Bangkok Breakdowns

  The existence of Israel Adesanya has robbed Robert Whittaker of middleweight goat legacy. Despite losing to “Stylebender” Whittaker has soundly beaten every contender he’s faced from 2014 to 2023, still putting on astounding performances against high-level fighters since starting to decline. Not only has he got so many high-level wins, but all of them have come impressively, running circles around many up-and-coming middleweights. Whittaker’s success can be attributed to his blitzing footwork. The game of “The Reaper” revolves around bouncing in from an extended distance, throwing a few punches, and getting out without taking damage. Whittaker is not the first to come up with this idea of fighting from range, but is unique in his ability to maintain aggression, constantly darting in to do a punch while successfully retreating out of striking distance before the opponent can fire back.  The mechanics of Whittaker’s blitz are based on his stance. Whittaker stands with quite a ...

  Many great strikers have graced the lower weight classes of mixed martial arts, but few have a style quite as unique as Poirier. Blessed with a seemingly God given desire to scrap and cursed with a debilitating hip injury, Poirier has developed an incredibly unique style, easily recognisable even as a silhouette. His readiness to brawl has given him a sizable fanbase but it is his technical innovations that have carried him to the peak of the sport. Poirier’s boxing is what he is notorious for. The Louisiana native has heat in his hands and he’s not afraid to throw down. While his hooks make up a large part of his game, his straight punches are the backbone of his striking. Poirier’s most underrated punch is probably his jab. He will use it on the front foot. He will use it on the back foot. He will use it at the start of a combination and he will use it at the end. Poirier’s limited hip mobility makes it difficult for him to enter the pocket, but the jab is the perfect way to be...