Where are all the good kickers in the UFC?

[Robbie]

I wonder where all the good kickers are,I have seen Maurice smith land a few good kicks in on some occasions.So does that mean kicking is not effective against a grappler?Or could it be that the striker is afraid to even try to throw a kick in fear of getting taken down.

[david a]

Hmm....lets see.

Takada took a hard knee from Bas Rutten and a few solid kicks.
Bas Rutten for sure snapped a few ribs of Randleman when he shot in.
Marco Huas toppled the polar bear.
Pat Smith front snapped kicked some loser and sent him across the octagon in UU I believe.
Frank Shamrock has landed some descent kicks.

I know there's more..just can't remember.

[Ronin]

Pedro Rizzo.

Has landed major kicks on Tank, Coleman, Kohsaka, Randleman, and Severn. Finished Severn with KICKS!

[YeLLa-TiGeR]

All the good kickers are in TKD not NHB. heh heh heh
If only that were true....

[Hitchahard]

Robbie:

I have to, respectfully, disagree with you on this one. Other than a few of the wrestlers (do not include Pulver, Menne, and Ortiz), the majority of the UFC fighters have excellent kicking abilities. The difficulty with kicking is if you don't land and get back into position quick, you are a target for a takedown with a potentially inferior position.

As mentioned, here are some sound kickers that come to mind:

- Heavyweights: Smith, Kohsaka, Williams, Rizzo, Abbott (just kidding!), Rutten, Ruas
- Middleweights: F. Shamrock, Silva, Metzger, Horn, Ortiz (yes he actually is developing good kicking abilities)
- Lightweights: Bob Cook, Tiki, Pulver, Menne, Militech

When a good kick lands on your thigh, it is so painful that, often times, you would rather be punched in the face.

Regards,

Hitch.....

[YeLLa-TiGeR]

I cant believe u forgot Yvel!!!

Mezger?? His kicks are too snappy and he kicks with his lead foot, resulting in little power.
Vovchanchin has pretty good kicks, though he doesnt used the. Same with Sakate.

[royceg420]

What's your favorite kick in the UFC.
mine's definatly Williams Coleman

[Ronin]

YeLLa:

Yvel hasn't appeared in the UFC!

[Bau13]

There are no class A strikers in NHB (yet)...
I'd say the best 3 NHB striking guys right now are Rizzo, Mo, Igor..thers more fighters that are okaaaay...

dont get me wrong...I love their fighting and they would all whip my ass any day! But when you compare their striking skills with say... the top K-1 fighters (Aerts,Hoost)they dont even come close!...granted these K-1 guys are ONLY strikers(they would get their asses kicked in NHB) ...the level of skill in NHB striking is quite poor...
The way some fighters throw punches and kicks in NHB is terrible! Sloppy footwork,bad technique, bad balance etc...

fighters aren't training hard enough in this area...maybe they dont think its as important as the ground game which could be true...but wouldn't they be better fighters if they did work harder on those skills??

[YeLLa-TiGeR]

I knew that!

[Robbie]

Originally posted by Bau13
There are no class A strikers in NHB (yet)...
I'd say the best 3 NHB striking guys right now are Rizzo, Mo, Igor..thers more fighters that are okaaaay...

dont get me wrong...I love their fighting and they would all whip my ass any day! But when you compare their striking skills with say... the top K-1 fighters (Aerts,Hoost)they dont even come close!...granted these K-1 guys are ONLY strikers(they would get their asses kicked in NHB) ...the level of skill in NHB striking is quite poor...
The way some fighters throw punches and kicks in NHB is terrible! Sloppy footwork,bad technique, bad balance etc...

fighters aren't training hard enough in this area...maybe they dont think its as important as the ground game which could be true...but wouldn't they be better fighters if they did work harder on those skills??

I agree,it seems like the strikers are to afraid to even try to throw a good kick.Most of the fighters in UFC I have seen don't use very good technique in most of the kicks.

I know there are some fast kickers that would be able to throw a kick fast enough and be able to get out of the way before his opponent has time to take him down.

[Stuart S. Igarta]

I know there are some fast kickers that would be able to throw a kick fast enough and be able to get out of the way before his opponent has time to take him down.

Are you sure? I know in the early UFCs they had Kung Fu, Karate, etc. guys but none of them were ever able to do any great kicks. Just my 2 cents.

[Robbie]

Originally posted by Stuart S. Igarta

I know there are some fast kickers that would be able to throw a kick fast enough and be able to get out of the way before his opponent has time to take him down.

Are you sure? I know in the early UFCs they had Kung Fu, Karate, etc. guys but none of them were ever able to do any great kicks. Just my 2 cents.

I remember a few good kickers,but I have yet to see an extremely fast kicker in the UFC.A couple of years ago I watched a Tae kwon do tournament on ppv and saw a number of fast kickers,most of them were both fast and powerful.

Don't get me wrong I love the UFC and NHB competitions but to tell you the truth I don't think we have seen many great kickers in the fights.Just my opinions.