GUEST POST: MMA Tries Gymnastics (Technical Breakdown)
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The following article is a guest submission from friend of the site Sophia Scazzero (@scazzhands), a former Division 1 gymnast for Cornell University. Sophia is currently a content contributor for FloGymnastics!
Opinions expressed in this piece are the author’s alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Fight Site staff. That’s for the best, as no one on The Fight Site staff knows a single thing about gymnastics.
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Breaking down the gymnastic attempts of MMA fighters
I don’t know much about the sport of MMA besides watching a card or two, that and following half of The Fight Site on Twitter. But there is one thing I’ve noticed that a lot of fighters do that I DO have expertise in, and that’s their attempt at flips. I’m a former gymnast, which can mean a lot of things: I’m flexible, my body’s broken, and I spent a lot of my childhood being yelled at by a Ukrainian. But in this case, most importantly, it means I have a very stuck-up view when it comes to watching people attempt gymnastics stunts.
Saying “attempt” might be a bit rude, as all of these fighters’ flips are successful in that they don’t wipe out, it’s just a lot of their form is really off. These are just the facts. I can’t critique a fight but I can critique their flips, and that’s what I am here to do. So as someone who (very randomly) happens to be in close proximity to a lot of MMA analysis, I feel it is my duty as one of the few women in their circle to up The Fight Site’s diversity and contribute my voice to a sport I know nothing about.
In the following paragraphs I am going to take a look at a few MMA fighters’ flips and tricks and unfairly grade them by gymnastics standards. Let’s begin!
Bryan Barberena
Starting off simple here with a forward roll. I’m not even sure if this is a skill competed at even the lowest levels of gymnastics, but we can pretend. His entry is good, but he uses his arm as leverage to stand up out of it, rendering it an incomplete skill. However, I am told that this was done as a joke about Sage Northcutt, so extra points for respect. 3/5.
Justin Gaethje
Here’s a flip from Justin Gaethje. Great height, although he is jumping off from the top of the cage, so I would hope so. The important point is he gets some air and doesn’t tank. These have to be judged a bit differently because the technique for a higher jump is different than a tuck off the floor. The body shape is solid and he gets fully around. Flexed feet, and his chest is quite low on the landing, and he lands in a deep squat, which has got to be hard on the knees, all of which are deductions. Unfortunately, the GIF isn’t long enough for me to see if he took any steps on his landing, but as far as flips go, this one’s pretty good. 7/10, didn’t make me fear for his life while doing it.
Yoel Romero
Great hurdle before he goes in for it, we love the enthusiasm. Round-off is solid, toes might be flexed but his legs are straight! And his chest is up on the take-off for the flip, which technique-wise is perfect. The flip has got good height and full rotation, his chest is just way down on the landing. It doesn’t seem like a stick either. But overall the rough form is good, and it looks like he has enough power/technique to maybe in the future go for a back layout! The potential! 8/10.
Sage Northcutt
This is basically what we would call a kickover front flip, and honestly he crushed it. Good height, landed straight up, even though his chest was a wee bit low at first. Held the landing so we could even call that a stick! A good flip with perfectly timed rotation and solid form. No complaints. 10/10.
Petr Yan
Fun entry with a bit of a twist but unfortunately the landing is out of control. He didn’t get much height, and his chest was fully down on the landing. Critically, he used his arm to stop himself from fully falling due to a little over-rotation, and that is a major deduction. 4/10. But, he seemed happy with that win so I’m proud of him.
Jose Aldo
Nice height - again, off the cage, but he doesn’t tank. The rotation is complete and his chest is relatively up at the landing! His spin walk-off at the end is not only super chill but shows great control in his landing. Extra .5 for that. 8.5/10.
Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson
This is his own YouTube video titled “HOW TO BACKFLIP”, which I was super stoked to watch. Can’t be getting Ws without a dope celebration! Everyone knows this. His actual flip at the end at (4:57) has perfect form, rotation, and height. His chest is just a little down on the landing but honestly, basically a perfect flip. 10/10. However, for fun I have also decided to critique the tutorial portion because there is a lot going on there.
First of all, I would NEVER suggest anyone learn a backflip without supervision. Just…so not safe. But for the sake of this, he starts out fairly well with explosive starter jumps, and his next step of flipping on his back onto the mat is logical. However, he lost me with flipping backwards onto his bent shoulder!!?? That’s a great way to mess up your shoulder, or even elbow, for sure. Don’t try that. The next step of flipping and landing on the knees part I follow- fine. His suggestion of spotting the floor is at least one thing that is technically accurate. Not terrible as a whole, given his result, but the shoulder thing is actually super terrible so 5/10 for that tutorial.
(Since I know some of you will inevitably try to learn a backflip, please use a gym, someone to spot you, or stacked mats to learn the rotation part. Not your shoulder. Thank you).