It’s almost impossible for a fighter to develop on their own. Apart from the instructions of an able coach, every fighter requires a team to try out new fighting techniques and brush up on their fight game. But despite intense training, things may go wrong during a fight. Several UFC combatants have also found their usual fighting style to be completely useless before their rivals. This is why their corners are of immense importance to them.
Most fans may have noticed the noted Meta head honcho, Mark Zuckerberg in the fallen UFC featherweight champ, Alexander Volkanovski’s corner during his UFC 298 fight. But the addition of such celebrities to the people in a fighter’s corner is an extremely rare incident.
Generally, a UFC fighter’s corner consists of his head coach and other coaches, a cutman, and about one to two of his training partners. They perform their primary roles in between the rounds of a bout. Here’s a list of the various duties that these people perform:
- Providing strategic advice whenever they feel their fighter isn’t being effective enough
- Managing the cuts and damages that the fighter sustains
- Checking on the hydration levels and providing rehydration
- Managing equipment malfunctions and providing immediate replacements
- Making decisions to end a fight whenever they feel the fighter’s safety is at risk
UFC fans may have noticed several fights where fighters have completely changed their game after receiving instructions from their corner.
But many of them may agree that UFC 278 presented one of the brightest examples of how instructions from a fighter’s corner can change the outcome of a fight completely.
Leon Edwards’ corner is a major reason behind his UFC welterweight title victory
Most fans may remember that the current UFC welterweight king, Leon Edwards, was getting dominated by his former welterweight champ rival, Kamaru Usman, at UFC 278. Lots of MMA pundits also agree that ‘Rocky’ may have lost all the first four rounds of the fight.
But the incident that took place during the break after the fourth round was one of the biggest reasons behind Edwards managing to win the fight.
Edwards’ head coach, Dave Lovell, probably knew the exact measure to get him fired up. He shouted at Edwards’ face even with a few cuss words during the 1-min break in between the fourth and final rounds of the bout.
Almost every UFC fan is well aware of what came next. ‘Rocky’ had only one way in which he could win the fight, and that was by finishing Usman.
Well, not only did he finish his rival, but UFC fans will probably remember the incredible head kick KO that he scored for ages. Incidents like these testify that corners and cornermen are indispensable for any UFC fighter.
