10 Times Feet Were Better Than Fists Inside Of The Octagon

These feet weren't just made for walking...

Luke Rockhold Vitor Belfort Kick
UFC

The world of Mixed Martial Arts plays host to a multitude of different styles and disciplines. This is what makes the sport so unpredictable.

Some of these martial arts equip a fighter with supreme grappling skills, whereas others arm a contender with the ability to viciously knockout their opponent with a variety of brutal strikes.

Yet, one manoeuvre in particular - which finds itself woven into many of these chosen disciplines - stands above the rest as the most visually impressive attack regularly on show inside of the Octagon.

The kick.

Whether it's being used to create space, chop down a rival's legs or as a weapon to take someone's head off, a kick inside of the Octagon just makes fans sit up that little bit straighter and clench their fists that little bit tighter.

Over the years we've seen them used in ways that were previously unimaginable and everything from capoeira to straight up kickboxing has been utilised in order to catch a competitor off-guard, often leading to some of the most spectacular knockouts in MMA history.

Fists are great and all. But, they don't come close to the picture perfect image of a delicious kick landing flush.

10. Georges St-Pierre Vs. Matt Hughes 2 (UFC 65)

When talking about the concept of a Mixed Martial Artist, you could definitely argue that Georges St-Pierre was probably the first example of a fighter who genuinely embodied the title.

Boasting a black belt in Karate, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Gaidojutsu and Shidokan, GSP clearly made it his life-long aim to constantly try to evolve and add to his already impressive set of tools.

However, this didn't mean that GSP was unbeatable and the whole world found that out when Matt Hughes submitted 'Rush' with an arm-bar at UFC 50 for the vacant UFC Welterweight title.

Yet, instead of allowing the defeat to define his career, GSP let the loss ignite a fire in his belly and went on an impressive five fight win streak. Within those fights he managed to win by submission (via kimura or rear-naked choke), TKO and by out-scoring his opponent - highlighting again just how well-rounded the star was as a Mixed Martial Artist.

However, one thing we hadn't seen from GSP was a leg-kick stoppage. That was until he found himself opposite the only man at the time to hold a victory over him, when he fought Hughes for the Welterweight title again at UFC 65.

Luring Hughes into leaving his right side open - thanks to some beautifully executed jabs and leg kicks - GSP set up one of the best TKOs in UFC history. Hughes was trying to avoid these jabs and kicks by changing levels, yet this opened the door for a vicious head kick which dropped Hughes and led to a flurry of punches from the challenger.

GSP won by TKO and proved that his feet were just as educated as any other aspect of his game.

Contributor
Contributor

Lifts rubber and metal. Watches people flip in spandex and pretends to be other individuals from time to time...