(I posted this in the MMA forum and got some good answers, but I thought I'd re-post it here so that I could get some more technical feedback) Whether in a ring or in the streets, a boxer and an mma fighter are going to have different approaches, tendencies, styles, strengths and weaknesses when engaging in combat. MMA is the more varied style against strike-focused boxers, but the spreading out often allows for opportunities that skilled boxers dream of. Within the nature of the sports themselves, distance, rhythm, defense and offense differ greatly. A mixed martial artist has various tools to deal with striking, either matching it or eliminating it by taking the fight to the ground. How would a boxer best deal with the approach of an MMA fighter? How would they control distance? What combination of head-movement, footwork, and countering would be most effective in defending and attacking a well-rounded MMA fighter? It's a bit easier to sort this out in the legal sports world- would the dynamics of this strategy change at all on the street? It is always best if a fighter is knowingly encountering an MMA fighter to understand the fundamentals of the non-boxing elements, but if you answer I'd appreciate a boxing-focused approach.
As I said in the other thread "A boxer must use his range and timing to sharpshoot and potshot big shots. The sooner he closes the show, the better."
1: in mma: TRAIN MMA!! 2: in streets: imo, grappling and taking it to the ground in the street is stupid.. how good is an armbar when 3 of his buddies are about to stomp on your head?plus.. while ya cant use small joint manipulations, eye gough or hit em in the groin to escape holds in mma..ya can in the street.. throw vicious combos, not givn them time to think and try pull a kinife or any **** like that
the boxer must use his footwork to avoid being taken down, becaue once the mma fighter takes the boxer down he will have no defence. The boxer must have the mma fighter at the end of his range as he punches then use footwork to get out of range and use angels.
x2 stay away and pick at him with straight shots, when he eventually goes for the take down let him run into a right hand.
for a boxer going against a MMA guy, he just needs to work on sprawlling and blocking the take downs, keep the fight standing. for a MMA guy going against a boxer. Work on a lot of block and counters from the 1,2 punch. Palm block and perries, fallowed by a upper cut or hook, or round house to the thigh. You get more of a brawler, then you work more on blocking and counterstrikeing from hooks.
Don't let him take you down! Kimbo Slice is a perfect example. KImbo has got some hands, but once he goes to the ground, he's ****! Find a way to use your boxing footwork to avoid being taken down, and use everything you learned in boxing to light his ass up!
Blocking a takedown from a guy who's been practicing wrestling for years is very, very difficult. Most likely if an MMA guy grabs a boxer the boxer is ****ed. Why would an MMA guy try to out-box a pro boxer? That makes it a boxing match... MMA guy could use distance, throwing kicks and or just throw the boxer on the gound and choke him out. Just as a funny random example of MMA vs boxing - [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2SqIkt0E7o[/ame]
Remember, fights start standing. A boxer will be ****ed at grappling but grapplers should be ****ed against a boxers footwork. It depends on execution. Boxer vs MMA wasn't so hard back in the day because they usually had core styles. MMA are progressively becoming more and more complete fighters as they evolve. Bit by bit they will reduce a boxer to a punchers chance, a Muay Thai guy to a strikers chance and so on. Look at BJ, GSP, Silva and Machida for the evolution of the MMA. Move over to SF and look at Melendez, Diaz, Shields and Mousasi for the same. Even HW's like Fedor, Brock, Carwin etc are becoming formidable fighters and frightening in multiple aspects.
Is there anything more pathetic than a single leg take down? If that isn't bein extremelly scared of getting hit, I don't know what is.