Has there ever been a top MMA fighter whose specialty was taekwondo?

Again though, in training camp they aren't brining in TKD instructors, they bring in kickboxing/thai coaches.

 

Fedor disagrees

 

He went to Korea once and did TKD, he doesn't bring them in for fight camps.

 

are you sure? :roll:

 

Fairly; if I'm wrong I'd be willing to admit it.

 

I think I'm the wrong here
http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f2/how-fedor-trains-while-waiting-582404/
he trained knees and kicks with Fedor and is a TKD-Thai fighter
so I don't know if it counts :think
sorry I forgot about it

 

Stephan Bonner has a black belt in TKD, but he has also made a trip or two to Thailand during his career.

I trained in TKD from ages 7-11.. Those were the days. Kimchi on special occasions, and I can still count in Korean and remember the forms we had to preform before ceremonies. One of our trainers at some point was this crazy Vietnam vet who purposely made all his knuckles flat when clenching a fist by punching and smothering his hands into brick walls.

 

Kimo is a black belt in tae kwon do

 

TKD, Karate etc are all very effective but are simply harder to employ and execute. Guys like GSP, Cung Le, Machida and Anderson are the sort to pull off such dynamic kicks in real fight situations. Boxing, Muay Thai, Judo, Wrestling and BJJ are generally more effective and employable. TKD and Karate, amongst others (like maybe Aikido) are effective but mainly by the ultra talented. Anyone can do the kicks in training but in practice is a different thing. It is much like anyone can do shoulder roll but in a real fight it is guys like Floyd who will really pull it off.

 

2000 and 2004 Olympic Taekwondo gold medalist Steve Lopez is 12-2 in mma.

Waylon Lowe vs. Steve Lopez on Tap for UFC 119: http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/07/13/waylon-lowe-vs-steve-lopez-on-tap-for-ufc-119/

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Steve-Lopez-29129

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_López

 

I am sure that there have been several fighters with a background in tae kwon do, Bonnar for one chung le for another. Th training is the important thing not the style after all a kick is a kick and a punch is a punch. Back in the 60's and early 70's some karate tournaments could be brutal (groin kicks were legal) can you imagine what mma would be like if groin kicks were legal. Wrestlers would really have to adapt.

 

I think this monster maybe had some TKD training


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwKPMEiiobk[/ame]

 

what "monster"?

 

There have been a few in K1.

 

Yeah but that's not MMA.