Why Pereira's Calf Kicks Worked SO Well

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[@GabrielVargaOfficial]

Bob Jones won the Karate Combat Giveaway. Now we are doing a GLORY GLOVE GIVEAWAY!!! vy.lc/449718kqmwq

[@curiosidadesimportantes]

Alex Pereira explained that in his interviews in Portuguese. He said most important part is timing your opponent movement, when your opponent is almost touching the ground it's when he is already doing the calf kicks.

[@RageNg]

Alex tapped me with this technique while demonstrating for his sparring partner… no force, much pain. He is literally built different.

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

Looks like it is a whipping style calf kick. Important to be light and fast, with emphasis on the retraction. Whips generate 2v instead of the v (velocity) generated by a normal strike. Makes it easy to cause pain with little effort. Also I bet his shins are very conditioned and the shin bones heavy. Some people their shin bone is more exposed so when they land the shin cuts into you more. Idk you have sparred with him I haven't these are just my theories. Cool to have someone who actually worked with him comment.

[@jamesleigh6166]

Yeah. I was thinking totally this. He has freaking long legs and heavy bones. A body type like Daniel Cormier will not make this style work. What works really well for him may not work well for others. Bro is built different.

[@j.j.9538]

@@jamesleigh6166 I think that his buttocks play a part in it to. He has big buttocks.

[@marcosbelczak6216]

Lol i've heard this exact same thing from people that trained with him at Rangel Faria's gym. His hands/feet are just crazy heavy, so they add a lot of power to the techniques that would, otherwise, be kind of sluggish. Even him showing up moves at 10-20% power just hurt.

[@JasonDimitri-du2gp]

@@jamesleigh6166Daniel Cormier got hurt from this what are you on about

[@timm285]

Alex Periera has become my favorite fighter. I don’t understand a word he says but he is a legend.

[@FinancialHealth-ku1ry]

In a previous vid, Izzy was your favorite. You just pick whoever the winner is for the day

[@jonathancharles3719]

I understand everything he says since I'm Portuguese and also speak English very well since in live in Britain for a decade and Spanish too

[@timm285]

@@FinancialHealth-ku1ry wrong. I can’t stand style bend over. You have me confused with someone else

[@timm285]

@@jonathancharles3719 if Alex learns English he will become a superstar. Aldo was never a breakout star because he refused to learn English.

[@jonathancharles3719]

@@timm285 i think that alex can become a superstar with no english at all but with that being said the english language would give him a huge advantage

[@MrByaeger]

I have called that style of kick a "cut kick" for like 25 years because the guy that showed me it called it that. Alex does it almost like a Karate style sweep more than a kick even.

[@tylerrichlen3286]

Yup. That's what we called it too. Good technique to wrap around the back of the calf/achilles for the sweep.

[@ADAM_COLLECTS]

sometimes he does it with the sole of his foot, as if to disbalance the opponent, then theirs that evil cutting kick. I lost a kyokushin fight due to this kick. i saw it coming. thought, not gonna hurt, then my foot went numb.. pretty hard to fight when you can’t lift your foot

[@AdamWalker-ph1hs]

Alex is a monster. Scary opponent for anyone. I think hes practiced every main technique so much as well as when to use them that combination precision power and timing is deadly. I enjoy watching him fight because hes one of the few guys u know will knock out opponents often.

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

Yup the turning the foot out i s my preferred method of dealing with it. Takes the least amount of reaction time, hurts your opponent. I think you have to punish people for trying to attack you, so that they are scared to even throw anything. I'm surprised Jiri didn't study Alex's fights and see that was a common technique for Alex to use and work on defending it. You can bet he has worked on it since that fight! Sometimes pain and failure is the best teacher.

