The origin of the leg kicks that destroyed Conor McGregor at UFC 257

Conor McGregor lost to Dustin Poirier in his UFC 257 rematch in an exact manner that UFC pioneer and MMA analyst Bas Rutten predicted over four years ago but seeds of his loss were sown in the fight between American kickboxing legend Rick Roufus and Muay Thai fighter Changpuek Kietsongrit on 5th November 1988.

American kickboxing was at its peak during the 1980s and Rick Roufus, considered to be the consensus greatest heavyweight American kickboxer of all time entered the fight against Changpuek Kietsongrit as an undefeated fighter with a perfect 28-0 record as a pro. Back in the day, leg kicks were illegal in American kickboxing and the first-ever televised American kickboxing vs Muay Thai fight took place under the Thai boxing rules.

“I didn’t even know there was supposed to be leg kicks. Karen Turner said it was going to help build the sport, to bring it to Las Vegas. Bill Wallace was our team captain. We went to the rules meeting, and they said that low kicks and knees would be allowed. I said, “Whoa! Wait a minute. I’ve never thrown a leg kick in my life”, Rick Roufus said in an interview with Black Belt magazine ten years later.

Roufus, who had never thrown a leg kick before, was virtually unprepared for checking them. After a strong beginning, Roufus lost the fight in the fifth round after the damage from leg kicks piled up on the American. It was only after this difficult-to-watch fight that leg kicks became a part of western combat sports and made their way to Mixed Martial Arts, a sport that took its roots in the decade that followed.

Conor McGregor is not the only victim of leg attacks

Once considered to be a point scoring strike aimed to keep opponents at bay, the devastating outcome of leg kicks was first displayed in the UFC by former heavyweight fighter Pat Barry, former UFC champion Jose Aldo and Benson Henderson.

Leg kicks have since become a major weapon especially against fighters with a boxing stance who tend to lean heavily on their lead leg. A large number of fights in the recent UFC history have had their outcome determined by effective use of leg kicks including Max Holloway vs Alexander Volkanovski, Marlon Vera vs Sean O'Malley and most recently, Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier.

"The leg kicks were good. the low calf kick was very good. my leg was dead and then... I just wasn't as comfortable as i needed to be", Conor McGregor said during the octagon interview with Jon Anik post UFC257.

Conor McGregor's fight against Dustin Poirier was a rematch of their first fight in 2014 at UFC 178, which Conor McGregor won via knockout.