"Brawl a technical striker and out strike a brawler. The one who can impose their game better - wins."

In Topuria vs Emmett fight that took place in Jacksonville, FL on June 24th, 2023 - Topuria was a better striker.

The fight was a clear match up of styles. Topuria being a technical striker and Emmett being a brawler, a power puncher.

Topuria put on a technical striking masterclass in the fight and showed how to beat someone who processes one-punch KO power.

In this breakdown you will learn how to be a more technical striker and beat a brawling power puncher.

Video Breakdown

Importance of Fundamental Fight Stance

Topuria has the fundamental fight stance down that allowed him to be more offensive and delivering more damage while minimizing the damage he receives.

Keeping his hands up and being light on his feet, utilizing his in/out footwork.

Against a power puncher like Emmett, you need to be mobile and you must keep your hands up. One punch landed can be lights out for you.

Topuria's footwork allowed him to get into striking range, land his shots and get out. By the time Emmett threw anything as a counter, Topuria was nowhere to be found.

Topuria also had the fundamental defense for body shots. Instead of dropping his hands to protect the body as many fights often do. He would keep his hands by his chin and lower his elbows to defend body shots - which is what you are supposed to do.

Another thing Topuria does well in his fight stance is keeping his chin tucked into his lead shoulder. This will give you an extra layer of chin protection.

Topuria's fight stance is balanced. Weight distributed over both feet. This made him mobile, illusive and light on his feet. He never leans too far over his lead foot, making him out of balance.

Emmett's stance is too forward heavy. This is due to his wrestling style background. It gives him the extra reach and power to knock people out but also puts him out of balance on many shots. It also makes it difficult for him to kick or check kicks. This heavy forward wrestling/brawling style causes a lot of problems and leaves you open to counters.

I cover more on the fundamental fight stance in this instructional course.

Jabs Win Fights

Jab is most important strike you need to master.

Jabs are used for many different aspects of fighting:

• to gauge distance
• setup your power shots and combinations
• disrupt your opponents combinations and counters

Topuria won this fight because of his masterful use of the jabs.

He used the step in jab, snapping jab, pawing jab. These allowed him to dictate the pace of the fight and set up his power shots.

The use of jabs also opened up Topuria's kicks.

The calf kicks did a lot of damage. Emmett didn't even see a lot of them coming because he was too concerned getting hit with the jab.

Also Emmett's forward heavy approached mentinoned before made him unable to check the kicks or move out of the way in time.

Respond Right Back

Topuria didn't try to brawl with more powerful Emmett. That would have been a mistake.

Instead, Topuria used a slight step back to avoid Emmett's shots then slide back into range to counter.

The step out or slide out then back in is an excellent way to counter.

After sliding back into range you can throw the following combinations that Topuria used:

• Jab > Cross
• Jab > Uppercut
• Cross > Lead Hook

Feints

Feints give you ability to land any strike you want.

Topuria used a small step forward or shoulder dip to feint a jab to the body or a jab to the head. This made Emmett react constantly, which opened up many strikes for Topuria.

You want him to constantly be reacting to you. Feinting will allow you to pick your shots.

Overthrowing and Recovery

Anytime Topuria missed his strikes he recovered quickly, preventing getting hit withou a counter. This was due to Topuria's fight stance mentioned earlier.

This can't be said about Emmett due to his heavy forward style and looping strikes.

Looping Jabs Back

The only thing to note about Topuria's jabs is how he brings them back. He tends to drop and loop his jabs on return. This may open him up for potential counters.

You should throw your jabs straight and also bring them back the same way. Not looping them back. Now, this didn't cause any issues for Topuria because Emmett didn't have an answer for anything that Topuria was doing. But eventually someone with better boxing could capitalize on it.

Striking Fundamentals are Everything

Topuria technical striking masterclass was due to his perfect understanding and execution of fundamentals. Without this foundation and hours of drilling the fundamentals, he wouldn't have had the same success. Your fundamentals are everything. And if you skip them then you'll get beaten by someone who didn't. Learn your Striking Fundamentals here...