TKD fighters in UFC?

[Hudson69]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[searcher]

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

 

[Tez3]

Mark Weir, fastest KO in UFC

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

 

[ATC]

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]

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]

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]

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.

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[Tez3]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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?