It was once said that the great George Benton knew 48 different ways to counter the jab. If you’re keen to split horsehairs and count various permutations of the same techniques, the true number of jab counters in Benton’s arsenal is likely even bigger. But despite the depth of Benton’s bag of tricks–and it was one of the deepest in the history of boxing–there was one counter that Benton, and just about every out-fighter and counter puncher that either preceded or followed him, preferred.
The jab, of course.
The jab is quick and direct, and it helps set up any number of other strikes and combinations. It makes sense, then, to counter the jab with another punch just like it.
Count Edson Barboza among the fighters following in those legendary footsteps. At UFC 197, Barboza put on a striking clinic against former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, beating “Showtime” in exactly the kind of fight most fans and analysts thought favored him. Pettis had room to work and time to think, the very things missing in so many of the matchups that had given him trouble in the past. And yet he could do nothing to turn the tide or take the control away from Edson Barboza. And it all started with the jab.
The groundwork was laid in the first few seconds of the bout. Anthony Pettis came forward behind a jab, and Barboza responded with a jab of his own.
1. Pettis moves in from long range . . .
2. . . . and flicks a jab at Barboza.
3. Barboza immediately replies with his own jab.
4. The jab halts Pettis’ momentum, causing him to whiff on the follow-up right, and allowing Barboza to land an inside leg kick.
5. Barboza slides backward to shore up the distance . . .
6. . . . and sends a stiff jab Pettis’ way to keep him from following up.
7. Pettis is forced to take a step back as Barboza circles away from the fence.
Simple, direct, and quick. Barboza met nearly every one of Pettis’ jabs just like this. Sometimes he slipped and jabbed, sometimes he caught and jabbed, sometimes he got hit and jabbed. Sometimes he connected and sometimes he didn’t, but was always ready with the counter jab.
In addition to threatening Pettis, this tactic allowed Barboza to collect valuable data. Simply looking at the opponent, you see, can be an extremely unreliable way to judge the distance between yourself in him. If his arms are a little longer than you realized, or he uses deceptive footwork, or leans back or forward as he comes in, you can find yourself being hit even when you think you’re safe, and unable to reply. The counter jab is a straightforward solution to this perplexing issue. It imbued him with a nuanced sense of range. After catching Pettis’ jab and returning with his own so frequently, his eyes and body became perfectly synchronized; he knew when Pettis could touch him, and when he could be touched back. Now Barboza could begin finding some more potent counters.
1. Anthony circles while Edson controls the center of the Octagon.
2. Barboza steps forward with a feint . . .
3. . . . and Pettis bites, lunging in with a counter right that glances off Barboza’s glove.
4. Barboza responds with the trusty jab counter, sticking his left hand in Pettis’ chest.
5. Now an uppercut to the body . . .
6. . . . followed by a left hook that whips over Pettis’ shoulder and smashes into his ear before he can get away.
This sequence took place only two minutes into the first round, but already there is a gulf developing between Barboza and Pettis. Already it is apparent which fighter understands the range–or is at least determined to do so–and which does not. As Barboza feints to draw an opening, he is close enough to hit with a lunging cross. But as soon as Pettis flings himself into the punch, Barboza has already taken a small step back to evade. Because Pettis hasn’t been touching and measuring and countering up to this point, his sense of range remains blunted, and he throws himself completely off balance pursuing the counter right hand. Look at the position of Pettis’ feet in Frame 4. His feet are squared and his body upright, exposing torso and chin alike. At this point it is downright easy for Barboza, still confined to his balanced, compact stance, to find the openings in Pettis’ defense.
By the third round, Barboza had used his counter jab so well that he had acquired an almost perfect sense of distance. Now the jab could become a fearsome offensive weapon, and Barboza landed it almost at will.
Statistics can never tell the whole story of a fight, but Fight Metric’s numbers give a good picture of one of this bout’s most significant subplots. Of the 48 strikes Pettis landed over the course of the fight 72 percent were to the head, with 16 percent being leg attacks, and a mere 10 percent body shots. Barboza’s numbers, on the other hand, are far more evenly spread. 36 percent of Barboza’s strikes went to the head, while 42 went to the legs and 20 to the body.
With such variety, Barboza’s strikes worked in concert. He attacked up and down and from every angle, threatening Pettis in so many different ways that the former champion didn’t know how to react. As a result, Barboza landed much more frequently than Pettis. While “Showtime” landed 36 percent of his 131 attempted strikes, Barboza connected at an impressive 44 percent rate. Throwing 164 strikes, Barboza sent 73 of them home.
