Sherdog’s Top 10: MMA’s Most Dangerous Weapons

Nick Diaz punches to the body to greater effect than anyone in the sport. | Photo: Sherdog.com

Diaz has long been known as one of the best volume punchers in the sport today, and body shots play a significant part in that attack. In his unanimous decision victory over B.J. Penn at UFC 137, the Stockton, Calif., native connected on a whopping 67 body punches, according to FightMetric.com. The former Strikeforce welterweight champion was precise, landing 76 percent of his power strikes and 89 percent of his jabs to the body of Penn.

Diaz is adept at using his punching style to his advantage, setting up hard body strikes with flurries of punches to the head. A lesser fighter puts himself at risk by throwing multiple body punches, leaving an opening for an opportunistic opponent to capitalize with a timely counter. Diaz, with his crafty combinations and durability, is usually able to avoid serious consequences.

Paul Daley dropped Diaz with a left hook during their April encounter, but the Californian’s chin allowed him to recover, and he finished the British slugger with an onslaught that included another steady diet of punches to the body. Few things break a fighter’s will more than a series of well-placed punches to the ribs, gut and sternum, and Diaz has proven that no one in the game today can match his prowess in that area.

The Howitzer