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MMA's Best: Fight IQ


Carbomb

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Been a while since I last did one of these, so thought now would be as good a time as any.

Fight IQ is something that's definitely come up a lot more recently, and I guess it's something that would have come more to the fore with the diversification of styles and hybridity that we've seen in more recent years in the sport, given that the old school of single-style specialists wouldn't have been able to switch so much.

When it comes to fight IQ, certain names do have a tendency to crop up quite frequently. The first one that comes to mind is Renan Barao; undefeated for years, this guy was a bit of a monster, and I remember a few commentators saying it was because he could adapt with frightening speed to whatever kind of opponent he was facing, not just in terms of responding to their game, but also in terms of implementing tactics that favoured him best.

Another one is Dominick Cruz. Having heard his commentary and interviews, that doesn't really come as a surprise: the guy is clearly highly intelligent when it comes to the fight game, and his breakdowns of the approaches of other fighters shows he has the capability of dissecting anyone, given enough time to study their game. It's because of that approach that I wouldn't bet against him in a re-match against Garbrandt; I'd bet a pound to a penny that he's spent hours re-watching and analysing their match, doing exercises in his work-out to help him implement tactics born from the insights he gained. His previous matches, he looked scarily good, with clear game-plans that made him look like a genius, and made his elite-level opponents look almost ordinary.

Benson Henderson is another one that comes to mind. Obviously, he's had mixed fortunes since holding the LW belt, but he's nevertheless displayed the odd flashes of fight genius that go some way towards explaining his presence at the top end of the division. One example that comes to mind is what someone on here mentioned: when the old rules about striking grounded opponents were in force, there was a match where he was grabbing his opponent's hand and pulling it up off the mat to allow him to strike the guy. Cynical, yes, but undoubtedly effective and efficient.

Of course, no discussion of MMA fight IQ would be complete without Jon Jones. Whatever we think of the guy (and who doesn't?), he was in the running for GOAT for a very good reason, and I firmly believe a big part of that was his tactical nous. Outside of his reach, he wasn't anything special body-wise, didn't appear to have strength, speed or stamina massively superior (if at all) to any other upper-level fighter in the LHW division, and not everyone with a long reach is able to utilise it anyway. For examples of his fight IQ, one need look no further than the Cormier match. I've mentioned this before, but it really was quite impressive how he adapted to Cormier's game-plan aimed at neutralising his reach, which was to get in close and pepper him with hooks and uppercuts - the guy used shoulder strikes. Never seen that before or since. Also, his more obnoxious (but ridiculously effective) strategy of targeting Cormier's main weapon, his wrestling, by not only neutralising it, but also doing it better than Cormier on numerous occasions showed just how suited to fighting mentally this guy is. Maybe you have to be an abject shit of a human being to have good fight IQ, but I doubt it; it's just a shame he couldn't stop fucking up his career.

 

Anyway, which cage generals can you think of that impressed you, and what examples of good fight IQ come to mind?

 

EDIT: Hmmmmm, someone's down-voted this. Clearly not a fan of Renan Barao.

 

 

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Randy Couture was always known as a fighter who won due to his nous, especially in the mid-00's. His efficient training and game-planning led to him beating Ortiz, Liddell, and Belfort, at a time when he was pushing 40. He didn't just beat them either, he mauled them. Liddell might have won the trilogy, but Couture showed him up in their first fight. Ortiz and Belfort were completely shutdown by him. All three of were considered to be better than Randy in one area or another, Ortiz (wrestling), Liddell (striking), Belfort (boxing), but Randy found a way around all of them, and in the case of Tito beat him at his own game. 

You would also have to mention GSP. After the Serra loss in 2007, he took a much more risk-averse approach to fighting. It was not always dazzling to watch, but he always got the job done. It always felt that he was one step ahead of the game, even when the game was constantly evolving around him (Welterweight has a high turnover of talent). 

 

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I never got to see as much of Couture as I'd like, but I definitely agree about GSP. All the matches I did see him in, you could see the measured approach, the economy of motion, the smart fighting. Not spectacular as a fan to watch, although it was interesting from the perspective of pure technics.

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I'd say fight IQ is one of Conor McGregors biggest strengths, he seems to know how his opponent will fight and the best way to neutralise it and attack it. I know it didn't work out against Diaz first time but he knows his onions. 

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6 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said:

I'd say fight IQ is one of Conor McGregors biggest strengths, he seems to know how his opponent will fight and the best way to neutralise it and attack it. I know it didn't work out against Diaz first time but he knows his onions. 

Yeah, I think the Diaz match was a case of him getting carried away with his own hype; he'd never fought at WW before, and he didn't have a full camp either, which, if he'd been thinking a bit more clearly, he might have taken some time out to do, rather than just accepting a relatively last-minute opponent who wasn't at his own weight. When your opponent's bigger and more experienced, you can't afford to under-prepare.

Otherwise, he does seem to be quite astute in terms of how he conducts his bouts. The second Diaz fight, he fought pretty smart indeed. 

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I disagree to certain extent. Conor complete inability to preserve energy and fight in a way that would allow him to perform well for an entire bout knocks point off for me.

The points you made a certainly valid though.

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GSP was the first name that came to mind for me. There's probably nobody else in the game who is/was as effective as GSP at taking an opponent's strengths away from them and putting them in their weakest area. 

Mighty Mouse definitely deserves a mention here as well. He always wins, he gets stoppages but he also takes relatively minimal damage in his fights. There's hardly any fat in anything he does either. Very, very little wasted movement or energy. Everything he does has a purpose. 

So yeah, these two examples prove you don't have to be an abject shit of a human being to have high Fight IQ. Two of MMA's ultimate nice guys, Fight IQ off the charts and both arguably the two best to ever do it. 

Jon Jones must have the highest Fight IQ to lowest Life IQ ratio ever. 

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8 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

GSP was the first name that came to mind for me. There's probably nobody else in the game who is/was as effective as GSP at taking an opponent's strengths away from them and putting them in their weakest area. 

Mighty Mouse definitely deserves a mention here as well. He always wins, he gets stoppages but he also takes relatively minimal damage in his fights. There's hardly any fat in anything he does either. Very, very little wasted movement or energy. Everything he does has a purpose. 

So yeah, these two examples prove you don't have to be an abject shit of a human being to have high Fight IQ. Two of MMA's ultimate nice guys, Fight IQ off the charts and both arguably the two best to ever do it. 

Jon Jones must have the highest Fight IQ to lowest Life IQ ratio ever. 

Yeah, I know that's the case, I just wanted to get my kick in. And yeah - for such a smart fighter, he's dumb at living. 

Another great mention as regards DJ; he seems to have the perfect balance of conditioning and tactics. I really hope he smashes that record and continues to be a thorn in Dana "Little Caesar" White's side.

 

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