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Learn How To Find an Opening for The Uppercut Elbow with Edson Barboza

One of the things that makes MMA one of the trickiest combat sports around if not all sports is the vast amount of moves and weapons you and your opponent have at your disposal, and using these weapons as faints to trick and throw off each other for openings. Think about it, the more weapons your opponent has, the trickier it is to know what's coming and vice versa. Now knowing this you could do this game and play with many different faints and misdirections. This technique demonstrated in the video below is a fantastic example of that. 


The key here is making the opponent think wrestling for one second but get surprised by a Muay Thai elbow in the next second. The best MMA fighters are the ones who can fight in the transitions or the in-betweens. If you are fainting that means you are bluffing and you can't let your opponent read your bluff. Which means your faints have to be sellable, quick and the transition to the strike after has to be quick. Here top UFC contender and feared striker Edson Barboza shows a good take down faint to an up to elbow with the lead arm from his instructional.


Who Is Edson Barboza?

Edson Barboza is a feared Muay Thai kickboxer who currently fights in the featherweight division in the UFC and also fought at lightweight in the past. He began training Muay Thai at the age of 8 and racked up a successful record in kickboxing before making the transition to MMA. As his MMA career began in 2009 in the Ring Of Combat, he soon signed with the UFC for his debut in 2010. He is known for his spinning wheel knockout to Terry Etim.


He has had wins over some of the most high level guys in the organization such as Shane Burgos, Dan Hooker, Anthony Pettis, he continues to crawl up the featherweight division.


The Technique Breakdown

The video starts with Edson demonstrating the elbow strike. This one he thinks worked well for MMA fights. Especially when you have takedowns and you start fainting by touching the opponent’s legs then finishing off with the elbow as opposed to Muay Thai, or Kickboxing where you don't need to worry about a takedown. 


Start the move by a faint showing you are shooting and change levels then when the opponent bites on their sprawl you are under them and their chin then go up with an elbow, where the fingers are pointing down. The move doesn't take too much force. Once you are under the chin you are positioned to just use the tricep and raise the elbow directly into the opponent's chin. The faint shot forces the opponent’s head to go in front of their hips to avoid being taken down so the head is open for that up elbow.This one even looks good for judges and fans and Edson says he has seen it in many UFC fights. 


Edson then advises to maintain the bounce, as it is important to stay light on your feet. In order to step in with a faint shot and elbow. Have your feet under you as It’s important to double step, one step for the faint shot, second step for the up-elbow. It’s also important to change speeds with the double step. In training to stay safe make sure to end the elbow short but always remember in the fight you have to really follow through. Cut the elbow up all the way to the ceiling. 


Edson’s Instructional

Buzzsaw Kicking Mechanics by Edson Barboza

Buzzsaw Kicking Mechanics is a 3-part series from UFC start Edson Barboza where he breaks down some of his signature techniques!

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