Mixed martial arts is fascinating for so many different reasons. You have the personalities, the sheer brutality of the sport, and its status as a premier combat sport. However, over the last year, we have seen yet another reason why this sport continues to grab ahold of the attention of so many sports fans. The diversification of mixed martial arts is something to behold, and we are in the perfect era to do so.
Mixed martial arts is just that: that amalgamation of fighting. Athletes bring together wrestling, boxing, Judo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and practically anything else that is considered a martial art. One of the factors that initially grabbed people’s attention was the fact that so many different styles of fighting were brought together to see who is truly the best. As time progressed, the better fighters became the individuals who were good enough to diversify their skill sets by adding aspects of many different fighting styles. No longer would it be good enough to win with just wrestling, grappling or boxing, you had to know how to utilize every aspect of the game. Still the game continues to evolve, and right now we may be in the midst of yet another change.
In the last few months, and in particular, the last week, we’ve seen the emergence of what may become the next big move in MMA: the standing elbow. Now while you would be correct if you were quickly respond, “I’ve seen people doing that for years,” what we have been seeing lately is a shift in the application of the technique that is very interesting to watch. Many fighters used the elbow with the intention of cutting an opponent, and opening a gash that could potentially either end a bout, or provide a target for the duration of it. However, now fighters are using it to stagger or knock their opponents out.
Rashad Evans’s knees buckled from the elbow strike that Jon Jones placed right on his forehead during their UFC 145 bout. That strike could be considered the maneuver that set up the downward momentum for Evans in that bout. Chris Weidman cemented his name as a new middleweight contender by putting away Mark Munoz with a barrage that started with a standing elbow counter. And Nate Marquardt won the Strikeforce welterweight title when he pressed Tyron Woodley against the cage and bounced his head off of it with two elbows followed by a hook and uppercut. These examples show how the standing elbow has been used not to draw blood, but to hurt an opponent to set up a finish.
It will be interesting to see if any other fighters begin to adapt it to their respective games, especially with the ever-present possibility of recurring hand injuries from punches. Urijah Faber once completed a bout using elbow strikes instead of hand strikes, but that was only after breaking both of his hands on Mike Thomas Brown’s head.
In 2011 it was the front kick to the face that caught the sport by storm, and in 2012, the standing elbow seems to be poised to take its place. The one permanent point in mixed martial arts is that as fighters continue to improve in every facet of the game, you can expect someone to eventually bring something new to the cage that we haven’t seen before.
Anderson Silva had a standing elbow KO of Tony Fryklund in Cage Rage before he was in the UFC…still goes down as the best ever standing elbow in MMA