Yair vs Emmet: Kicker vs Puncher, a tale as old as time

Introduction:

Last night Yair Rodriquez fought and defeated Josh Emmet for the interim UFC title. If anything this fight feels like a fall from grace for the featherweight division. The top of the featherweight division has always been populated by deep, skillful fighters since Jose Aldo became the first champion after the UFC acquired WEC. fighters like Hollaway, Mendes, Mcgregor and current title holder Volkanovski have followed and the high skill level has always kept featherweight regarded as one of the toughest divisions in the sport. Because of this it was a bittersweet experience watching two limited, although entertaining fighters, vie for a pseudo belt and a place in line to be shut out by Volkanovski.

Despite not having deep, layered games both Rodriquez and Emmet have one very particular skill that led them to victories over more well rounded opponents and arguably earned them a title shot. (arguably in regards to Emmets last win being a questionable decision, Rodriguez’s win being due to his opponent, Ortega, injuring his shoulder, and Max Holloway, undoubtedly the number two featherweight being excluded from the picture) Coming to prominence in his bout with Alex Caceres, a bout in which both fighters appear to have been possessed by some cosmic toddlers, spamming the controls of a street fighter game in which neither could fully work out the controls, Rodriquez has always relied on his taekwondo background to provide the base of his style.

Emmet on the other hand probably can’t spell kick. Emmet, most known for looking like if Nosferatu spent the 70’s on venice beach with the rest of the cast of ‘pumping iron’ has an even more limited game, his game, smack em with the right. An exceptionally stocky and powerful fighter, Emmet has learnt to make up the difference in striking ability, volume, game planning, and IQ with one solid right hand. In entertaining fights with Shane Burgos and Calvin Kattar he was able to win decisions while being out struck due to damaging the opponents each time he was able to land.

The matchup:

The fight ended up being very one sided. Through careful use of kicks Rodriquez completely shut down any attempts at offence from Emmet and wore him down until finishing him with a submission in round two. In order to understand how Rodriquez so effectively shut down Emmet we must first understand the stance dynamics at play. Rodriquez is capable of kicking off both stances which proved to be a massive boon in this fight. Kicking into an open stance (fighters having opposite stances) or a closed stance (fighters having the same stance) changes what kicks are most efficient to throw. A rear roundkick in an open stance has a good chance of hitting an opponent on the front of the body, under the ribs, the solar plexus are all good targets, there’s also nothing obstructing the path between the kick and the head. Most MMA fighters lack the ability to check kicks and an open stance roundkick can do tremendous damage to the arm. Side or teep kicks have a tendency to be less effective in an open stance. In an open stance fighters’ torsos are at an angle to each other, because of this, shots are more likely to glance off the opponent. 

In a closed stance matchup the rear roundhouse is more easily defended, the person receiving the roundhouse will find it easier to turn away from the kick, hiding the squishy front side and take the kick on the relatively armoured muscle of the back. A roundhouse to the head has the lead shoulder to contend with, a kick trying to trace a straight line from the ground to the head will hit the shoulder, meaning, to land a head kick in a closed stance the thrower of the kick will either have to take an angle themself, or change the angle of the kick to compensate for the position of the shoulder. Changing the angle requires a higher degree of dexterity and both adjustments make the kick take longer to land. Side and front kicks in a closed stance hit a square torso forcing the receiver to absorb the full force of the kick.

Rodriguez had the majority of his success in a southpaw stance in order to make best use of his powerful rear roundhouse. He made the most of this technique by throwing it to three targets: Emmet’s arm, body, and head. As previously mentioned, in an open stance matchup the opponent is unable to block the kick with their shoulder or by turning their back, meaning Emmet has to defend with his arms. This means Emmet has to decide whether to punch or defend. If he punches, his opponents’ leg will have an unobstructed path to his head or torso (Emmet’s tendency to drop his weight before a punch makes the head kick more likely). If he defends he can’t strike. Keep in mind even blocking a kick damages the arm and as damage builds up the fighter is going to have a harder time using it to defend or attack as well as the possibility of the arm breaking ( Ernesto Hoost vs Jerome Lebanner, Cung Le vs Frank Shamrock). This is the essence of effective striking, forcing your opponent to pick their poison. By switching between body and head Yair forced Emmet to choose what to protect. In MMA, unlike Muay thai, lots of fighters choose to defend kicks without checking. This forces them into a hole where they can only defend one or the other. If Emmet chooses to drop his bodyweight and arm to cover the side the body kick is targeting, he risks dropping his head into the path of a head kick, adding the momentum from his movement into the force of the strike. If Emmet decides to stand up high his torso will be exposed to the body kick.

Although the closed stance wasn’t used much in this fight Yair used it effectively at the start of the second round. His lead leg teep kick served a dual purpose, it hit into the meat of Emmets torso which caused fatigue, as well as providing a physical barrier for Emmet to get through in order to land a strike/ counter. To strike/ counter Emmet needed to close the distance to land his right hand. By placing his foot on the torso, Emmet was not able to push through to land his strike (think the classic hand on the forehead of a younger sibling while they windmill punches). Yair doubled the effectiveness of this technique by simply ‘showing’ it. When Emmet looked like he was about to close in, Yair would simply raise his front leg, the threat of the kick, or even the possibility of running onto a knee. This completely dissuaded Emmet from pressing in. 

Conclusion:

Emmets’ reliance on a single weapon put him in great danger against an opponent whose skill set proved tailormade to stifle his own. Despite having moments in the fight where he managed to hurt Yair when Yair moved in to punch, as well as hitting a takedown off a flying knee attempt (which only led to him being submitted) he proved too one dimensional to beat another one dimensional fighter in Yair. Volkanovski rules.