Umar Snoozefest, 3-1 main card LHW, Kevin Borjas victim. This is what we're working with this week. Ask me questions

Any thoughts on why 90% of BJJ is so painfully boring to watch? Even as a person who regularly trains BJJ, I find it sleep inducing.

What do be happening, Jack? Simple question: Which current mixed martial artist do you think has the best chance at a complete crossover to boxing with the potential at making a championship run? And why not also the reverse? Boxer to MMA with champ potential. The Oleksander Usyk of drinking til I'm booze sick. Bless.

Hey Jack, you didn't weigh-in on the Ian Garry killer instinct discussion which seems to be many people's takeaway from that fight including Dana White at the post fight presser. Overall you were very positive about Garry, but do you think theres any credence to the notion that that Garry should have been more aggressive in the last round and may have been satisfied with just giving Makhachev a tough go rather than trying to really win the fight. Also too many hugs? Haha. Curious to hear what you made of all of that.

Hey Jack, what are the advantages of using triangle kicks over normal roundhouse body kicks?

Bit of an oversimplification but is Sean Strickland the Michael Bisping of our time? A brash talking jabber with more bark than bite? Also just a random thought, but I feel that many combat sport coaches tend to be bigger fighters/people. Given I feel like people generally tend to look to smaller fighters for more technical skills/development why is it that there are so few smaller fighters/people that are coaches? I am a small boi myself so just curious, thanks!

Are there any techniques in the mma "meta" that you could see transfering to other sports in the way that calf kicks have become commonplace in mauy thai and k1 or the pettis style back escapes in no gi?

Thinking about signing up for my first amateur kick boxing match — is tucking the chin and spamming 1-2-3 calf kick a valid strategy?

You mentioned doing a quick rundown of edson barboza jr if he retired after his last fight. That would be pretty neat but do you think you could do that for other fighters who have retired recently that we might not have fully appreciated at the time they retired?

What are some good drills to stop moving backwards in a straight line with my chin up. It’s more of a fear response I only do it when I know someone’s better than me and going hard. I’m not tryna get done like the crafty unc Volkanovski

Considering gloves are mandatory in MMA, how do you think shin/foot pads or boxing headgear (or both) would affect the MMA meta?

Know any good books or documentaries covering the history of professional and catch wrestling for combat sports? Tbh your coverage of the Shamrock boys is the only thing i've found on the topic

I’d find it interesting to hear your view on the influence sadistic and masochistic tendencies have on fighters. Personally I don’t think anyone can train any martial art long term without enjoying being in pain to some degree

Hi Jack, Repeat from last time. Do you have a theory as to why a lot of fighters seem to disregard where they and their opponent are and where they are moving to (ie. putting their backs to the cage or letting their opponents off the cage when trying to pressure) Do you know of any drills that fighters can do to mitigate this? Thanks, Tom

Hi Jack, posting this question a third time What are your further thoughts the work of 'Champ' Jay Thomas particularly his stonewall/ philly shell compilation book effectively the only book the the philly shell. He had unique and rather detailed instructions on footwork and solo training with emphasis on isometrics for power punching. What are your thoughts into on comparing historical and current philly shell fighters with Thomas's methods. A set of techniques I find is his book especially intriguing is the low lead hand 'curved jab' and 'curved hook' . They are in essence a fleshed examples of punching from underneath outside the field view of the opponent. It could be useful for philly shell, cross arm, and low hands/no guard positions. I imagine it would a be nightmare if a ko artist like Carlos Prates implemented it into an already lethal striking game. P.S. The backfist curved hook seems to cross over into Thomas's killer outlaw boxing aka dirty boxing material. I managed to snag a copy have had time to make bootleg digital copy. I let you know when I finish it.

What are some out of the box type reactions when opponent quadpods from turtle with their back taken? Generally i see people try and jump hooks and powerhalf. Or people bodylock and keep the weight on ops hands like khamzat or even islam sometimes. Are there any other fun or interesting examples you see? Maybe breakdowns or other submissions

I kind of want to know what Song can do to win thus weekend.