[@kossonar2663]

You can tell Jiri prepared to make the kick miss and he had some succes doing that but Alex just keept spamming the calf kick, but I bet he wasn't expecting it to be so quick and hard to read, I mean it has to be difficult to find a training partner that throws the kicks like Alex lol

[@AnnaKuznetzova88]

Only thing when u do this sometimes kick still can wrap around and hits calf

[@toji6476]

jiri did expect the calf kick, he usually leans on his lead leg when striking, but for the pereira fight he exclusively pit less weight on it to prepare for the calf kick

[@oliverschultz4943]

Fantastic practical insights and guidance as always coach - thank you!

[@10secondsrule]

Fantastic observations and breakdown ❤!

[@shootits48]

I think being tall and long is important being a striker. Pereira doesn't have to get incredibly close to throw that calf kick ( he also stays fairly square lessening recover time) which will give him time to react react and counter.

[@elserpientethechamp2122]

Now this is, an amazing breakdown of Pereira's calf kick Gabriel, thank you so much, for making this amazing breakdown, even tho I knew, how to defend the calf kick, in all of these ways, it was an awesome refresher, on defending it, but I really learned when to use it, just by watching this video,I found it to work the best, when someone throws an overhand, and goes heavy on their lead foot!

[@Vithedel]

Pereira has been making the fight both technical and exciting, plus he seems to be such a down to earth champ and family man. Much love. Happy new year mr Varga and y'all.

[@DarkLight-Ascending]

Excellent evaluations, my dear boi. ❤

[@justincheng3922]

I wonder also if guys like Pereira, Inoue, Golovkin, Davis, who are not "specimens" who one hit KO, might have say 2-5% thicker and denser forearm to knuckle and knee to foot bones and ligaments around the joints than 80% of their competition pools, "underneath" really good not necessarily textbook heavy hitting mechanics. Great video as always.

[@stevenguo3167]

I'm not an expert here but I know that Gaethje did a dexa scan and it showed his bone density much higher than usual and I find. Plus with a lot of these fighters even though they don't have a big upper body, their legs are very developed but just hidden under shorts (example Figureido/Figgy) And when I personally get more calcium/nutrition in general I find I hit harder while my bones get harder and ligaments more elastic resulting in less pain and resistance when throwing strikes. The joints get hurt though from the ground force impact that's required from martial arts. Pereira has arthritis but takes some sort of pain relief ointment from one of his older KZbin videos. I've been trying to make a habit of eating glucosamine chondroitin and turmeric extract to make my joints hurt less and its working quite well so far, the difference is very noticable :) happy new year and best of luck to you in your training

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

I can tell Alex's shins are very conditioned. You can condition them to the point just barely touching the other person puts them in pain.

[@Ocean58492]

ret

[@Robert399]

Idk, it's possible. But more importantly as a pro kickboxer his shins would be 10x more conditioned than most MMA fighters.

[@vortex3013]

I've had similar theories about Rocky Marciano. While his frame is certainly optimized for close range fighting, the techniques he chooses to throw with the footwork he chooses to throw them is entirely optimized for power and follow through, hence why he knocked most of his opponents out of the literal ring

[@HeavyBagDiaries]

It seems like kicks in the calves hurt a lot more than kicks in the thighs, maybe because there are a lot of exposed nerves there? Great video as always

[@tinyky2598]

You can hit the scistic nerve through the thigh. Thats what really hurts a lot

[@avaandlilah8133]

Great analysis

[@princedoza87]

Reminds me somewhat of Masato’s kicking technique although he didn’t often target the calf. kicking upwards and not turning hips over meant he could get land his low kicks quicker and with a higher success rate.. not quite as damaging as Perieras calf kick though!

[@mireY339]

Hey Gabriel, great videos btw! You didnt mention it but I rly enjoyed the way Izzy defended a calf kick against Whitaker in their 1st fight (hollowing out and throwing a head kick right after) and Wonderboy defended one by lifting the front leg (remember he fights lateraly) up and back and throwing a middle oblique kick right after! Beauty 🔥🔥

[@imran_rasoli]

i came to youtube because i wanted to. find out where exactly the kick is aimed at. i did not find that out, but i learned other stuff. thanks for this video. I will now search other videos of where to aim.

