Issue 165

March 2018

Duane Ludwig explains why you can’t always rely on a rigid game plan.

A game plan can go out the window in no time. When T.J. Dillashaw took on Cody Garbrandt for the world bantamweight title at UFC 218, his coach Duane Ludwig knew something had to change. The champion looked to have an answer for the challenger’s attacks. He anticipated his feints and fakes to reply with quick- re counter punches and put him on his butt as the first round ended.

When his pupil got to the corner between stanzas, Ludwig gave him three key bits of advice that completely changed the dynamic of the fight. You can use the principals behind them to turn your

fights around, too.

“Lead the dance”

By dodging strikes and landing his own counters, it seemed Garbrandt had figured out Dillashaw’s timing. But because he was relying on a reaction, the challenger could make adjustments to change his pace and throw him off.

“Cody’s waiting to counter. If you have a high pace, Cody’s got to keep a high pace to find your rhythm and counter you. By changing pace, T.J.’s leading the dance. If (the opponent) is countering, they’re waiting on you to make an initial move. They need to adjust to you.”

By slowing the pace down, Dillashaw ensured the fight was moving to the beat of his drum. He could then increase and decrease the pace again when he wanted to throw Grabrandt off some more. That’s when the decisive strikes came.

“You don’t have to set up every kick”

Dillashaw was sticking to one of the fundamentals of striking by setting up kicks with punches, but Garbrandt was able to anticipate what was coming and counter. The solution was to start blasting those kicks.

“Cody was winning the exchanges and in control. Blasting some kicks would change up the rhythm and the energy and by T.J. taking a more dominant stance, Cody knows he’s not moving around as expected: maybe he was assuming T.J. was scared of his power. When he started blasting kicks, he let Cody know we’re not scared.”

Having no set-up became the set-up. Mixing things up gave his opponent something else to think about and allowed T.J. to land a head kick that signaled the beginning of the end.

“I like the pressure...”

Ludwig recognized that keeping Garbrandt on the back foot would be an effective strategy, but he was having success with counter strikes. The solution was to anticipate that, adjust and set up counter-offense of his own.

“Someone who is good at countering, sitting back and waiting to throw the right hand like Cody, it can be predictable. You have to counter the counter. Throw something, allow him to throw and counter. That’s an easy recipe. You’ve just got to be one step ahead and go from an orthodox scenario to a more advanced situation.”

The exact follow-up wasn’t de ned – that would depend on the stance Dillashaw was in and what opportunity presented itself. The decisive reaction was when he took a small step back to slip one of ‘No Love’s’ punches, then planted his feet and threw hooks. One connected flush to the chin and heralded the finish.

Don’t forget the fundamentals:

“Make sure you don’t neglect the basics,” Ludwig adds. “Bang Muay Thai enforces a curriculum of martial arts to make sure you’re tracking what you’re teaching your students.

We take all the common scenarios, mapping them out and making sure you’re touching base on those all the time. Train all aspects so you’re comfortable in every situation.”