Does the hand-fight in a closed stance matchup have any good rules of thumb similar to the lead hand-fight in an open stance matchup (e.g. the hand that's on top/outside usually has control)? Who are some examples of good strikers who do a lot of hand-fighting/checking from both stances?

Hey Jack, I’ve recently been attempting to find ways to develop my heel strike, treating it as a jab, power shot, spinning moves, teeps, and back heels. I find that the just because of the mechanics of a foot and kinetic chain, the heel is one of the strongest weapons that still seem underutilized in muay thai or modern mma. Aside from spinning high kicks, I see the odd back heel to the thigh in a clinch, but is there really that much at risk in investing to the body with it? Just looking for any examples and tips on how to utilize this unrated weapon and incorporate them into my style. Cheers! Love all the content!

Thoughts on Lucien Carbin style striking for MMA? Feel like I'm seeing more stance switch and same side attacking a lot more often

What do you think about the type of MMA fans who constantly talk about the official scoring criteria and bring it up in every conversation about judging? Do you think the official criteria should be ignored by the fans like the judges seemingly ignore it, or is there something to constantly bringing it up?

Hi Slacky, Just a curiousity one really - are there any prospects coming up within the UFC that you're particularly fond of? Don't have to be future champ stuff, just people you enjoy watching who can catch your eye on a slop card? Much love, really enjoying the more focused FCGs (Turner kick defence, BSD open side stuff, McGregor shoulder, Ziam height etc.)

How does one find fighters to study? Say, for example, I'm interested in seeing fighters who regularly finish RNCs. How do I find out which fighters do?

Hey Jack, I’ve been trying to use the cross guard and shoulder roll together more and transition between the two(which isn’t working well if I’m being honest). Who do I watch in order to become at least competent in this defensive system? Help me, I’m poor.

Most orthodox fighters can jab easily when moving to their left. Think GSP and his safety lead jab. But I can't find any good technique examples that show the footwork of how you jab moving to your right. Does the lead foot move first or the rear? How can you generate power in this direction?

Hiya Jack, any thoughts or predictions for ADCC 2026 and the dethroned kings? For me, one of the biggest effects of CJI 1 on the last ADCC was somewhat calling into question Babyshark, Mica and Giancarlo all winning their respective brackets again (edit: and Mica getting 1st in absence of Kade Ruotolo) when a lot of their top tier opponents were siphoned away. Vagner Rocha is a legend but man’s a graybeard resisting time with roids and it doesn’t feel right for him to make it as far as he did in the 77kg bracket in ‘24. Cut to present day and now, surreally, all three of those champs aren’t coming back for this one. It’s a power vacuum and I’m thrilled to see who will emerge on top. Also fuck Melqui Galvao.

During Glover Teixeira's title run I remember you saying that a large part of his late career success (other than literally every good fighter leaving the division) was that he always had an "old-man game", and so he never experienced a huge decline even as his athleticism did. If you were to take a young fighter with the goal of training them to be the best possible old man fighter, what skill and techniques would you have them develop that would age the best?

Hello Jack, Recently I have been training more with people that have a significant size advantage on me. What striking and grappling avenues do you recommend when you are the smaller fighter? I have some success in pure grappling when playing half guard but in mma don’t want to get stuck on bottom and in the striking really struggle with the range gap. I fight out of a southpaw stance if that helps. Thanks!

Hey Jack! I got a question. What skills are most important early on in a fighters development?

Quick and easy one for you Slacky. Do you think the Minowaman style toehold from guard could be a tricky way to catch people off guard in the modern UFC? I feel like the shock factor of it would atleast give it some success

We’ve seen some NFL washouts hang around and get some wins and losses without ever getting too far (except for Brock Lesnar winning a belt , and Brendan Schaub losing a title eliminator). With the quick rise of Josh Hokit, and Anthony Wint’s impressive debut against a slovenly bum, I’m wondering if you think the heavyweight division is currently in a weak enough state to just be cleaned out by a couple mediocre fighters with elite athleticism.