[@DracoXp]

In the last PPV rogan and dc said Alex gave them a defensive tactic to counter his calf and the way they talked about it made it seem revolutionary…

[@Fernandomartinez-er7jr]

Make a video on how to do that switch knee strike that he does that's so brutal 🦵🔥🔥👹🙏

[@Freqv]

A flying scissor knee?

[@faithalone5081]

​​@@Freqvmy gym calls it a switch knee

[@besto5486]

​@@faithalone5081wouldn't the be switching your leg like a switch kick and kneeing? Anyways, the scissor knee is pretty simple actually just do a flying knee but switch the landing knee to hit them before the first knee gets on the ground

[@faithalone5081]

@@besto5486 switch flying knee -flying Name doesnt matter bro why we arguing bro

[@besto5486]

@@faithalone5081 sure, i'm just saying switch knee isn't clear in what's to express. You wouldn't call a roundhouse a side kick would you? Just avoids confusion

[@rodrigoborges8150]

great video 👍👍

[@shadowX316]

Gabriel, if you have the time. You need to check out jose aldo defending calf kicks. He does this interesting technique where he brings the heels to his butt/hamstrings. As a way to evade or dodge the kick. Enjoying these breakdown videos!

[@stephencox8723]

i came here to say this. Aldo makes defending calf kicks look extremely easy. The moicano fight is my favorite example.

[@paulhaase8749]

Hi, Can you please continue your what makes ... so good series, for example with Enriko Kehl or Joseph Valtellini?

[@ADAM_COLLECTS]

the structure on the lateral leg that does the most damage is he hits the peroneal muscles and nerve which help you lift your foot, dorsi flexion. If you hit those structure or get kicked in them, you can not lift your foot, you’ll literally trip on your own foot.

[@c22sco]

Jamahal Hill watching this video on repeat right now.

[@Dan0rioN]

Apperently he has his own special way of checking them too

[@Rok1900]

i think he explained why he throws it weird and untechnical like that because it isnt telegraphed and it lands with more frequency, opponents dont see it because his planted foot position does not shift and his hips don't turn.

[@EpsteinNooseSolutions781]

Jose Aldo’s little knee hinge technique is great for defense against calf kicks

[@Eric-xi1jk]

when i watch you Gabriel, i feel like i'm in the university of fighting

[@theNfl_Esq]

Fighting is so brutal.

[@foxxmaster9340]

Next a What makes "Andy Hug" so good would be awesome :)

[@adamburdock1020]

You should make a video of how he checks. Kind of similar to hoost

[@whitecloudmountainminnowpr6353]

His timing is the key . It seems that he’s using it to keep them off balance and so they can’t plant the feet and get there own strikes off .

[@sethparkinson1023]

Hey Gabrial, what do you think could be the cause of tightness and pain in my right hip flexor only during round kicks? I was watching your video on opening up hips for round kicks and the twisting motion in the hip when performing a right round kick is what causes the pains

[@alesmdhr9729]

Man of culture we meet again soldiers🫡

[@Easytravel3110]

Finally somebody who makes a video about it in another language than portuguese :)

[@derbalimoment8394]

We need an episode about regin ersel 's knees

[@Giorgio--]

Why does i feel like UFC level of grappling is super high, the top MMA fighter could easily hang with high level BJJ practitioners or wrestler in their sport. But with striking it so far behind kickboxing?. Like with Poatan case, in glory he was known for his boxing, his leg kick is just cream of the crop, but when he got into UFC his leg kick was wrecking everybody leg left and right

[@logandwyer8727]

Most of the good kickboxers have been in the weaker but divisions. But plenty if kickboxers have come over and struggled. Also boxing kickboxing has big gloves which are a bit crutch for defense. Most MMA guys until recently have lacked great defense. But recently Jose Aldo has gone to boxing and done great. And other great MMA strikers like Leon, O,Mally, Yan, Volk would do well if they switched but they never have.

