Photo courtesy of Esther Lin / MMAFighting
Fedor Emelianenko has just surprised no-one by knocking out a much aged and worn down Pedro Rizzo, but Rizzo is still no slouch on the feet, and the The Last Emeperor's striking discipline continued along it's upward trend. While many of his hardcore fans, myself included, would like to see Fedor return to his varied striking to grappling style, Fedor did fight exactly as he should now that he is past his best. Fedor fought intelligently, in a measured manner, and out thought Rizzo. Fedor looked every bit the technical striker, even hooking off of the jab. The finishing combination was a perfect example of a set up immediately paying dividends, and effective set ups are something we see far too little of in MMA. If you haven't read my piece on Fedor's striking, please check it out.
Fedor threw a hard low kick at the Brazilian, coincidentally a man known for his own, powerful low kicks. ThenFedor lifted his foot, faking the kick but instead stepped in with a powerful right hand. Similar to a superman punch, but accomplished with a step forward rather than a hop into the same stance. The act of establishing the low kick (a fairly safe technique when thrown appropriately), then using this to set up meaningful punches is one that is still underutilized in Mixed Martial Arts. Rizzo was circling away from the Russian's legendary right hand, and yet the appearance of an approaching low kick made him lift his leg to check, allowing Fedor to strike him down.
After the Jump we'll look some gifs of Fedor and at Shogun's excellent use of low kicks to impliment his punching game
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