Kind of silly and on the spot thought: if mma actually offered the proper amount of money one deserves, who do you think in the top 5 or so of current divisions or past would have been weeded out by natural athletes that put in the proper time to become good fighters? Hope that makes sense, needs to be more ironed out. Could think of champions who may not have made it given stiffer competition due to a bigger talent pool. Thanks!

Is there any utility to elbows to the body in stand up striking? I’ve seen videos of Sagat & Somrak demonstrating them. But I’m not sure if this is just them showboating or if it’s a legitimate hurting strike.

Why isn't mma offense even more obsessed with the calf kick? Every week I see fights where one guy takes a few calf kicks in the first round and become visibly insecure about the condition of his lead leg. Even so, it seems rare for a successful calf kicker to keep at it for the duration of the fight.

First of all, apologies for the quote on your Wikipedia page. It was a throwaway line in a recommendation to read your analysis, for a niche audience in another sport. Someone told me recently about it being used on Wiki and I feel bad... Secondly, we all know the rear side attacks work great in an orthodox v southpaw striking battle. Round kicks to the body, straight rear hands, etc. Assuming we don't want them always circling out past our lead foot, what can you do to cut their movement towards your lead foot side? Lead hooks?

With Padilla's standing arm triangle I have wanted to explore more standing submission threats. Do you believe Wushu style hand/arm trapping could be usefull in MMA? Maybe in the clinch along the cage or when hand fighting with a southpaw?

Hey Slacky! After DC's comments last week that Khabib would still be champion today if he hadn't retired, Reddit was as you can imagine, completely normal about it. I enjoyed being told of Khabib's 'world-class sport sambo style overhands'. I reread your killing the king on Khabib recently - are there any lightweights that you think would have caused problems to Khabib had he stayed on to fight?

In terms of pure schedule (maybe not success), who do you think is a more underrated fighter? I know you mentioned the prince of jobbers a while back and I was wondering if there were more dudes like that

Can you wax lyrical about the value of kicks when you've pressured your opponent to the cage?

Would love to hear about any books you've been reading.

What to do against bodyjabs and bodycrosses? And what to do against teeps in kickboxing where you can’t really catch them?

hey jacking with slack, when sparring i often feel like I cant enter or close the distance to box without my opponent just wolloping me with a combination before I get the chance to unload, has this ever happened to you and is there something probably super obvious im missing? umar imar we all scream for control time bless 🙏

Ever heard of yuan pengjie? If so opinions on His style. Its karate points stance similar to yamazaki, he uses his jab very well and loves a front kick to the face. Beat lamnamoonlek (rws champ) and got hit with the Japanese judges vs kan nakamura. Fighs with rise and one

Best mma gyms in Europe. Which country do you think will have a MMA hegemony after USA?

Hi, Jack! Are you excited for Jaroensook vs. Pangtor this Saturday on RWS?

What are some techniques or moves in combat sports in general that HAVE TO GO.

Before Garry-Makhachev, I'd called out that Garry's biggest flaw is that he only has one gear he works at and can't swing momentum super well. Clearly that bit him against Islam, but can you think of any truly elite one gear fighters? What makes their games work?

Name three books that every fight nerd should own.

How important is competing for your grappling/bjj growth?

Hi Jack, Who are some of the best body punchers in a Muay Thai/Kickboxing context, and what are some tricks to land powerful body punches while staying safe from elbows and knees to the head? I also loved all of the work you've done covering Yothin, can you think of other fighters who have been really successful with a more'limited' or 'basic' skillset? Thanks!

Sometimes i wonder why most people ground and pound almost exclusively from guard, mount and sometimes side control. Obviously those are ideal positions for that but I think that if you would allow punching in pure bjj you would find alot more positions where you can sneak in strikes no? Right now it seems pretty separate, grappling and ground strikes. do you think there is room for these two to interflow alot more smoothly and often?

What do you think of the idea that strategy can be chalked up to what you're trying to take away from them and what you're trying to draw out? Also, what are your favourite footwork traps?

With fouling tacitly acceptable in the UFC, how can fighters use their free illegal blows most effectively? Caio likes to get his free eye poke in early, which I think is smart, but should groin strikes be saved for when you need a break à la Penn/Pulver or sprinkled in throughout like “Cup” Cheick Kongo?