[@user-yq7xf2ss6e]

I don't turn my hip over on all my kicks they are still hard accuracy is very important and I agree he waits until the leg has weight on them

[@makesenz]

He trains out here in Amsterdam every now and then, but ain't nobody telling him to not throw it like that cos it works lol. Calf kicks hurt like hell.

[@surajkamble3538]

Legendary Alex poatan Pereira ☝️

[@user-nx8zm3yd8d]

Is there something about the way he throws it that disrupts the nerve? It kind of slides up rather than going in perpendicular often times. Does sliding up along the sciatic nerve cause it to backfire on itself making it more effective with less force?

[@lucasfernandes2099]

Man, he has an outstanding technique, so above others that he does what he does with UFC fighters, he demolished Jiri's legs in round 1. Every fighter should know how to kick like Alex, he raised the level of the calf kicks.

[@marcinolszewski2260]

This kick reminds me of people trying to learn sweeps and missing them by going too high

[@djake1743]

IMHO, pereira does so well with his calf kicks because his technique is different from what most think is “standard”. He does not pivot front foot as much as most fighters do and he kind of lands the kick with his ankle/bottom of the shin part, and also at an angle with his toes pointing up.

[@DaBinChe]

guy is built like a tank so even light hits from hit is hard

[@fuhrdawg]

"To the guys.... yeah 👍🏻. You can just blast me" Gabe Vargas 2024

[@arthurmallmann5768]

Man, at every kick he is almost dropping everybody

[@nathanbloom5261]

I haven't seen a lot of calf kicks in an open stance, likely because the mechanics don't work as well. How would you deal with calf kicks both offensively and defensively against a southpaw?

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

The same way.

[@hamuss204]

what about the short giveaway? who won?

[@redrubberband3616]

I am a little confused. Like you said here in this video, the best time to kick someone's lead leg is when they put their weight on it. However, some people say a possible counter is to flex the muscle on the leg and return with a punch. Wouldn't flexing the leg make the kick worse?

[@tonyfergusonisthetypeofguy142]

Nope. Its like taking a body shot. If ur core is relaxed the shot is much more damaging. Same goes for the calf kick. Although its still going to hurt a lot cuz the calf is much weaker than the core for absorbing shots. But it should be less damage if u tense up. Instead of eating the kick to fire back itd be better to turn ur shin outward to check as u throw ur cross

[@art_of_comedy3241]

He timing of the kick is why its devastating, alex said he kickr right as the opponent's leg touches the ground,that exact moment is when the most weight is put on that leg ,

[@cringusmoss9937]

This is interesting... the way both of you maintain your structure and rely on quick and accurate strikes seems to mirror some of the core concepts in Wing Chun. Love the detailed breakdown as always! Thank the gods you're incredible head defense preserved such a brilliant fight mind.

[@sebastianquintana5412]

(guy who has ever only done wing chung watching any stricking whatsoever) mmm this reminds me of wing chung

[@cringusmoss9937]

Adding as I finish the video that the light flicking kicks that add up after so many accurate strikes is also quintessential Wing Chun. Please keep in mind the way he has such a straight back is going to channel much more force into such a seemingly "weak" strike. He is maximizing the force put into such a small strike and aiming it at a particularly vulnerable target. Add in that the structure keeps his centerline protected, hands up and when you don't commit so much energy to the strike you can react and move so much quicker.

[@cringusmoss9937]

@@sebastianquintana5412 I've only done kickboxing, mma and body boxing but I'm far from an expert. Just a fan who likes testing stuff out in my spare time. I just think wing chun is neat tbh.

[@faithalone5081]

This is a dutch style low kick Perreria isnt the only person who used it Liam harrison and others have used it

[@faithalone5081]

​@@cringusmoss9937its not about energy more about not telegraphing stop being overly complex😂😂😂

[@joshuasasfire2759]

Seems like he’s hitting with the inside ankle bone sometimes?

