Sherdog’s Top 10: Elbows
No. 10
10. Carlos Condit vs. Thiago Alves
Condit has long been one of MMA’s finest purveyors of extreme violence, a whirling dervish of destruction who does not appear to be comfortable in the cage unless he is garbed in a crimson mask of his own or his opponent’s blood. Elbows are the perfect weapon for one as dedicated to causing diverse forms of physical harm as Condit, and he employs them with sterling technique from his back, in top position and, most importantly, standing.
Condit’s most recent bout, against Alves, showed just how effective his standing elbows can be and how perceptive the Albuquerque, N.M., native is in picking and choosing his shots. After a close first round, Condit got his combinations going in the second, stepping in with punch-kick sequences that habituated Alves to particular ranges and a particular timing. Condit noticed that Alves’ response to his right hand was always a dipping left hook that pulled the Brazilian’s head down and to the right.
In order to exploit this, Condit threw a weak right hand, more of a feint than a real strike, as he stepped across. Alves replied with the dipping left hook, and as his head dropped down, Condit slammed an upward-arcing left elbow into Alves’ face. The blow dropped him to the ground and shattered his nose, leaving his nasal bone lodged in his forehead. The Brazilian somehow managed to survive several minutes more of punishment, but the doctor took one look at his nose between rounds and called it off.
It was an outstanding strike that summed up Condit’s creativity, intelligence and viciousness.
Number 9 » Marquardt vs. Woodley
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