Are you familiar with the term "dead spaces" of a fight? Term coined by Kick of Movement Martials, who you follow on instagram, dead spaces is the part of the fight where there is no action between the two fighters. Its also called "ambient movement" by Silvie von Douglas Itto. In your opinion, what are important things should a fighter be focused on during these "dead spaces"? getting better cage position, setups, etc

Do you think Umar would get finishes and throw ground n pound if Usman shared his secret substance with him?

Top 3 favourite combination strikers in any discipline. Mostly looking for fun strikers to watch based on vibes and aesthetics over efficacy but if you want you can include whoever you like.

I'm scared to ask a good question and get yelled at anyway like Dana White did that reporter the other day

Slacky, is it fair to say there was a talent drought at welterweight from Robbie Lawler title loss onward until relatively recently? I feel like a lot of the title defenses & careers from this era have aged pretty badly (Woodley, Usman, Edwards)

Would you ever be tempted to deliver more narrative driven analysis as opposed to technical? Hearing you gush about Muhammad Ali’s different stages of his career a few weeks ago was really interesting and felt different to what you normally do. Would love to hear similar long rambling thoughts on figures such as Roy Jones Jr. See you at the top. Bless.

Is it my imagination, or are there more fighters using the high guard in MMA? Not as their standard stance, but I swear I’ve seen more fighters resorting to the Ramon Dekkers “helmet guard” and of course there is Petr Yan

Slacky, do you think it was a mistake for Ian Garry to fight in such a bladed stance against Islam? To me, it looked like it eliminated any height and reach advantage he had while also leaving his lead leg on a silver platter to be picked up for the single leg. Given that most takedowns we see don't happen from the standard wrestling shot, would you have liked to see Ian Garry fight In more of an upright stance? My read was that most of Islam's takedowns came off of snatching that single leg.

How far do you think Tsuruya can go in the flyweight division considering his only loss is to the current champ?

Hey slacky, what’s the strangest form of traditional martial arts you’ve stumbled upon either in your travels or in your reading? It seems almost every culture has some sort of martial arts in their history and im wondering what one is most unlike any other. AND would this strange martial art have any practical use or use in MMA? Cheers

Is there any fighters you think of as 'so close to getting it'? More clearly, who would you believe to be able to make the most gains with subtle / minor adaptations.

Please consider and share your thoughts on the invention of a combat sport with a rule stucture and culture that encourages eye pokes and groin strikes to replace Sanda, or possibly to exist alongside sanda as a separate league, similar to the combat sambo/sport sambo dynamic. What would that sport look like? Would we see animal styles and moves from old martial arts manuals? Imagine a competent MMA competitor who is also a champion of this hypothetical sport goes to vale tudo. How dangerous would that guy be?

Hey Jack! Trying this one again. I'm a grappler in the Gi and have been training for about a year. I'm a small guy and when I compete I do it in the smallest weight class available (which is often bigger than my natural weight). I am lanky enough but struggle with being out strengthed by my opponents, although I find I have a cardio edge over everyone I grapple against. How can I leverage a cardio advantage without just getting held and tapped early which has happened in all my competitions so far? Thanks!

Hello Slacktimus Prime! Repeat question here. Do you have any favourite small characteristics or quirks that are idiosyncratic to specific fighters? I find what keeps me coming back to combat sports is the gallery of strange characters and how their fighting expresses small things about their backgound or mentality. My personal favourites are Poirier's short pull, Pantoja's opening charge and flurry (he's so cool), and last and not least, Anton 'The Pleasure Man' Turkalj's weird off-putting sexual trash talk. Thank you! Big ups from the home of the national atrocity that was JDM v Prates.

What’s one skill or tactical trend you think is being undervalued in MMA right now, and which fighter do you think is best demonstrating it?

Second time for this one Do you ever want to be on the fence? You’ve often said having your back to the fence is a pretty bad position and that you wanna push your opponent to the fence, but that got me thinking is there ever a time you want your back to the fence? Cheers 🍻