For as long as there has been MMA we have wanted to see style VS style match ups. On an even playing field which style is truly superior, first it was Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, then it was wrestling, then sprawl and brawl fighters, all leading to the complete MMA fighter. This is a high class tae kwon-do fighter, fighting against an MMA fighter with blunted tools.

Without a fence to drive an opponent towards, the WTF man is able to easily outmanoeuvre the MMA kickboxing (who walks with his punches anyway, never a good thing) while being unable to be walked down to the fence. Pay attention to the classic, lancing left straight which is a traditional martial arts tournament staple, and part of a certain Lyoto Machida’s playbook to create collisions.

On the contrary, having never dealt with low kicks our MMA practitioner can keep his foe off balance as kicking requires the planting of your feet leaving one exposed leg to hack away. Also having never thrown low kicks the TKD practitioner doesn’t cover up properly, getting blasted by a return shot on his first attempt.

Other things to note for interested parties are TKD staples like the skip in side kick, scissor kick and tornado kicks. In addition to this despite no clinches being allowed the MMA combatant continually attempting body locks and Thai plums in an effort to keep the fight in close where he would presumably have the advantage.

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While normally such affairs are one sided beat downs, this was an excellent display of two fighters using various tricks and skills of the respective styles in order to win a surprisingly competitive matchup. However, one wonders how a ring, cage or wrestling would have influenced this. What do you guys think? Sound off in the comments and let me know.