Alistair Overeem is a living legend. His accomplishments in MMA and kickboxing are incredible, but what's truly astounding is the way that he's achieved them. Overeem is a fan favorite for a reason: He's the definition of a high risk, high reward fighter. And in line with this mentality is Overeem's masterful use of the blitz.

The blitz, as the name is most commonly used nowadays, refers to a tactic where a fighter shifts forward multiple times while throwing multiple strikes or attempting takedowns. For instance, the Dempsey roll could be considered a blitz performed with two alternative weaves.

Or to be less technical, the blitz is where one fighter runs at another until somebody gets knocked out. And someone will get knocked out, because getting countered while blitzing basically means that you are running directly into an opponent's strike. So this insanely aggressive tactic requires pretty much flawless defense.

Aggressive Defense: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/head-movement-blocks-counters/
Footwork Wins Fights: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/footwork-wins-fights/
Principles of Power: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/power-of-the-pros/
Mortal Weapons The Fight Comic: https://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Weapons-David-Christian-ebook/dp/B07T4X4W1K/

In 1991, the two top contenders in heavyweight boxing were Iron Mike Tyson and Donovan Razor Ruddock. What made this match so exciting was that both competitors possessed incredible strength and athleticism. What’s more, they employed these attributes in very unique, even creative, ways.

Aggressive Defense: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/head-movement-blocks-counters/
Footwork Wins Fights: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/footwork-wins-fights/
Principles of Power: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/power-of-the-pros/
Mortal Weapons The Fight Comic: https://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Weapons-David-Christian-ebook/dp/B07T4X4W1K/

The power of Gennady GGG Golovkin is the stuff of legends. He’s knocked down and wobbled several opponent’s with his jab alone. But behind the power that once earned him a 23 fight knockout streak is a variety of technical skills that most pure boxers would envy. Unlike Canelo, GGG doesn’t use his boxing skills to switch between offensive and defensive styles . GGG instead uses his boxing skills and defensive tactics almost exclusively to pressure. In other words, every part of GGG’s style is built around one thing: Getting a knockout as quickly as possible. So today, we’re going to look at the unique drills that help to make Golovkin such a rare balance of precision and power.

At first glance, GGG’s mitt drills don’t look like anything special, just very basic combinations. But on closer inspection, there are several unusual principles that tie them all together. Principles that are highly prevalent in all of GGG’s matches.

Aggressive Defense: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/head-movement-blocks-counters/
Footwork Wins Fights: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/footwork-wins-fights/
Mortal Weapons The Fight Comic: https://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Weapons-David-Christian-ebook/dp/B07T4X4W1K/
Principles of Power: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/power-of-the-pros/

Badr Hari is one of the most dangerous kickboxers to ever step into the ring. Hari has captured multiple championships over his long career, boasting 106 wins, 92 of which came by knockout. Today we’re going to look at the tactics and techniques that Hari has used to dominate his competition. Because while Hari may appear at first glance to rely primarily on tried and true basics, there’s a lot more at play than may at first meet the eye.

Aggressive Defense: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/head-movement-blocks-counters/
Footwork Wins Fights: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/footwork-wins-fights/
Mortal Weapons The Fight Comic: https://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Weapons-David-Christian-ebook/dp/B07T4X4W1K/
Principles of Power: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/power-of-the-pros/

Standing at 6’5, Hari enjoys using tools that favor the taller man with the greater reach. Primarily, the jab, lead teep and lead leg roundhouse kick. But luckily for the audience, Hari doesn’t use these tactics to outpoint competitors and coast to victory. Instead, he uses these classic range finders to keep distance so that he can pick and choose his moments to move in for the finish.

Floyd Patterson was an absolute monster in the ring, using his dynamic footwork, crafty boxing, and incredible speed to destroy the competition. He rose through the ranks at a ridiculous pace, taking the heavyweight championship at only 21 years old. Patterson’s coach was the great Cus D’Amato, who taught him the same Peekaboo boxing style he would teach Mike Tyson years later.

Aggressive Defense: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/head-movement-blocks-counters/
Footwork Wins Fights: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/footwork-wins-fights/
Mortal Weapons The Fight Comic: https://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Weapons-David-Christian-ebook/dp/B07T4X4W1K/
Principles of Power: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/power-of-the-pros/

Peekaboo fighters look to square up with their opponents, placing both themselves and their competitors into the most dangerous position possible. Both Tyson and Patterson counted on side to side head movement to keep themselves safe in this open, high risk position, while at the same time they looked to take advantage of their opponent’s equally vulnerable position.

