Differences between conventional boxing and mma boxing

Might I note that stance is shifted because of the fear of takedowns and leg kicks. Last thing you want is someone to slam a shin into the back of your knee, hence causing you to not only lose position, but fall on your ass which could lead to someone capitalizing on your and possibly putting your lights out. edit: I should have read more, it seems people beat me to that point. ANyways, I think that it also has to do with styles as well. Certain styles of boxing work better for MMA than others, you simply can't lean back and rope a dope in MMA, if you do that you leave yourself open to all kinds of different shots and takedowns. Head movement has to be modified as well, I've seen fighters bend ofer and eat a knee, or slip a punch and move into a kick, there's so many different things that requires a fighter to change his tactics.

I'm not sure but I would say there's really no BOXING in MMA only attempts at it.

You can NEVER compare the 2. In boxing, you're defending against punches only while in mma you're defending against punches, elbows, knees, kicks, and take downs. Apples and oranges. Im well aware of that. And as a result of those differences the 1 aspect of mma that boxing fans recognize looks completely different. I made this thread to educate boxing fans that what they're looking at might seem sloppy and amateurish but its actually textbook for the mma fighter and hopefully promote some cross-sport fanship.

You can NEVER compare the 2. In boxing, you're defending against punches only while in mma you're defending against punches, elbows, knees, kicks, and take downs. Apples and oranges.

Ok thats cool. I respect mma fighters but man I really just have no interest at all in that sport. to each his own. i dont think it was OP's intention to sway people. The jab is also really underutilized in mma. The reason body punching isnt used that much in mma though is that it takes more work to set up body puching in mma than in boxing. In mma jabs and crosses can be very easily countered with a knee to the face so the risk outweighs the reward. They can also kick to the body while staying at a relatively safe range for the same effect. because of this a hook or 2 to the body just gets tacked onto the beginning or end of combos to mix it up. beat me to it. Also the stances are different because in MMA you have to watch for the takedown. So they're alot more squared up than a boxer would be. Frankie Edgar has some decent skills, I think. MMA is more of like a jack of all trades. Boxing is one aspect of that. jsut like wrestling is or BJJ. here are some interesting vids boxing glove vs. mma glove http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRmOOWPTRBs boxer wears 1 glove in UFC 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zetYaAjq0dQ

I watch both boxing and mma, and the thing that bugs me off is the lack of body punches in mma, with those small gloves it would be very effective. Nick Diaz is one of the only guys that I see go to the body The jab is also really underutilized in mma. The reason body punching isnt used that much in mma though is that it takes more work to set up body puching in mma than in boxing. In mma jabs and crosses can be very easily countered with a knee to the face so the risk outweighs the reward. They can also kick to the body while staying at a relatively safe range for the same effect. because of this a hook or 2 to the body just gets tacked onto the beginning or end of combos to mix it up.

god damn double post...

I watch both boxing and mma, and the thing that bugs me off is the lack of body punches in mma, with those small gloves it would be very effective. Nick Diaz is one of the only guys that I see go to the body

Alot of times though punches may look awful and sloppy to a boxing fan but its actually textbook form for mma. Boxing fans like to clown mma fighters for having glass jaws because knockouts are a regular occurence in mma but what they fail to understand is that basic fundamental boxing defense is extremely difficult to apply in mma. Basic shell defense a la clottey, winky, abraham is very simple to learn in boxing and will negate just about everything thrown at you, forcing your opponent to mix it up and be more creative. Apply the exact same defense with the exact same form and technique in mma though and almost every punch thrown at you will land. Reason being the small mma gloves provide huge holes in your defense. So it becomes quite normal in mma boxing to throw looping punches to get around the opponent's guard with little concern with being countered because the probability of landing is highet Ok thats cool. I respect mma fighters but man I really just have no interest at all in that sport.

its stupid to bad mouth mma fighters punches. I know they can look awful like literally a lot of golden gloves fighters have much crisper punches but they have to just spend so much of their time on different aspects so stop being ignorant. Alot of times though punches may look awful and sloppy to a boxing fan but its actually textbook form for mma. Boxing fans like to clown mma fighters for having glass jaws because knockouts are a regular occurence in mma but what they fail to understand is that basic fundamental boxing defense is extremely difficult to apply in mma. Basic shell defense a la clottey, winky, abraham is very simple to learn in boxing and will negate just about everything thrown at you, forcing your opponent to mix it up and be more creative. Apply the exact same defense with the exact same form and technique in mma though and almost every punch thrown at you will land. Reason being the small mma gloves provide huge holes in your defense. So it becomes quite normal in mma boxing to throw looping punches to get around the opponent's guard with little concern with being countered because the probability of landing is highet

it's not about stance or anything else. they don't have the skill. not their fault. they spend a lot of time on other things. but thats all it is. they don't look bad because of the their stance or anything they do on purpose. they just don't have good hand skills.

its stupid to bad mouth mma fighters punches. I know they can look awful like literally a lot of golden gloves fighters have much crisper punches but they have to just spend so much of their time on different aspects so stop being ignorant.

the main differences is that a boxers punch is a work of art, and an mma punch looks like a drunken street fight. boxing is a science, mma is a brawl. do you need to be skilled to fight in the octagon? sure! can you be unskilled and still be successful in the octagon? absolutely!! does this hold true for boxing?? HELL FUKIN NO! Took the words right out my mouth.

1. In mma stance is usually with knees bent lower than in boxing with the lead hand held low and out front to maximize reach as opposed to high and tight for defense and power. Might seem an amateur mistake to the average boxing fan but there are reasons for this fundamental difference. First is having the lead further out and low helps defend against clinches and takedowns. The second another fundamental difference. 2. In boxing blocking is basic. In mma blocking is a last resort. The tiny mma gloves with use of the fingers makes parrying much easier and makes blocking nearly impossible. In mma you could jab to textbook perfection with the right in perfect position to block and still get knocked out by a counter left hook that would pose no danger in boxing. So mma fighters generally maximize their reach to increase distance and reaction time to dodge punches. 3. almost everything illegal in boxing is strongly encouraged in mma. clinching, holding the back of your opponent's head while punching, mayweather elbow blocks, headbutts on the inside, holding out the jab as a measuring stick all basic skills in mma that are generally frowned upon and might get you a reputation in a boxing gym. I work with a lot of MMA fighters now. They come in to the gym to learn stand up and I am learning myself how to train them in "mma stand up". Bottom line though, the reason that MMA boxing isn't as fluid and as good as a traditional boxing is because of the footwork and the turning of the hips when throwing shots. The reasons are understood and you posted them but I try and teach an mma style of boxing that can help them.

the main differences is that a boxers punch is a work of art, and an mma punch looks like a drunken street fight. boxing is a science, mma is a brawl. do you need to be skilled to fight in the octagon? sure! can you be unskilled and still be successful in the octagon? absolutely!! does this hold true for boxing?? HELL FUKIN NO!