The corner of Anthony Pettis’ was all urgency before the start of the third round, knowing that he had quite possibly lost both of the first two, but no matter how hard he tried “Showtime” could not put his strikes together. The spearing jab of Edson Barboza, and the myriad strikes which flowed off it, interrupted Pettis constantly. It broke his confidence, and kept him always a step behind in a round that he needed to win.
1. Barboza leans forward trying to draw an opening out of Pettis.
2. Before he can commit, however, Pettis checks, wary of the kick that has been staining his inner thigh purple for the last two rounds.
3. Instead of kicking, Barboza stabs Pettis with his jab.
4. Pettis tries to counter, but he still lacks Barboza’s nuanced sense of range. He is too close to land his right hand . . .
5. . . . but not too close for Barboza to step back and land a left hook to the temple.
6. Now Barboza steps back, and Pettis advances, determined to make something happen.
7. Now that he’s threatened the jab, Barboza goes to the inside leg kick again.
8. And slides back out of range again.
9. Pettis tries to deal with the distance by leading with a long right kick, but Barboza is too comfortable, and throws yet another inside leg kick to Pettis’ plant leg, buckling his knee.
If Pettis’ backstage warmup with coach Duke Roufus [GIF] is any indication, Anthony came into this fight prepared to counter the kicking game of Edson Barboza. Not at all a bad idea considering what Barboza had done to past opponents with kicks (and what he ended up doing to Pettis).
But he couldn’t. Pettis looked for the openings, and he threw the strikes, but, lacking Barboza’s cultivated sense of range, he couldn’t find the mark often enough. Instead, he ended up reaching to find an opponent who knew all too well how far away he needed to be to avoid being hit. Overextended from these blind attempts, he ate counter after counter. And eventually, those counters took their toll. They chipped away at Pettis’ confidence. Instead of drawing the shots he wanted, Pettis ended up fearing the shots he couldn’t stop, helpless to do much but wait and watch as Barboza casually picked him over like the cheese plate at an uninteresting party.
And with each shot that Barboza landed his understanding of range improved, and Pettis’ ability to defend himself diminished. The second round saw both fighters land 22 strikes, according to Fight Metric. And yet in the third, despite Pettis’ sense of urgency, Barboza outlanded “Showtime” with ease, scoring 31 punches to Pettis’ 12. In that final frame Barboza landed a full 50% of his attempted strikes.
It wasn’t strategy alone that won Barboza the fight, of course. “Junior” also demonstrated that he is technically superior to Pettis. The Brazilian’s left hook was one of his most effective weapons, and Barboza threw it beautifully, something he no doubt has the brilliant Mark Henry for which to thank.
1. Pettis slides forward, right hand loaded.
2. Barboza counters with a right, slipping his head off line as Pettis does the same. Both men miss.
3. And both men look to follow up with the left hook.
4. Pettis lands first, but it is a glancing, powerless blow.
5. Barboza connects a split second later and the impact spins Pettis’ head around.
6. Pettis silently thanks his parents for passing on the “iron chin” gene.
This one exchange of left hooks reveals so many details about both fighters and the fight. In Frame 2, both fighters are in more or less the same position. Leaning forward, weight committed to the left foot. In Frame 3, both commit the same mistake, failing to cover up with their right hands as they throw the left.
But look at Pettis as he lands his hook in Frame 4. His head is forward, nearer to his left foot than his right. Speaking of the right foot, it is weightless. Pettis has not committed his weight backward, which not only leaves his head hanging in the pocket, but deprives his hook of power. Without weight transfer, Pettis’ punch is just an arm punch. Without involving the rest of the body Pettis has ensured that his punch lands first, but he has neither protected himself nor ensured that Barboza will be unable to counter.
Barboza’s left hook exemplifies proper punching mechanics. Pettis’ punch merely glanced off Barboza’s cheek, but Barboza’s drives straight through the chin of Pettis. Weight transfer is evident, as Barboza drives off the ball of his left foot and turns his hips through the strike, planting his right foot in the process.
Such was the story of the fight. Edson Barboza came in wonderfully well-prepared. He began with the most basic of fundamentals, and built his game from there. He kept his back away from the fence and refused to hang around too long in the pocket. He led with safe attacks and used the threat of those attacks to create openings through which he could safely send his more powerful punches and kicks. He did all of this with excellent technique and poise, all while fighting at the preferred range of a former champion renowned for his dangerous and dynamic striking.
Edson Barboza and Anthony Pettis entered the cage as “Junior” and “Showtime,” respectively, but after the bout their nicknames might as well be reversed. Barboza put on one hell of a show; and Pettis proved that he still has a lot to learn.