But Patterson was his own fighter, with several fundamental differences in how he approached peekaboo boxing in comparison to Tyson.

Patterson lacked the same power that Tyson would one day become known for, but he made up for that with insane, mind boggling speed. While Ali is widely considered the fastest heavyweight champion overall, most would argue that Patterson had the faster hands. Patterson threw blisteringly fast combinations. By the time an opponent had noticed his first punch, the second had already landed. And this gave Patterson some unique advantages.

Feinting is an essential skill in fighting. It causes an opponent to react to a fake attack that’s never coming, opening them up for the real attack. Feints can be thrown in a variety of different ways. You can use a feint to block the vision of an opponent, or use it to put them in a bad position. Or you can feint to draw an expected counter, so that you can then counter their counter. A timing feint involves altering the speed of the strike to catch an opponent by surprise. You can pause mid movement to let the opponent finish their defensive maneuver and then attack. Or you can rapidly speed up the attack half way through. You can even feint with your eyes, looking at the wrong target to deceive your true intentions.

But the least known feint is by far the most impressive, as it is executed with only one strike.

This is the directional feint. The fighter loads up for one kind of strike, then alters the course of the blow mid way through, giving their opponent no time to readjust. A good directional feint blends seamlessly into and amplifies the power of the original strike.

The question mark kick, or brazilion kick is a prime example of a directional feint, turning a front kick into a roundhouse kick.

Aggressive Defense: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/head-movement-blocks-counters/
Footwork Wins Fights: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/footwork-wins-fights/
Mortal Weapons The Fight Comic: https://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Weapons-David-Christian-ebook/dp/B07T4X4W1K/
Principles of Power: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/power-of-the-pros/

Multi weight champion Naoya Inoue is an absolute monster in the ring. With relentless endurance, blazing fast hands and a knockout ratio that would be the envy of most heavyweights, Inoue is one of the most dominant champions in modern boxing.

So today we’re going to look at the training that turned Inoue into a monster, starting with the bread and butter staples and then moving on to advanced, cutting edge drills unique to the Ohashi gym.

Technique Books: https://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/category/tmmabooks/
Mortal Weapons The Fight Comic: https://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Weapons-David-Christian-ebook/dp/B07T4X4W1K/

Today we are going to break down the controversial title fight between Artem Vakhitov and Alex Pereira, two high level competitors with drastically different styles.

Periere is a multi weight champion with insane knees and terrific boxing. He sets these up using pull slips combined with a long guard. He’s even knocked out Israel The Last Style Bender Adesanya.

Vakhitov has defended his title five times. He’s an aggressive counter striker who uses his high guard, footwork and head movement to draw attacks so he can return fire. His timing is so stellar that he’s actually knocked down an opponent with just one jab.

Now that introductions are out of the way, let’s take a look at exactly what happened at Glory 77.

Lennox Lewis was the last undisputed heavyweight champion in history, and it’s easy to see why. Lewis soundly defeated the best of his era, garnering an impressive resume to go along with his insane highlight reel. Lewis was a boxer puncher, who fought on the outside until he was ready to take his opponent out. And while Lewis possessed incredible finesse, using his lead hand with the skill of a fencer using his sword, he also always went for the finishing shot.

Aggressive Defense: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/head-movement-blocks-counters/
Footwork Wins Fights: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/footwork-wins-fights/
Mortal Weapons The Fight Comic: https://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Weapons-David-Christian-ebook/dp/B07T4X4W1K/
Principles of Power: http://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/power-of-the-pros/


And Lewis set these shots up with one of the best jabs ever seen in the ring. Lewis's jab was certainly powerful, but it's true power lied in it's insane versatility. Lewis had a jab for every occasion, and as such he was able to exploit the specific weaknesses in any opponent’s chosen system for defense.

Lewis’ rising jab came up from his hip like Ali's. But unlike Alis whipping lead, Lewis’ version jab was stiff. This meant that Lewis could drive his jab through the crack in his opponent’s guard like an uppercut, but obviously with much greater range. As such, this jab was ideal for stopping fighters who liked to move in with low line head moving. They were essentially ducking directly into Lewi’s jab.

But this was just the tip of the iceberg.

Few have ever possessed the skills and ring IQ of the great heavyweight rooster puncher, Andrew Golota.