The 5 best strikers in the UFC today
Let’s face it Mixed Martial Arts is complicated.
If you haven’t trained or watched the sport forever, you’re probably a little lost when the fight hits the mat or a fighter ends up stuck in the cage, but you know a knockout when you see it right?
Striking is relatively easy to understand, two guys (or girls) stand across from each other and try to punch, kick, elbow and knee each other in the face and body until the other one goes down.
Easy to understand, and everyone loves a highlight reel knockout or back and forth slugfest.
Unlike boxing or Muay Thai, MMA striking is its own unique skillset due to the presence of takedowns and the striking opportunities in and around the clinch.
Each of these 5 fighters has shown themselves to be a cut above the rest of their division when it comes to standup fighting and it’s no coincidence that 3 of the 5 hold UFC belts while the 4th fights in a number 1 contenders bout this weekend.
The list in no particular order:
#5 Valentina Shevchenko
Headling this weekend’s UFC Denver show, Shevchenko is a 17 Muay Thai champion. The amusing part is that she’s not even the best muay thai fighter in her family as her sister is something like 52-2 and a multiple time champion as well.
Shevchenko is a counter fighter who looks to respond to jabs and combinations with a right hook counter and leg kicks. Another one of her specialities is a spinning back fist counter that she very nearly caught Holly Holm with in their fight.
What makes Shevchenko special is the way she uses and controls the distance. Shevchenko looks to be all the way in where her mastery of the clinch gives her an advantage over almost any other 135er on Earth, or all the way out leaving her opponent swinging at air.
Someone, maybe MMAJunkie’s Ben Fowlkes, said that Holly Holm put a hell of a beating on the air 6-8 inches away from Shevchenko’s face in their fight, and it was as accurate as it was hysterical. Nunes also spent most of her time on the feet swinging at air, due to Shevchenko’s brilliant manipulation of the distance.
Don’t be surprised to see Shevchenko finish Pena this weekend and announces herself as a legitimate title challenger.