# TKD fighters in UFC?



## Hudson69 (May 12, 2009)

Was wondering if there were any TKD fighters in the UFC tournaments?  It seems that some have a Muay Thai background but most just move in for the ground and pound.

A fast, well placed kick seems to be the answer to a lot of "real" altercations and was wondering about it in the ring where backing off after getting your bell rung is not really an option.

Thanks


----------



## jarrod (May 12, 2009)

tkd hasn't really been represented in the UFC since the early days.  at that time, grapplers dominated, followed by full-contact strikers (kickboxers, muay thai, savate), with traditional arts including tkd rounding out the bottom.  

none of this is to say that tkd couldn't be represented in the ring or cage, but a tkd fighter would have to cross train boxing or muay thai along with ground work just like everyone else.  

jf


----------



## Lord-Humongous (May 12, 2009)

You could Youtube search Cung Le. He is the current middleweight title holder in the Strike Force series. Cung Le has trained in TKD (among other arts). I watched an interview where he mentioned that he started fighting in TKD point tournaments.  Also don't forget about Patrick Smith from the early UFC series, he was a mean dude and a black belt in some style of TKD.  

I'll bet a lot of MMA fighters have some training in TKD.  It wouldn't be a primary art in MMA though as you need to mix in a lot of JuJitsu style locks & chokes with wrestling takedowns to be well rounded.  There's no reason for it not to be a great striking art to blend into a fighter's repretoire though in my opinion.


----------



## Loomie (May 12, 2009)

Stephen Bonnar has a TKD backround. You'll find a few but everyone crosstrains since mma has many facets.


----------



## searcher (May 12, 2009)

Pat White was the last one to really claim it as his style and that was in the early 90's.


----------



## Tez3 (May 12, 2009)

Mark Weir, fastest KO in UFC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Weir


----------



## ATC (May 12, 2009)

You need to have some sort of ground game to be successful in UFC or MMA. The are many fighters that have some TKD background but also have to train in bjj or just jj as well.

We have had some people come in to learn kicks to take to the ring but do not study TKD fully. They just want to learn the kicking techniques. So it is more of a cross training that they do.

We have one student that did receive his black belt in TKD and then crossed over to Cung Le's school to do MMA. His school is her in San Jose CA.

But it would be hard pressed to find a pure TKD fighter doing MMA.


----------



## Tez3 (May 12, 2009)

I'm sorry if this sounds obvious but you aren't going to find a 'pure' fighter in any style in the UFC.The simple reason for that is that the sport is Mixed Martial Arts, the emphasis is on _mixed._
Why UFC anyway? there's hundreds of promotions out there so why just mention the UFC, it's only one show.


----------



## searcher (May 13, 2009)

Tez3 said:


> Why UFC anyway? there's hundreds of promotions out there so why just mention the UFC, it's only one show.


 


Because it is the original.

Because it is the most heavily promoted.

Because they pay the most $$$$.



It is the one with which all others are compared.


----------



## Tez3 (May 13, 2009)

searcher said:


> Because it is the original.
> 
> Because it is the most heavily promoted.
> 
> ...


 
Sorry it's not the original, it may be the first in the States but not in the world. Again it may be the most heavily promoted in the States but not in Europe and the rest of the world especially Asia.
They don't pay nearly as much as you would imagine they should, fighters earn their money not from the fights but from sponsorship, TV, books, videos etc.
MMA competitions started in Brazil in the 1920's, Japan in the 1970's. it didn't get to America until 1993. We've also had MMA comps in Europe since the early part of the last century.Russia has had sambo since the 1920's.
UFC may be compared to others but often unfavourably. Only people who have little knowledge of MMA think the UFC is the be all and end all of MMA.


----------



## punisher73 (May 13, 2009)

David "the crow" Loiseau, is about the closest for using TKD in the UFC.  He was a very good fighter and at one time fought Rich Franklin for the title (lost though).

Here is a clip from his most famous UFC moment.  The spinning back kick KO.
http://www.mmaplayground.com/mma-videos/video/david-loiseau-crushing-charles-mccarthy-826.html

Also, I recently read that "Big Jon" McCarthy has hired a TKD instructor to teach at his academy because he feels that TKD has alot of kicks to offer fighters and as stand up advances there will be a use for some of these.