[@povang]

Calf kicks were discovered in mma because fighters adopted a lead foot heavy boxing/wrestling stance and left the lead foot planted. Its why calf kicks never kicked off in Muay Thai in its many decades in existence, because Muay Thai fighters kept a light bouncing lead foot to teep with.

[@Atrevidocrioulo]

Alex kicks looks like a savate coup de pied bas

[@kevinthomas7259]

Please id love pair of gloves by youu

[@theNfl_Esq]

Strickland should add it to his repertoire. Learn fromPoatan

[@MultiBelz]

cool

[@bbolivier1292]

work*

[@HocTiengAnhTheoNguHanhTuongHop]

The kick that works is the technically right kick.

[@bajanprince_mma]

I’m back 🙏🏽🥊

[@theawesomest2850]

He slightly drops his weight whenever he throws that kick

[@tylerrichlen3286]

Can't wait for MMA fighters to figure out how inside thigh and shin kicks work. Its gonna be fun.

[@faithalone5081]

People avoid inside thigh kicks because you can hit nuts easily

[@tylerrichlen3286]

@@faithalone5081 That's because they throw them wrong. But also, I did mention inside shin kicks like Malaipet used to throw. You'd be hard pressed to jingle someone's bells that way. lol

[@faithalone5081]

@@tylerrichlen3286 do you have videos on inside thigh and shin kicks because i am genuinely confused

[@tylerrichlen3286]

@@faithalone5081 Funny that you mention it on Varga's video, but he does a breakdown of the way Rico throws it, which is the correct way and can be done to the front and rear leg. Most people throw a slapping low kick which borderlines on an up kick in the first place which is why you hit the groin(sloppy technique and bad targeting). kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppOzfWVurteFmck

[@faithalone5081]

@@tylerrichlen3286 how aboot shin kick

[@SG-dw8jh]

I just don’t understand how is he conditioning his knees for those kicks? I’ve attempted to throw calf kicks like Pereira, but the pain it would cause to my knee made me hesitant.

[@HJRC_]

works*

[@bradleysiddeguzman3466]

☝️🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓

[@BootsOfLeather]

Aldo ran a clinic on how to defend calf kicks against Munoz. Study that to Crack the code.

[@thomasarmstrong3917]

Yeah you don't need full power, just a little power is power enough

[@Rafagafanhotobra]

Even before I watch the video, I must say: They work because they hurt like hell.

[@edddavids]

It's working because he has long legs with thick bone, and leverage.

[@marcs4036]

Negative, Alex is hitting the calf, back of the leg, so even if you turn the leg he still going to hit the side of your leg, its pretty hard for you to be fast enough to turn your leg like that especially against a pro calf kicker, but its always funny to see when those nobodies come out and seen to know better than a ufc and glory double champ.😂

[@kevinthomas7259]

I believe Buakaw got robbed against that Jonny Risco guy by far, it's crazy how many times Buakaw been robbed

[@goshawk4340]

Dana needs to oil up

[@mnmhere3321]

The thing is he has great success against orthodox opponents but not southpaw.

[@drewkm32]

I kick like him and my coach tells me I need too turn my hips over bc I’m not generating enough power. But it works for me bc I’m the same height as him and I have longs arms/legs.

[@ElDrHouse2010]

the calf kick is devastating but its weakness its how easy it is to check, its possible to break their foot by checking them, it happened with Chris Weidman. But here is the key it was weak against strong there. Foot colliding against knee/upper shin, the thicker the bone against bone impact the higher the possibility of a break for the kicker. This is the defect with the calf kick, its not unbeatable. "Chris Weidman Snaps His Leg After Getting Leg Kick Checked!"

[@KelleyMariya]

sds

[@lucianojera4243]

Yeeeeeeeerrrr I’m here early

[@fenrir834]

The glove giveaway looks really sketchy

[@kvarga9164]

Sketchy....... why?????? Gabriel's dad - Keith varga