A Study of Power In MMA: Petr Yan vs Cory Sandhagen ft. Jose Aldo & Bryce Harper

Studying how power is generated across sports and how we can apply that to MMA

[Originally published December 2021]

One of the most notable differences from Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen’s bout at UFC 267 was the power differential. Now this is not to say that Sandhagen has pillow hands, I shouldn’t need to explain that Sandhagen hits hard but I will explain why he doesn’t hit as hard as Petr Yan. To do this let’s first take a quick look at where power comes from.

Power from the Base:

The most important thing to look at when examining a fighter’s power and their ability to move their opponent with their strikes is the base. A strong, planted base is the most important asset a fighter can possess. It is the transfer of power from the feet, up through the trunk, and exiting through the limbs. I could explain this very well in baseball terms as a 12 year veteran of the sport but it can best be explained in this context with a very simple example. Attempt to punch a target while circling to your lead hand side and then try the same combination but with planted feet. You may not even have to do the previous “experiment” to see that punching with a planted base yields far more power. Now we can take a look at how this applies to our two fighters of interest.

Take a close look at this sequence from Sandhagen. Note how at the end of it he is almost straight up right, almost leaning backwards. His feet as well do not move forward as well as they should either. This is in part to Yan changing directions as Sandhagen starts to move forward, forcing his momentum off the original line. Sandhagen adjusts by switching to southpaw but has lost the original impetus he had.

Now let’s compare this to Petr Yan who is already renowned for his efficiency with his movement. Below you can see how different Yan’s movement philosophy is from Sandhagen’s. He simply pivots around his stance while keeping Sandhagen directly in front of him and when he throws he explodes through with a crushing straight left.

In the clip you can see how planted Yan is and how all of his momentum is aimed ahead, directly at Sandhagen. He steps straight forward and through his punches, ensuring that he lands hard.

Linear weight transfer:

What we’re seeing here is the difference in how Yan and Sandhagen transfer weight linearly. When exploding forward one of the most important things to look for is how the weight is loaded onto the back thigh. The more weight that is on the back foot, the more powerful the forward movement will be. Now I would like to end this section by saying that Sandhagen is not bad at this by any means. In fact, while rewatching the fight it was harder than I had originally expected to find examples of it. He is quite good at it but there are times where he over extends himself and ends up losing power. Yan is just marginally better and it is an area where he separates himself from Sandhagen.

Again, everything Yan throws is thrown straight forward. Not a step is out of place and you can see the momentum moving through. The step through adds an element of power to the strikes as well.

Rotational Power:

Another area we can see Yan’s power differential is in the torque he generates with his pivots. An excellent example of this is the rear hooks he threw anytime Sandhagen got too close. Harkening back to baseball, this rotation is where the power for both pitching and hitting come from. “Fire the hips” is a very common phrase in the sport and that is exactly what Yan is doing.

In this clip you can see the force that Yan throws this left hook with. Pay special attention to his left hip and how quickly it drives his left leg from the rear to the lead. This isn’t so much technique as it is raw power. This kind of speed has to have been trained from a young age or the fighter must have been predisposed for it.

I picked this spinning back kick out purely because the speed at which it is thrown is quite simply absurd. Sandhagen is already on the outskirts of engaging range and a spinning back kick is still able to make contact. Both hips in this strike are just incredibly fast, especially the right hip to pivot that quickly.

Jose Aldo is a fighter who has impressed me this year in terms of the power he generates. Aldo absolutely cracks at 135 and its very clear why. Both his lead and rear hooks are devastating and Aldo often resembles a hurricane when throwing them. Something that has impressed nearly everyone has been the incredible speed that Aldo continues to possess nearly 17 years into his professional career.

This right hook is fairly similar to the left hook that I showed earlier from Yan. Look at Aldo’s right knee and how the force he generates actually drags it past his left knee, almost getting him out of stance. The speed is even more impressive because it is coming from a 33 year old down a weight class.

Again the speed of Aldo’s hips at 33 is just incredible. Notice how he squares himself up right before immediately firing in order to maximize how much torque he generates. He still thuds as hard as he ever did, 14 years into his professional career.

Bryce Harper:

The man in the video above is Bryce Harper, the reigning NL MVP and overall fantastic hitter. His swing demonstrates the 2 concepts I have been discussing perfectly. At the beginning of his swing as he lifts his front leg, his weight is shifted to the rear thigh and you can see it tense up. Next, he shifts it forwards and at this point all his momentum is headed towards the pitcher. Finally the rear hip fires, leading the torso through the swing and generating an incredible amount of torque. Bryce Harper has one of the most violent swings in baseball and that is largely because he maximizes how much force he generates with his weight and hips.

Overall build and muscle mass:

As I wrap this piece up I’d like to talk about one of the more obvious causes for the difference in power between the two, muscle mass. At 5'11, Sandhagen is very long for 135. Because of this he has to be quite skinny. Yan on the other hand, is a much more reasonable 5'7. When comparing their physiques you can see the obvious differences between the two. Sandhagen doesn’t really have any room to add significant muscle mass to his frame whereas Yan has already done that. Both are extremely strong and have great physical attributes, but Yan has the room to create more than Sandhagen does. Now of course that doesn’t mean he cannot be successful at 135, he already is of course, but Max Holloway is a fighter with a similar frame who is one of the greats in his weight class. Yan has an excellent frame for 135 and he uses it to his benefit.

Seeing Strikes:

To close, I’d like to talk about how power does not necessarily translate to hurting your opponent and what actually does instead. The most dangerous strike is the one you don’t see coming. That is a very old phrase that is absolutely true and you can see it in the lone knockdown of the fight. Sandhagen ate straight right after hook after straight right. But the only shot that put him down was a very well-disguised spinning back fist. If you go back to Sandhagen’s KO of Marlon Moraes last year you will see the same principle in action. It is the shot you don’t see coming that puts you down. Raw power of course helps, but ultimately disguises and traps lead to KOs more often.