The Southpaw Report for UFC 305
Dan Tom breaks down the records of fighters who are facing southpaws
The Southpaw Report for UFC 305
Hello and welcome to the southpaw report!
Aside from the fact that most statistics you see on major broadcasts are drawn from a faulty well of information full of misinterpretation and human error, the statistical categories discussed generally lack proper sample sizes and contexts.
So, with that in mind, I try and provide unique, applicable and (hopefully) interesting stats in the form of my patent southpaw reports.
Here, I will do my best to provide you with everything from stats to written and visual analysis covering every fighter facing a dedicated southpaw on upcoming UFC cards.
This week features four listed southpaws, but only half of said groups have samples to analyze. So, between that and the fact that I’m once again dragging ass, I’ll be making this free for all subscribers.
The Southpaw Report:
Carlos Prates vs. Li Jingliang
Summary: Li Jingliang, who faces southpaw Carlos Prates at UFC 305, is officially 0-1 opposite UFC-level lefties (losing a contentious split-decision to Daniel Rodriguez) Li also went 1-1 against stance-switchers Zak Ottow and Keita Nakamura (striking well with both)
Li prefers to counter a bit more when facing southpaws, but his arsenal doesn’t change much: he stays active with jasb/a lead hand, shifts stances when feeling in stride, and attacks all 3 levels with kicks.
Li’s Sanda roots show in this kick-catching counters but he can be countered himself (particularly when throwing kicks of his own).
The style of kick counter Li prefers is often referred to as cross-catch counters in Muay Thai, as popular fighters like Saenchai use them very effectively. They can be extra risky in MMA with glove differentials, but the reward is also greater in regard to takedown opps for Li.
As seen in this example provided by
, the cross-catch is something that many fighters have used to varying success in MMA.Regardless of who you like between Li and Prates, expect kick traffic to come at a high cost.
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan Hooker
Summary: Despite being a stance-switcher who primarily fights from orthodox and is dependent on wrestling, Mateusz Gamrot technically lists himself as a southpaw so I went ahead and gathered some stuff on Dan Hooker for #TheSouthpawReport despite the dynamic being clear for this one…
Dan Hooker is 4-3 opposite UFC-level southpaws (Wins: Nasrat Haqparast, Claudio Puelles, Jim Miller, Jailin Turner; L: Islam Makhachev, Dustin Poirier, Arnold Allen)
Hooker’s game largely stays the same against southpaws (straights, knees, etc.) but I’ll be curious to see how much he kicks given the counters it’ll give Gamrot.
Ricky Glenn vs. Song Kenan
Summary: Kenan Song, who faces southpaw Ricky Glenn at UFC 305, is officially 0-0 against UFC-level lefties.
Tom Nolan vs. Alex Reyes
Summary: Alex Reyes, who faces southpaw Tom Nolan, is also 0-0 against UFC-level lefties.
This concludes the southpaw report for UFC Abu Dhabi. Thank you so much for your support and enjoy the fights this weekend!