Jon Jones does a fantastic job of using elbows to throw hooks in close range. If he were to throw traditional hooks with his fists, his abnormal reach could leave him open to counters. Although he might not have one punch knockout power, he enhances the impact of his strikes due to the fact that elbows are far more durable than wrists and knuckles.

I find it baffling that many mixed martial artists haven’t incorporated standing elbow strikes into their arsenal. By throwing elbows you decrease your chances of hand breaks and increase your chances of significant damage. A grazing punch can result in fractures, a grazing elbow can result in splitting your opponent’s flesh. Both a flush punch and elbow can put your opponent on the canvas.

In the clip below we see a perfect example of using elbows in close range.

The video starts off with Farnam Mirzai checking a low kick. Mirzai then fires off two jabs to set up and land a right low kick. Anticipating another low kick, Mirzai does a good job of covering his head by forming a shell with his gloves and checking with his lead leg. His opponent lands a lowkick to his rear leg. They separate and reset for further action.

The red trunked opponent throws a jab, Mirzai ducks under the punch and counters with a perfectly placed spinning back elbow. The chin of Farnam’s opponent was left completely exposed as he extended his jab. The lack of head movement created an even larger target for Mirzai’s fight ending blow.

Farnam’s elbow attack landed with such ferocity and accuracy that his opponent was instantly unconscious. His entire body went limp on impact and was stiff when it crashed onto the canvas.