Combat Archives

Dipping Jab: The Noob Tube of Fighting

Analysis, Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts | 04 August 2022

Jack Slack is one of the best combat sports writers out there, known for insightful analysis. He never fails to educate even veterans who have been training for decades, and I recently experienced the Jack Slack effect for myself. His analysis of Julianna Peña’s upset victory over Amanda Nunes for the UFC women’s bantamweight title greatly informed my viewing of their rematch. The way Peña flummoxed Nunes in that first fight was ridiculous, especially for Nunes. Let’s talk about the dipping jab, a technique that borders on cheesy. (more…)

Canelo Alvarez Does Muay Thai… Sort Of

by: Sonny Go

Analysis, Boxing | 24 July 2022

It has been a while since I wrote a blog post about boxing, and especially Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. He has since been pulled a couple of notches down the P4P rankings due to his decision loss to WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. But while most would say he lost due to being too small for light-heavyweight, that takes away from Bivol’s performance. The answer he came up with for the Canelo question is something I’d like to talk about here, especially its connection with Muay Thai footwork and rhythm. (more…)

Know Your Strengths, Stick To Them, and Don’t Be an Asshole

by: Sonny Go

Combat, YouTube | 24 June 2022

The Modern Martial Artist vs. Rhythm Boxing

There’s drama brewing in the space I least expect it from — the YouTube fight analysis space. It’s a niche full of martial arts nerds like me and it’s usually a place of learning and sharing. However, the temptation of being seen as an all-knowing god can be too much for some, leading to plagiarism and grandstanding. That was the case for Rhythm Boxing, which I’ve since unsubscribed from upon learning of their immature response to The Modern Martial Artist, one of the best fight analysis channels out there. (more…)

Amir Khan: Glass Cannon

by: Sonny Go

Boxing, Features | 17 March 2022

If boxing is a role-playing game with character stats, wherein you can make any boxer you want by min-maxing their stats, you can put all of your available points into hand speed and nothing else for that sweet DPS. Doing so gives you one of two guys — Ryan Garcia or Amir Khan. The latter is our focus in this blog post due to his now advanced age. Let’s look at the reason why Amir Khan is likely the greatest glass cannon we’ve ever seen in boxing. (more…)

My Six Pillars of Fight Analysis

by: Sonny Go

Combat, Guides | 13 March 2022

I was listening to the Lex Fridman Podcast Episode 260, where he interviewed Georges St-Pierre, John Danaher, and Gordon Ryan. Most of the talking was done by Danaher, who is one of the most cerebral coaches in MMA and submission grappling today. Lex asked the question of who would win between GSP and Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Danaher broke down their strengths and weaknesses. This blog post is the result of an epiphany I had while listening to his analysis on how I can formalize the foundation of my own analysis. (more…)

The Stupid Non-Argument of Technique vs. Strength

by: Sonny Go

Combat, Opinion | 16 January 2022

An illustration from Championship Fighting by Jack Dempsey

One day, while scrolling through Facebook again because it was just one of those days, I came across a post on a boxing training group that brought about an age-old argument. Someone posted a YouTube video on how muscles are not important in boxing at all. Context may be skipped over in my description of it, but the whole discussion does just that anyway. I’ve written about the dichotomy of technique and conditioning on this blog, but let’s look more closely at the arguments against it. (more…)

Jaime Munguia vs. Gabriel Rosado: Testing the Next Mexican Superstar

by: Sonny Go

Boxing | 18 November 2021

Jaime Munguia vs. Gabriel Rosado Boxing Main Event on DAZN

The upcoming showdown between Terence Crawford and Shawn Porter may have overshadowed this fight that took place a week prior. However, I had high hopes for it, even if it was just for an intercontinental title, because of the man who holds it. Jaime Munguia defended his WBO Intercontinental Middleweight title against 15-year veteran Gabriel Rosado.
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Technique and Conditioning: Two Sides of the Same Coin

by: Sonny Go

Articles & Content, Boxing, Combat, Mixed Martial Arts | 01 October 2021

Two exciting championship fights in two different combat sports with different results took place last weekend. One fight had a more skilled fighter dismantle a bigger and stronger opponent to become a new champion. The other fight saw a better conditioned athlete shake off everything his opponent could threw at him and set a blistering pace every round to retain his title.
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DK Yoo and the Martial Art of Hypnosis

by: Sonny Go

Bullshido | 13 September 2021

One thing I’ve always wanted to write more about for this blog is all the ridiculous stuff I’ve seen in the world of martial arts over the years. Let’s start by taking a look at one of the people being put under the martial microscope in recent times. DK Yoo is a Korean martial arts instructor whose purported skills have been questioned for the last six years. With a boxing match against a famed martial arts debunker looming, let’s take a look at his work and the bizarre world of modern martial arts at large. (more…)

Fujita’s Skull: 10th Year of Seanbaby’s Masterpiece

by: Sonny Go

Blog, Internet, Mixed Martial Arts | 18 April 2020

Earlier in this blasted quarantine lockdown, I had the bright idea to do a reading of a particular online article published on Cracked.com that had just turned 10 years old. It gained a sort of cult following during that decade and boosted its writer as an online funnyman. Its proper title is “Worst Life Ever,” but it’s known better as its subject matter — Fujita’s Skull.
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Fedor vs. Rampage — Well, That Happened

by: Sonny Go

Mixed Martial Arts | 01 January 2020

That was something, I guess. Bellator 237 was a middling card full of unknowns and prospects with an interlude featuring two legends from Pride Fighting Championships. I’d like to talk a bit about Fedor vs. Rampage, each of the two men involved, and circumstances that led them to this point. While it may seem like I speak ill of them, I still hold them in the highest respect for their achievements. (more…)

Canelo Alvarez vs. Daniel Jacobs — Red-Headed Problem

by: Sonny Go

Boxing | 09 May 2019

It took me a while to find a way to watch Canelo Alvarez vs. Daniel Jacobs, but my patience was rewarded as I got to watch a pretty high level fight with two world champions vying for middleweight supremacy. The story was mostly Daniel Jacobs trying to find a way to get through this brick wall known as Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. The solutions he tried to employ to do that were interesting, but to no avail. (more…)