----------



## Wasabinyc (May 13, 2009)

Does anybody remember this YouTube movie of a black belt tkd doing a flying sidekick right at the ring of the bell.  The other guy then grabs him and does a nasty screwdriver/pile drive breaking the tkd guys back?


----------



## Marginal (May 14, 2009)

Tez3 said:


> Why UFC anyway? there's hundreds of promotions out there so why just mention the UFC, it's only one show.


I've found it's hard to reference a promotion you've never heard of before.


----------



## Tez3 (May 14, 2009)

Marginal said:


> I've found it's hard to reference a promotion you've never heard of before.


 

Then you know little about MMA really as even the UFC fighters have fought on other shows before they went to the UFC. Check any fighters record and it will give you the shows they have fought on. You'll find Pride was a biggie that even the most ignorant UFC fan has heard of.
Most people if they are into a sport wil actually know the history and other relevant information about it.


----------



## chav buster (May 14, 2009)

anderson silva origenally trained in tkd and you can see it in some of his fights


----------



## Tez3 (May 14, 2009)

chav buster said:


> anderson silva origenally trained in tkd and you can see it in some of his fights


 
Bas Rutten too, he's a 2nd Dan TKD, as you can see to advantage here!
Enjoy, it's very cool.


----------



## Lord-Humongous (May 14, 2009)

Since there has been mention of alternate promotions, why not look at K1 Kickboxing?  The K1 series is stand up fighting (not MMA) but it is a huge promotion in Japan/Korea and has tons of TKD fighters (as well as muai Thai and Karateka).

There is also a PRO-TKD series in Europe.  I believe a Canadian from Edmonton won the Championship last year.  

UFC isn't the be all and end all of porfessional fighting worldwide.  Only in the US...  Boxing is far more popular in the UK for example.


----------



## Marginal (May 14, 2009)

Tez3 said:


> Then you know little about MMA really as even the UFC fighters have fought on other shows before they went to the UFC.


That wasn't the point. 

There's a difference between mentioning the UFC and referencing the Stratfordshire Mixed Martial Arts Confederation or whatever. People who don't pay much attention to MMA will still understand a UFC reference however. 

Mention WEC, Pride, Dream, Ring of Fire, Kickdown, etc and you end up having to go back nd say "It's like the UFC..."


----------



## Tez3 (May 14, 2009)

Marginal said:


> That wasn't the point.
> 
> There's a difference between mentioning the UFC and referencing the Stratfordshire Mixed Martial Arts Confederation or whatever. People who don't pay much attention to MMA will still understand a UFC reference however.
> 
> Mention WEC, Pride, Dream, Ring of Fire, Kickdown, etc and you end up having to go back nd say "It's like the UFC..."


 
Acutually I don't end up saying it's like the UFC, I can express myself in English well enough to explain exactly what it is right down to every rule and technique. I can give you more information about MMA that you would probably want to know but then I promote and referee. Besides most people in this country as well as Europe don't know what UFC is so it would be a waste of time anyway.


----------



## Marginal (May 14, 2009)

Tez3 said:


> Acutually I don't end up saying it's like the UFC, I can express myself in English well enough to explain exactly what it is right down to every rule and technique.


What do you do after their eyes glaze over and they begin to froth at the mouth?


----------



## Tez3 (May 14, 2009)

Marginal said:


> What do you do after their eyes glaze over and they begin to froth at the mouth?


 

Thats only after I've RNCd them, I prefer uninterrupted monologues personally, I find talking to unconcious men much more soothing that ones that are awake. 
Nah, I'm surrounded by MMA fighters, promoters, coaches who talk more than I do so we get on well lol!
Anyway I can always go off and do yoga with my meerkat.
*Yogakat*












Size : Small
Location : Western Super Mare
Hobby : Yoga



*About:*

Yogakat finds great peace from forcing body into uncomfortable positions. Can fold self into origami swan and pick nose with tail while achieving higher state of bendy-ness.
This meerkat goes to Weston Super Mare to play slot machine and snog stranger outside closed beach bar or stand in middle of gigantic empty car park when feeling sickness of home in Kalahari.


