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ASK THE TORCH: Amadi answers reader questions on body shots in MMA, Nick Diaz, women in the UFC, and more
Nov 1, 2012 - 12:15:42 PM ASK THE TORCH: Amadi answers reader questions on body shots in MMA, Nick Diaz, women in the UFC, and more

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By: Jason Amadi, MMATorch Columnist

Derrick writes: Okay, Anderson Silva's chin seems near honey-badger status, Roy Nelson can't be stopped, Dan Henderson has taken some massive beatings and Frankie Edgar has come back from the dead on more than one occasion. My question is this: why the $&@! Don't their opponents GO TO THE BODY? Not only is it a great to slow these guys down, but once they realize they have more than one target on their body, they can't protect their head as effectively.

A: You don't see too many quality punches thrown to the body in mixed martial arts because the distance is so different than it is in professional boxing. In MMA, guys want to avoid the clinch, avoid giving up takedowns, and want to keep kicks available, so they generally stand out of the range needed to throw really powerful punches to the body.

Some of the slicker boxers in MMA do work in body shots, and they're very successful with them. Most people generally get most of them off up against the cage, where their opponents are immobile. Nick Diaz is the most celebrated body puncher in MMA, but guys like Max Holloway and Nam Phan are also making names for themselves by blasting opponents in their vital organs. All three of them do their best and most brutal work with their opponents up against the fence.

Once in a while though, you'll see a guy like Chad Mendes explode forward and counter a guy like Cody McKenzie in the middle of the cage, to particularly brutal results. However, if you aren't several levels above your opponent, as Mendes was against McKenzie, you'll probably need to cut a guy off in order to really bust him up.

To your specific question, though, it's different for all four of them. Frankie Edgar is particularly fast, has great footwork and is constantly moving. If you get too close and get too aggressive, he'll likely take you down. The same is true for Dan Henderson.

Anderson Silva is leagues ahead of most fighters in MMA when it comes to striking, so I don't know that too many folks are eager to get fancy with him and get too far out of their wheelhouse in a title fight. But like Frankie Edgar, Silva has tremendous footwork and moves quite a bit. He's about as defensively sound a striker as you'll find in MMA.

I remember Junior dos Santos really going to town on Roy Nelson's body during their fight a few years back and Nelson seeming unfazed. Joe Rogan made a cute joke about Roy Nelson's belly fat shielding him from the blows. I believe he said something about it being like Nelson was wearing twenty sweaters.

Charles writes: With Nick Diaz coming off suspension shortly after the UFC Super Bowl weekend card, do you think Josh Koscheck would be willing to wait another month to fight Diaz, or is Kos looking for a big payday fight for that weekend?

A: Unless Josh Koscheck is in a particularly dire financial situation and needs to take a fight ASAP to pay the bills, it would be the absolute best thing for his career to wait for Nick Diaz. There isn't anyone he could fight in the welterweight division that could bring him the kind of attention that Diaz would. Big fights like these, against guys that fans actually care about, are the only thing that could ever get him near a third fight with Georges St-Pierre.

Dustin writes: Do you think there is a place for women in the UFC?

A: The UFC is maxed out on roster space, they still need to add a ton of guys to the flyweight division, they're likely going to sign Eddie Alvarez for a ton of money, and they're probably going to wind up bringing over upwards of twenty guys when Strikeforce goes under. So no, I don't think there's room for women in the UFC right now.

I'm not saying they don't belong there, but I think it would be an absolutely terrible idea to add any new weight classes right now.

Steven writes: With the GSP vs. Condit bout looking to finally happen what does next year hold for the division? Diaz, Kampmann, Hendricks, McDonald, Maia, etc. Barring a super fight to stall the divisions progress how do you see things playing out at 170?

A: I would be absolutely blown away if the UFC didn't do everything they could to get Nick Diaz a title fight immediately after his suspension was lifted. Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz is the money fight in that division. Whether or not the title is on the line doesn't even matter at this point, because people would still want to see the fight.

They might have to match Diaz up with someone else first if St-Pierre wins, but if Carlos Condit beats Georges St-Pierre at UFC 154, they could also do Condit vs. Diaz II. I've never seen a more intense reaction from MMA fans than after their fight last February. It wouldn't do GSP-Diaz numbers, but that fight would likely do business for the UFC.

Martin Kampmann and Johnny Hendricks are fighting right before the GSP-Condit fight, and right now the winner of that fight is probably going to be penciled in as the number one contender.

Demian Maia has looked tremendous at 170 pounds and I think that after their performances at UFC 153, everyone who saw that show kind of walked away thinking he should fight Jon Fitch. The Erick Silva fight was exciting, mostly because they finally matched Fitch up with an exciting submission grappler.

When Jon Fitch fights guys like Mike Pierce, Thiago Alves, and Ben Saunders, the fights tend to be a bit boring because all they want to do is get defend submissions and bide their time until the clock runs out. When Fitch fights guys like B.J. Penn, Diego Sanchez, and Erick Silva, the fights are usually pretty awesome because they're actively trying to submit him.

Demian Maia vs. Jon Fitch would likely be the most intriguing and most exciting Fitch fight any of us have ever seen, provided it doesn't turn into a sloppy kickboxing match.

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