The jab is a very underutilized tool in MMA, almost like a forbidden fruit... But there are some fighters who have used it well. The likes of GSP, Macdonald, Penn have used the jab as one of their main tools, to largely dominate the opposition put in front of them, who else comes to mind? Seems to me that those with good jabs tend to dominate fairly easily in MMA, as most guys aren't used to dealing with it. Recently Werdum has showcased a fairly decent jab, which he used to dominate that massively overrated Travis Browne with. Why is the jab so underutilized in MMA? I hear banter about it not working because of the threat of the takedown etc. but the few that have mastered it seem to have proved otherwise. Seems to me like most MMA coaches don't teach their guys to jab properly, Tristar is one of the few gyms that is known to develop jabs in their fighters. Thoughts? :think
Agreed. Roach said that Penn had the most boxing ability of any MMA fighter that he worked with. He spoke highly of GSP, and Silva as well.
I barely ever practiced with my jab until I was 18 or 19 I thought I was so special I didn't need it until I came up against fighters that I felt I was better than that kept giving me beatings in sparring because of their great jabs and great commitment to throwing the jab which is a art/style that when perfected can and does mess with a opponents timing significantly not too many in the MMA world have great jabs. the jab is a GATEWAY punch. It helps one defensively if used correctly and offensively if used correctly. When I say correctly I mean it in a very specific way. For instance often it is EASY to score a huge jab BUT it is also EASY to get hit with a shot at the same time. That's not good, thus perfection of a great jabber is figuring out that time whereby right before your opponent sets to fire you hammer him with a JAB right before he fires. Now that is effective jabbing. Before he fully gets his punch off your jab hits him right in his preparation stage. if you are so fast you can hit a opponent with a lead straight right/right cross then you can hit that same opponent even faster with a jab. Being a good jabber is not just throwing the jab all the time, its figuring out what times a lead straight right should be thrown and what times a jab would work better. without a good jab a fighter is simply not going to be as good overall. for how good a fighter JJ is he has a **** jab. I say that respectfully to him from a percpective of how good his other weapons are. He developed his jab WAY LATE in his career because its annoying to develop. Its so weak at the start its easy to turn on it as it can get you in more trouble if you powderpuff a dude with a weak jab which he walks right threw and hammers you,,,, so its easy to think that the jab sucks However, you would be 100% wrong,,,, look at how Gus hammered JJ a few times, I wouldn't be surprised if JJs jab is quicker and harder , that's not what is in question when I question JJs jab, whats in question is JJ's timing on his JAB and ability to use it effectively, well it sucks. He has not blended it into his fighting style well in my opinion. ok, that was my "jab's are way under-rated" rant , good thread :bbb