----------



## Nolerama (May 14, 2009)

If this might shed a little perspective, I train MMA in the United States, but I rarely make a point to watch the UFC (or WEC for that matter) when it's live.

That doesn't mean I don't try to keep up. However, I find myself catching clips of other productions, like DREAM, PRIDE, Rio Heroes, etc.

They're all different, with different rule sets. But who cares? It's MMA, and why not mix up the rules a bit from production to production?

Basically, I'm saying that it's MMA first (ironically, that sounds like a really good name for a production... MMA 1st...) for the folks that train in MMA. Forget the production. Forget the decreasing masses that associate MMA w/ only the UFC. They'll come along.

This might sound a bit harsh on a TKD thread, but that's like this scenario:

A: "Hey! I'm going to my TKD tourney, wish me luck!" 

B: "Huh? What's that?"

A: "Tae Kwon Do, it's a martial art. I have a tournament. Wish me luck!"

B: "Is that like karate?"

A: "It's a Korean martial art."

B: "Oh well, good luck at your karate tournament."

Does it really matter? Does it bruise one's ego to casually mistaken one art for another? In this case, mistake one production for another? It's all the same thing (Disclaimer: karate and TKD are different)

People who aren't that involved in whatever MA will always code-switch. It's not a big deal. 

I think I just wrote myself into circles... I guess my entire point is that arguing semantics, whether it be on the production-association level, to the individual arts, to the names of universal techniques can play a huge part in destroying an individual practitioner's viewpoint of his/her own art, and that of others. Why play that game?


----------



## phlaw (May 24, 2009)

I remember Cal Worsham from the early UFC's, he was Tae Kwon Do.


----------



## dancingalone (May 26, 2009)

An ATA black belt appeared on The Ultimate Fighter.  Danny Abisidi or something like that.  He lost in his prelim round.


----------



## Miles (May 27, 2009)

I was watching something this past weekend about the Matt Hughes/Matt Serra match.  I was pleasantly surprised to see Amir Khillah of Kalamazoo MI is one of Hughes' trainers.  Amir was a collegiate TKD champ though his interest in the past few years seems to be MMA.


----------



## Sylo (Jun 3, 2009)

UFC is to MMA as WWE is to professional wrestling.


----------



## CDKJudoka (Jun 3, 2009)

I love doing MMA as a primarily TKD guy. Many people are surprised by a TKD turn around side kick, since it it so fast an powerful. That and they are surprised when a TKD guy will go to the ground.


----------



## Tez3 (Jun 4, 2009)

Dan Hardy, a Brit in the UFC. An interview where he talks about his TKD

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/wrestling-wwe-ufc-mma/2009/06/dan-hardy-exclusive---a-lot-of.html


----------



## Dave Leverich (Jun 4, 2009)

dancingalone said:


> An ATA black belt appeared on The Ultimate Fighter.  Danny Abisidi or something like that.  He lost in his prelim round.


Danny Abbadi

He didn't fare so well, but it was mainly due to a back issue I believe?
I've since seen him on WCL, although I didn't see much of his matches. He's gone up in weight about 20lbs for that.


----------



## Dave Leverich (Jun 4, 2009)

Tez3 said:


> Dan Hardy, a Brit in the UFC. An interview where he talks about his TKD
> 
> http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/wrestling-wwe-ufc-mma/2009/06/dan-hardy-exclusive---a-lot-of.html



Good points about teep vs front leg front kicks, I've found a lot of variation in my TKD vs Muay Thai approaches. Shifting to TKD style kicking and back can really mess with people, timing, hip dedication etc, it's a nice random.


----------



## Tez3 (Jun 4, 2009)

Dave Leverich said:


> Good points about teep vs front leg front kicks, I've found a lot of variation in my TKD vs Muay Thai approaches. Shifting to TKD style kicking and back can really mess with people, timing, hip dedication etc, it's a nice random.


 

MMA is all about arming yourself with as many 'weapons' as you can! TKD has plenty.


----------

