Three years ago, I boarded a plane from New York to Los Angeles to see Shogun become the UFC light heavyweight champion at UFC 104. I waited so long to see it happen and figured he’d walk right through Lyoto Machida with a superior striking skillset in a fight that definitely wouldn’t hit the ground. Eight hours and $750 later, I was sitting thirty feet from the cage and watching one of the most technical kickboxing matches I’d ever seen. Oddly enough, despite landing dozens of vicious leg kicks in every round, and making a mess of Lyoto’s face, Cecil Peoples and the remaining members of the CSAC gave the decision victory to Lyoto Machida. Shortly thereafter, sensei Peoples went on to suggest that leg kicks don’t win fights and we had to re-learn everything we ever knew about combat sports. All the bruises on our shins from year of Muay Thai were completely pointless and fighters around the world fell into a deep depression. We’ve been in a confused state-of-mind ever since, but today, all of that is about to change. We’ve found a place where your leg kicks are welcome to frolic and prosper; The British Shin-Kicking Championships in Gloucester will never take your leg kicks for granted. Press play on the video below, and never listen to anything Cecil Peoples tells you ever again. Props to ITN News for the footage.
