I just got finished watching Jose Aldo literally kick the crap out of Urijah Faber. As I watched this fight, it occurred to me that I might be watching the ascending curve of a Hubbert's Peak of leg kicks in MMA. Lately, more fights are being decided by leg kicks...Lyoto Machida, Manhoef vs. Lawler, Hughes vs. Renzo, and now Jose Aldo. It wasn't too long ago that Forrest Griffin, won a title by chopping down Rampage Jackson's lead leg with sickening Louisville Slugger leg kicks. Thiago Alves' stegosaurus-tail-whip looked like it was going to hobble Josh Koscheck.
I kind of expect to see two things happen now. First, more fighters will start to employ leg kicks. Second, this will drive the evolution of standup to something maybe more tentative or involving more footwork. Too many guys lose fights standing in place absorbing leg kicks on the lead leg. I don't know if they think they can sacrifice it for positioning, or if the leg is numb after the first few kicks, but if I were playing fighters against one another in a video game I'd be retreating out of their range. (Remember the arcade version of Capcom's Street Fighter? There was always some fucker who would win fight after fight doing the same stupid-but-devastatingly-effective move over and over and over again.)
Once people start to catch on and the fight game evolves, I expect to see a new and exciting striking game.
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