12 Tips to Fighting BIGGER Opponents

Today I'll be sharing 12 tips to fighting opponents that are significantly bigger than you! This tutorial is made up of an accumulation of sparring footage of me sparring opponents at least 40 LBS heavier than me! Remember that these are just general strategies and if your opponent is more skilled than you, no matter their size, chances are you'll still lose - but it will definitely decrease the amount of times you get hit!

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#howtosparbiggeropponents #howtodefeatbiggeropponents #12tipstobeatyourbiggeropponent

[MMAShredded]

Damnnn doesn't it suck when you're paired with someone 40 lbs bigger than you?
We've all been there before, but I hope these tips and strategies at least help you gain the upper hand!

[John-pskz]

1:35 Don't stand and bang
2:22 use quick footwork
3:05 Don't get trapped
3:20 strike back and circle out
4:02 Be defensive and evasive
5:16 counter alot
5:34 Use explosive blitz movement
6:07 hit the body
6:25 then follow up upstairs
6:44 u can also use high kicks
6:55 chop the legs
7:32 takedown when tired
8:39 catch their kicks
9:39 use speed

[Jason_bluebla_blaha]

Idk why but it's soo satisfying watching you fight... it's very motivating

[liamcage]

I'm the big guy in the room, 6'5" 225lbs. The smaller guys (anyone under 6 feet) always seem to play my game and let me take advantage of my reach. I've learned to in-fight pretty well to counter those guys who try to get in close. So this is what experience has shown me works well against me;
1) keep moving. It takes a lot of energy to move 225lbs and I'll likely get tired before you (unless your cardio sucks)
2) don't hover at long range, I have ridiculously long legs. stay at your best range for you but circle (see step 1)
3) leg kicks. reduce my mobility further by chopping at my legs
4) double and single leg takedowns. tall guys are unusually susceptible to those and even if you don't take me down they're exhausting to defend against.

Erik Britz below basically said the same thing as did the video. I'm just confirming that as a big guy the strategy works.

P.S. after the clinch break fast and stay covered up, I almost always catch a guy with my reach on the way out, I've scored knock outs that way.

[nestialityorbecrophillia]

We need a video on how to fight an elderly opponent. Im sick of my grandma beating my ass

[ives]

I believe that no matter how skilled you are as a fighter, when you fight a bigger opponent who is also skilled, you are still at a great disadvantage.

[jeremyg]

I've been learning Mike Tyson's 'peek-a-boo' style of fighting and applying it to kick boxing. There is a lot of underrated strategies I think still apply to mma. Tyson could counter jab a tall guy and ruin his rhythm because he would always slip right, down, or left while jabbing.

I hope someday Jeff dissects Mike's footwork, head movement, and angle cuts to apply them to mma because it is so underrated.

[TheSkullCrossbone]

My problem in MT is always that it's very hard to counter the knees from much larger opponents as well as their straight punches. It needs really skilled fighters to be able to handle larger opponents. You do quite well. One in my gym is so powerful that he is able to rush into them like Tyson did and has almost no difficulties to fight them in the way he wants to.

[bronstet]

Thanks for posting this. I guarantee this is the most researched question on the Internet and asked question in classes. I know it was the first and foremost thing on my mind when I began training. If only YouTube had existed back then, it would've saved me a lot of time and trouble. I would just like to add a couple of thoughts to supplement what Jeff mentioned in his video:

1. The most dangerous assumption I see in sparring is "Him big, strong but slow and tires faster; Me small, weak but fast and and good cardio." You know what they say about assumptions, right? Don't assume a larger opponent has no speed or cardio. Make them actually prove whether they have it or not. Liam also mentioned below, but I have personally been caught by sudden bursts of speed from larger opponents who strike suddenly and quickly while I break away from them. An opponent doesn't have to be faster than you ALL the time -- he just has to be faster at the RIGHT time. And he doesn't need to outlast you in cardio if you're dazed, knocked down or knocked out.

2. You have power. Everyone has power, even smaller people. Not as much as bigger people, but we have some. Use it appropriately. One of my favorite tactics is to either come to a sudden dead stop while my opponent chases me or simply trap a hand right away and start pounding away with a rapid blitz of short hooks, jabs and backfists. I have been graciously told by sparring partners that they were genuinely surprised at how much power I could actually put into a short throw strike. Just don't get cocky about it and remember to still move unless you want to experience how much more power your larger opponent has.

Funniest sparring session I ever had with a larger fighter who specialized in Muay Thai many years ago. He dropped his guard and baited me to come in, clearly setting me up for something. However, I was loading a spinning back kick by lifting my back heel which he couldn't see waiting for him to come charging in to it. So we both wait there... and wait there.... and wait there. Finally he goes "Are you going to do something?" I look at him and go "I'm waiting for YOU to do something!" We both laughed and broke off and reset. As we did, I happened to glance up at the gym clock and realized we had both stood there doing nothing for nearly two minutes out of a three minute spar.

[Blazer__X]

Jeff, I love seeing how you are getting sharper and sharper, when I first started following you were not this sharp; the hard work has made effect and it shows!:D That makes me really happy

[Kathografie]

Hey Jeff, thanks a lot. You´re by far the most influencial YouTuber for me. It´s great that you always show the techniques in real life Sparring. That´s whats setting you apart from all the rest. Really appreciated.
As for me, i used to train Muay Thai in my early 20´s, stopped training Muay Thai for almost 15 years and started MMA now in my late 30´s. I always spar bigger and stronger people as i´m only 5´3" and 136 lbs. One of the best tips from you is aquiring ring IQ. My Trainer tought me to be a pressure Fighter, always going forward. It still works with training partners of my own abilities, as they gas out pretty fast as you mentioned. Last time i sparred someone as tall as 6´3" who was far beyond my abilities, luckily he took it quite easy on on me.
So my new plan is to be more evasive, try to annoy my sparring partners a little with some pokes and blitz when the opportunity arises.
Thanks again and keep up the good work.

[EBMproductions]

Since im always the smaller guy(5ft 7) i already knew these from experience and i will just arrange them differently.

1.)Move around your opponent not backwards.
2.)Attack the body as fast as possible
3.)Attack the legs as fast as possible too
4.)Make them chase you
5.)Never let the bigger man get a hold of you(Grappling) always frame on them and get out and away.

other then this there is combo's etc. as you mentioned that help a lot but i feel these first four is the bread and butter of beating a larger opponent, fun part is i have a 6ft 4 kickboxer in my gym and he is great practice for me.

[gravy]

Yess you did a huge favor with this one. The biggest gap between pros and the people they try to teach is giving a process for choosing strategies as opposed to just listing the strategies. Thanks Jeff!

[dwighthayles]

I've learned that you have to be in better shape (conditioning) in order to execute the advice given. Great advice Jeff!

[lefthearts]

THANK YOU!! I literally spar bigger people all the time bc I’m short but I still have power for my size I need a video like this!

[casbot]

What?
No _nut shot?_
Oh … fighting inside the ring, my bad.

[tyronejenkins]

Jeff you are seriously a beast at fighting!! You should chill out and go ice skating for the next video! 💪💪

[unknownentity]

9:37 Damn bruh you hit him with a 10 piece combo, lmao.

[infesta]

Great vid, Jeff. I spar regularly with bigger dudes, so these really help.

[conspiracychris]

Great footage and breakdown as always!