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Taekwondo is one of the most fan-friendly and explosive martial arts styles full stop. However, it is one of the less common martial arts backgrounds for MMA fighters.
Taekwondo has a heavy focus on kicking, be it spin kicks, flying kicks or any other dramatic kick based attack you could imagine. These techniques may be flashy and look incredible when pulled off, but they often leave openings for takedowns and counter strikes.
For a fighter to be able to effectively utilize Taekwondo in MMA, they must not only be a true master of the martial art but a master of adaptability. In the following list we detail three fighters who were able to take taekwondo and alter it to be competitive in the UFC.
3 of the best Taekwondo fighters in the UFC:
#3 Rose Namajunas
Current UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas could arguably be considered one of the most well rounded women's MMA fighters on the entire UFC roster. However, her journey into MMA began with Taekwondo, and it still has a clear influence on the way she fights in the UFC.
Namajunas began training in Taekwondo at the age of five. She quickly found that she had an appitude for it and was able to earn her black in just four years. It is notable that Namajunas later went on to also earn a black belt in jiu-jitsu and karate. She now trains with Trevor Wittman, one of the top minds in MMA, who has helped her encorporate her traditional martial arts background into a modern MMA style.
Namajunas' title-winning knockout of Weli Zhang was incredibly characteristic of a Taekwondo fighter, catching the former champ with a lead roundhouse kick that had next to no wind up.
#2 Yair Rodriguez
Whilst fighters like Namajunas add their Taekwondo skills to their arsenal of weapons to be used in an MMA fight, for Yair Rodriguez, it is his sole purpose. 'El Pantera' also started Taekwondo at the age of five and the martial art has been the sole focus of his life ever since.
The Mexican featherweight is a walking human highlight. He will regularly utilize cartwheel kicks, tornado kicks and spinning back kicks, often to brutal effect.
Unfortunately injuries have limited Rodriguez from truly reaching his potential. But he is now fit and will be looking to put on a truly spectacular performance in his next fight for the UFC.
#1 Anthony Pettis
Anthony 'Showtime' Pettis. Was there ever a more apt nickname? In his prime, Pettis was near untouchable. One of the primary reasons for this was Pettis' background in Taekwondo. 'Showtime' had already achieved the rank of third degree black belt by the age of eighteen and it was immediately evident in his style as he crossed over into MMA.
Before signing for the UFC, Pettis was a champion for the WEC, where he pulled off the legendary 'Showtime Kick' against Benson Henderson, blurring the lines between fiction and reality. The moment of magic can be seen below:
Pettis went on to capture the UFC lightweight title and constantly had fans on the edge of their seats. He is now in the twilight of his career, competing in the PFL. However, even in his last UFC performance, Pettis pulled off an impressive spinning wheel kick against Alex Morono, showing that his Taekwondo roots are still there even after all these years.
