Mixed Martial Arts has taken the world by storm. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, you’ll find fighters who specialise in a variety of styles, strategies and techniques.
Put your finger anywhere on the world map and guys like Robert ‘Black Tiger’ Simbowe of Zambia, Brett ‘The Aussie Beast’ Ferguson of Australia and Roque ‘Rock Star’ Zapata of Panama pop up and strut their stuff. MMA is a global phenomenon and all signs are that it’ll only get more popular – and brutal – in an out of the cage.
Although conventional fighting styles like kickboxing and wrestling are the mainstay of MMA, there are fighters who throw traditional martial arts like Taekwondo, judo and karate into the mix. Here are four champions – past and present – who have used their formal training in established martial arts to great effect:
Edson Barboza
The 33-year-old Brazilian lightweight is known for his lethal kicking game, a skill he finetuned when training for a black belt in Taekwondo. In fact, Edson Barboza is the only fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) - ever - to knock out his opposition using a ferocious and particularly well-timed wheel kick.
He’s also the only competitor to regularly use switch kicks and leg kicks to demolish his victims… but that doesn’t mean he’s one dimensional in the cage. Along with his proven prowess in Taekwondo, Barboza infuses his battles with a smattering of Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai and more conventional stuff like a few uppercuts and straight jabs.
Barboza’s versatility in the cage has earned him an MMA record of 20 wins out of 27 fights, 12 by KO and one by submission. Along with Terry Etim who was in the firing line of that record-breaking wheel kick, Barboza has taken out the likes of Dan Hooker, Beneil Darius, Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis… and he ain’t done yet.
Cung Le
As a Saigon-born combatant with black belts in Wushu Sanshou, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Taekwondo, Cung Le was a master of his trade. He reached fame – and a fair bit of notoriety – when he became the Strikeforce Middleweight Champion by breaking Frank Shamrock’s arm with a volley of vicious kicks.
Le had a diverse fighting style comprising the best of Sambo, Kuntao, Vovinam, Taekwondo, wrestling and kickboxing, a deadly combination that resulted in nine wins in 12 fights. His savage spinning back kicks and side kicks were serious weapons in his arsenal that he used with absolute precision.
Over his relatively short career, Cung Le claimed the scalps of some of the best MMA fighters of his time including Rich Franklin, Patrick Cote and the usually irrepressible Scott Smith.
Georges St-Pierre
Canadian, Georges St-Pierre is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all-time. The former UFC welterweight champion may be best remembered for his wrestling skills but he also made powerful use of quick and destructive kicks and strikes.
A black belt in Kyokushin Karate provided him with the versatility to rack up an MMA career record of 26 wins in 28 bouts, eight by knock out. The Canadian also won his last 13 fights on the trot, beating the likes of Matt Hughes, Thiago Alves and Michael Bisping.
Anthony Pettis
Anthony Pettis is a former UFC lightweight champion who is currently competing in the welterweight class. He too has a black belt in Taekwondo which he integrates with Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and boxing to surprise and subdue his opponents. The 32-year-old Wisconsin native has racked up 22 wins in 30 fights, 10 by knock out.
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