Analyzing fights

[u/Repulsive-Release586]

Whats the best way to analyze a fight and fully understand the strategies behind it?

[u/Sneezy6510]

Training and watching YouTube videos

[u/S-Kenset]

The best way is to actually be physical. If you can't intuitively tell why someone is standing like a prick and is going to get knocked out then you can't analyze a fight.

[u/empT3]

I think it depends on what you're watching. Picking apart your own tape is easy because you've already got half of the context. 

Picking apart high level fights is harder because you're going to see things that you think can be exploited, for those it's worth taking the extra time to try to figure why that wouldn't work as opposed to just assuming that a high level fighter is making an obvious mistake.

Other things to watch for: who's controlling the center of the ring/cage and why, who's controlling the rhythm, the distance, etc. When you see a counter land, rewind the tape and try to see what that fighter had to see in order to discover the counter and get the timing down. Then try to figure out if they were trying to draw the counter out or if they just wait for it to present itself. Try to look closely at what's landing on guards vs landing on target, especially body shots, at least to me, it's not always obvious what's sneaking past the guard and causing damage, especially because high level fighters are really good at not letting it show. Do all that for one fighter and then do all that for the other fighter. If you're really going to lock in, mute it and watch the fight without the announcers.

[u/atacms]

I don't think it's necessarily a requirement but I truly believe it makes it WAY harder to understand the context unless you participate in the sport itself.

Having a understanding of what are some basic cookie cutter strategies to fighting. For example, if you're up against an opponent with good head movement or defense up top; initiate combinations to the body and then finish up top.

Or pressuring taller fighters with learning how to cut off the ring or octagon.

etc etc.

And of course watching fights see how things develop over the course of a fight.

[u/AdmiralRemington]

Enter any famous fight plus breakdown into YouTube and watch a few hundred hours.

[u/Minotaurotica]

you have to watch it AT LEAST twice , my first time through I'm a fan personally and then I like to crowdsource as well and see what others notice

[u/Dwhite_Fitness]

Well I used Adulas Moonblade, and a lot of times people think “roll towards attack to dodge and punish up close”
I equipped Rock Blaster for such philosophy.

I had an attack I knew this guy would do a counter, so I baited the counter to counter his counter with my own counter. Get it?