Page 24 - Boxing News Magazine (January 2020)

➤ score more submissions than knockouts and would end up
being respected as a danger wherever a fight happened to go.
“The techniques are totally different,” he said. “I had to
revamp my whole punching style to survive in MMA. If I was to
just stand and punch the way I did as a boxer, grapplers would
be taking me down left, right and centre. I literally wouldn’t
have a leg to stand on.
“As time went on, I learnt to punch on the move, set for
shorter periods of time and always think about at least two
things at the same time. You can’t just think about hitting and
not getting hit in MMA. You have to think about hitting, not
getting hit, not getting kicked, not getting taken down, not
getting clinched, and so on.”
Chris “Lights Out” Lytle is another example of a former pro
boxer unfairly deemed a one-dimensional mixed martial arts
striker, based on his past, who later evolved to become quite
the grappling whizz.
“Being a former boxer in MMA was truly a blessing,” said
Lytle, 13-1-1 as a boxer. “Aside from the fact it gives you a
good grounding when a fight starts, it also helps because
people tend to underestimate your grappling. I’d been doing
this thing for over 20 years and people still didn’t think my
grappling matched up to my striking. It was only when I took
them down or pulled guard and then tapped them out that
they realised I was pretty darn good down there, too.
“My preference was always to stand and bang and put on a
show for the fans, but I also knew I had it in me to take a fight
to the ground and win it that way.”
A cursory glance at Lytle’s handiwork wouldn’t have the
casual observer assuming he was a former pro boxer. It was
famously wild and sloppy, much in keeping with what you
might expect from a developing mixed martial artist, and the
majority of his moves seemed improvised rather than taught.
Yet, as it transpired, Lytle, in staying loose, had sussed the
game long before his peers had caught up.
“Technical punching isn’t as vital in MMA because a fight
rarely comes down to two guys looking to outdo one another
with precise punches,” said Lytle, 31-18-5 in MMA. “There are
too many other areas where the fight can be decided. The key
for me was to always stay busy with my hands and make sure CROSSING OVER:
I was unpredictable, both with my punches and my movement. McGregor [right
If an opponent is unable to get comfortable with you in there, and below on left]
inds sharing a ring
they won’t take you down and they won’t trade freely with
with Mayweather
punches. Unpredictability is always the name of the game in predictably diicult
MMA.” Photos: MARK J. REBILAS/
They say unpredictability is what allowed Conor McGregor USA TODAY SPORTS
to land the odd shot – including that odd left uppercut – on
Floyd Mayweather when they met in a ridiculous boxing
match the entire world stopped to watch in the summer 2017.
Or at least that’s what the mixed martial arts advocates
say. Boxing fans, on the other hand, argue this is merely
the narrative MMA fans want to push in order to make
the whole MayMac experiment seem slightly less pointless
than it appeared in the aftermath. They suggest the truth is
something else.
Ryan Ford, having competed in both sports, is more than
qualified to comment. “I am the best mixed martial artist who
has crossed over into boxing in the entire world,” he told me,
by way of an introduction, and it’s hard to argue. There have
been others, too many others, but Ford has managed to do
both without disgracing himself in either (we’re looking at you,
James Toney).
“Conor McGregor was at the height of his MMA career

TECHNICAL PUNCHING ISN’T
AS VITAL IN MMA. A FIGHT
RARELY COMES DOWN TO
PRECISE PUNCHES”

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