (and an upcoming series of articles will take care of that), but suffice it to say that Mirsad Bektic has the potential to be the best GnP specialist in the entire sport. His awareness of submission threats and nigh unbreakable posture allow him to completely shut down the offensive guard games of his opponents, and just as he does on the feet, he is liable to change things up without a moment’s notice. Just when his opponent starts to predict his combinations of grips and strikes, Bektic will suddenly pass guard and remind them that there are many, many ways to skin a cat.
Come back tomorrow for a technical retrospective on the career of Dan Henderson who, despite all expectations, reminded us all of his talent by knocking out Tim Boetsch last Saturday night.
For more on Mirsad Bektic (and Carlos Condit, too) check out the latest episode of Heavy Hands, the only podcast dedicated to the finer points of face-punching.