Showtime Kick inspired by Ong Bak
The sensational kick Anthony Pettis used to floor Benson Henderson was inspired by the cult martial-arts classic, “Ong Bak.” Pettis’…
The sensational kick Anthony Pettis used to floor Benson Henderson was inspired by the cult martial-arts classic, “Ong Bak.”
Pettis’ coach, Duke Roufus, said he’s played around with “old-school” Muay Thai techniques for several years, and the crazy kick that Pettis landed is just one such attack.
“I just believe in being creative,” Roufus today told MMAjunkie.com. “Anthony is a lifelong martial artist, and I’m a lifelong martial artist, and we’re just trying to keep evolving and blend it all together.”
“I’ve been trying a bunch of different stuff. Bringing out some of the old-school Muay Thai techniques where you climb up on people and land techniques. It’s using his athleticism and surprise attack, and being able to put different elements of the game together.”
“You saw that at UFC 100 when Alan Belcher threw the ‘superman’ punch off the cage. I’ve been working a lot of cage techniques. It’s just like when soccer changed. They started playing indoor soccer on hockey rinks. Kickboxing changes when you put it into that cage. There’s a lot of tactics you can employ.”
“He’s happy he got the strap, but he wants to be a guy like Georges St-Pierre who’s constantly working on weaknesses. He wants to be the best he can be.”