KenFlo on Boxing

**Stu-Jitsu** · Posted On: 4/04/2010 9:48am

Was watchin MMA Live on ESPN the other day, and Kenny Florian was being interviewed on his shutout of Gomi on wednesday.

He said that the improvements he's made on his striking recently were down to him switching from 80/20% muay thai/boxing to 20/80% the other way around.

Florian said he thought that boxing's emphasis on the jab, footwork, and a lower stance made it "a more conducive style to MMA".

What do you guys think? It seems to me that muay thai has more weapons, as it were, than boxing, but to be honest I'm willing to take a top 5 lightweight's word as to the contrary.

Is a boxing base plus an understanding of how to deal with kicks the best style of striking for mixed martial arts?

I'm in no way saying that I think MT isn't any good, that everyone should do the booj, or that the pope doesn't wear a hat. Just wondering if boxing is a wee bit overlooked in favour of the more dynamic muay thai.

Cheers!

Stu xD

**Neo Sigma** · Posted On: 4/04/2010 10:05am

That's a little inaccurate. What he said was 80/20 kicks to punches then, and 20/80 kicks to punches now. Not specifically that he's bailing on muay thai in favor of more boxing. Mostly, what I got out of it was that he was saying that he's trying to make his style as efficient as possible, and throwing that many kicks wasn't working for him. I think he means that he's going to save the kicks for when he feels they can do the most damage with the least risk of getting him in trouble. Set them up, work them in with combos, instead of just kind of tossing them out there.

And he does have a point- relying that heavily on kicks(an 80/20 ratio) in a sport where takedowns are allowed is asking to get dumped on your ass. Especially when you consider that a lot of guys in MMA pretty much just toss them out there with no setup. Sang or KidSpatula can almost definitely tell you more, but that's what I got out of what he said.

**Brian R. VanCise** · Posted On: 4/04/2010 10:40am

He looked really sharp against Gomi who seemed to be pretty undisciplined with his strikes. (ie. just winging them) So whatever Kenny Florian is doing at least in that fight worked really well for him. However it may not work so well for you or it may depending on your attributes and skill sets!

**Matt Phillips** · Posted On: 4/04/2010 11:18am

Boxing's weakness is lack of the familiarity and conditioning needed to deal with shin kicks and the clinch.. If you already have that experience, boxing is IMO more efficient for MMA. Of course it's important to threaten with the kick so your opponent can't settle down.

**Conde Koma** · Posted On: 4/04/2010 3:02pm

Can we take the theoretical one step further? What about use of the adaptation of something like the Philly-shell defense (a la PBF) for MMA? In the medium range where most people are throwing punches anyway, would this kind of defense work in the cage (taking into account the possibility of takedowns/clinch, of coursee).

**Stu-Jitsu** · Posted On: 4/04/2010 3:15pm

I could be being a tard here, but doesn't anderson use something like the philly defense fairly often? I'm thinking vs franklin and griffin.

Stu xD

**Conde Koma** · Posted On: 4/04/2010 3:22pm

No, because Anderson doesn't put his hands/arms/shoulder in positions to deflect punches as they come in. He just slows down time and gets out of the way.

Philly Shell:
YouTube- floyd mayweather`s defensive skills

Hands down, chin up, Matrix ****: