Checking leg kicks has become one of the key aspects of the MMA meta in recent history. They’ve become a notorious part of mixed martial arts due to the devastating damage they provide.
Calf kicks can cause a drop foot – and damage akin to what Sean O’Malley suffered in his loss to Chito Vera but they can also lead to compartment syndrome.
While we’ve all seen the extensive damage calf kicks have caused Rory Macdonald and Conor McGregor, this weekend brought us another image ready for the highlight real.
Jonathan Martinez showcased the importance of leg kicks – rendering the legs of Vince Morales useless.
Martinez piled on the damage to Morales’ calf so that he would be unable to move and wrestle offensively.
Martinez proceeded to take him down and control the action in order to secure a decision victory.
If you only look at the stats the clash is somewhat closer than it was in reality – the judges scored it (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) and awarded an unanimous decision to Martinez.
"What I'm gon' do about my legs Charlie Murphy?!" pic.twitter.com/NIXc1xOXLE
— Vince Morales (@vandetta135) May 23, 2022
Vince Morales leg is toast already. pic.twitter.com/MsWAtanEkq
— VonWeeden🛑 (@Von_Weeden) May 21, 2022
This is just the latest in line of calf kicks. Michael Chandler recently revealed that Tony Ferguson cracked his shin checking a kick prior to the infamous knock out.
In addition to Chandler – the match up between Rakic and Blachowicz was rich in leg kicks. And while Blachowicz got better as the time went in checking and timing them – Rakic suffered damage time and time again which probably contributed to the leg injury that ultimately broke his winning streak.