Like it or not, calf kicks have become the signature weapon of MMA.
Any time two fighters are operating out of the same stance, it’s almost irresponsible if one of them isn’t actively trying to punt off the other’s ankle. Anybody who’s ever booted a soccer ball can throw a decent calf kick, and they’re a relatively safe, long distance weapon if thrown with even a little bit of craft. Just one hard calf kick can drastically alter the fight if the peroneal nerve is affected, while a handful of connections is enough to cripple a fighter for days.
Last night’s main event between Gabriel Bonfim vs. Randy Brown was decided almost entirely by the calf kick and effectively finished inside two minutes. The matchup was billed as a grappler-kicker vs. boxer, and yet Bonfim really only needed one weapon. In the first round, he threw little else but the right calf kick. Because Brown was a boxer looking to establish his jab, his outside lead leg was exposed and vulnerable.
Within 90 seconds, it was compromised.
Once the leg is f—ked, it’s exceedingly difficult to work back into the fight. Really, I’ve only ever seen elite wrestlers — i.e. Henry Cejudo vs. Demetrious Johnson 2, Magomed Ankalaev vs. Jan Blachowicz — pull it off. If the game plan is to strike (like Brown), it’s nearly impossible to do so without the ability to plant on the lead foot. Bonfim is a much worse boxer than Brown, yet he was walking “Rude Boy” into nasty right hands repeatedly because of how awkwardly Brown was forced to advance in his hampered stance.
What’s so shocking is that Bonfim didn’t really have to do anything to set up the calf kick. He throws ‘em quickly and with good form, sure, but he wasn’t using complicated setups. At most, he flashed the jab then fired the kick. For Brown to still have no answer at this stage of the game is an almost shocking disregard for one of the most consistently effective weapons in the sport.
Seriously, Benson Henderson was ruining his opponents’ day with calf kicks way back in 2012. Dustin Poirier very famously showed Conor McGregor how much that weapon had changed the game in January 2021. We’re more than five years into the dominance of calf kicks, and yet still a main event was just decided solely because a fighter was ill-prepared to do anything about them. In fact, the main event was not the only example from the UFC Vegas 111 card. Just a few bouts earlier on the main card, Chris Padilla took apart Ismael Bonfim — Gabriel’s brother! — in large part because of his consistent low kicking.
Calf kick defense isn’t some mystery to be solved either. The great Jose Aldo demonstrated on more than one occasion how to nullify the attack and punish opponents for trying with heel-to-butt checks. Other fighters like Stephen Thompson are theoretically vulnerable to the calf kick in their long side-on stances, yet they remain functional in the Octagon because they intentionally withdraw their lead leg and make their opponents miss. There are plentiful options to defend the calf kick, yet it decides at least a couple fights per card every weekend.
It’s baffling. Almost every fight nowadays begins with a trade of calf kicks, because there’s a not-insignificant chance one athlete will do nothing to defend and hand away victory before the bout really begins. Brown is likely to be on the sidelines for a while after this brutal loss, but when he returns, you can rest assured that his opponent will be trying to kick his lower leg to pieces once again.
Brown — like every other UFC fighter — has to accept that the calf kick is not an optional part of the game. It’s a mandatory skill check that must be passed or the consequences will be downright brutal.
For complete UFC Vegas 111 results and play-by-play, click here.