Uppercut

The vertical punch

The uppercut is a rising punch thrown vertically up the centerline of the body, with the fist traveling from below the waist to the opponent's chin or solar plexus. Unlike the jab, cross, and hook (which all travel on horizontal planes), the uppercut comes from below and is most effective against an opponent whose chin is lowered or whose guard is high enough to expose the centerline.

Mechanics

From an orthodox stance, throwing the rear uppercut:

• Loading: rear knee bends slightly, rear hip drops to load the upward rotation.
• Hip drive: the rear hip drives upward as the rear leg straightens; the rotation produces the upward power.
• Arm extension: rear arm extends upward, with the elbow leading and the fist rotating to palm-toward-the-puncher at impact.
• Connection: the punch lands with the knuckles on the target's chin, jaw line, or solar plexus.
• Recovery: the hand returns to guard. The rear-hand position covers the rear-side temple after the strike.

The lead uppercut follows similar mechanics but with the lead leg providing the power loading. Lead uppercuts are less common but useful in close-range exchanges where the cross and lead hook can't generate power.

What the uppercut is for

• Inside-range KO: at close range where the cross can't fully extend, the uppercut produces championship-level power. Francis Ngannou's walking uppercut KO of Alistair Overeem at UFC 218 is the canonical example.
• Against a high guard: when an opponent shells up with both gloves at the temple, the uppercut comes underneath the guard and lands on the chin.
• Clinch-range work: the uppercut from the underhook or single-collar-tie clinch is the most effective close-range strike. Used in MMA dirty-boxing.
• Setup for hooks: the uppercut that lands typically opens up follow-up lead hooks as the opponent's head rotates back.
• Body uppercut: aimed at the solar plexus, can fold an opponent over and set up follow-up head strikes.

Variations

• Rear uppercut: the standard back-hand version.
• Lead uppercut: the front-hand version. Less power, more speed.
• Shovel uppercut: a hybrid between an uppercut and a hook, traveling on a diagonal upward arc.
• Body uppercut: aimed at the solar plexus, floating ribs, or sternum.
• Walking uppercut: thrown while stepping forward, with the body's forward momentum adding to the power. Francis Ngannou's signature.

Common errors

• Dropping the rear hand before throwing: telegraphs the punch.
• Throwing from too far away: the uppercut has the shortest effective range of the major punches. Throwing from jab range produces no power.
• No knee bend: the upward power comes from the leg extension. Without bending the rear knee, the uppercut becomes arm-only.
• Reaching upward: an uppercut thrown to a tall opponent who's standing upright produces no significant impact. Wait for the chin to come down.
• Hand low after: dropping the rear hand after the uppercut invites a counter rear hand.

Defense

• Push-down parry: pushing the uppercut's arc downward with the lead hand.
• Step back: backing out of the uppercut's effective range.
• Frame: posting a forearm on the opponent's bicep to prevent the loading mechanic.
• Clinch: stepping into clinch range to neutralize the uppercut's setup space.
• Counter cross: firing the cross over the top as the opponent loads the uppercut.

Exemplified by

• Francis Ngannou: the walking uppercut that KO'd Alistair Overeem at UFC 218.
• Sean O'Malley: lead uppercut setups against bantamweight opponents.
• Kamaru Usman: rear uppercut from clinch range, dirty-boxing variation.
• Anderson Silva: counter uppercut thrown off opponents' commitment to combinations.
• Henry Cejudo: short uppercut from inside-range clinch work.

Drills

• Heavy bag uppercut reps: 50 uppercuts per side per round, focused on knee bend and hip drive.
• Inside-range pad work: pad holder stands close; you fire lead-uppercut, rear-uppercut, and body-uppercut combinations.
• Combination drills: cross-uppercut, hook-uppercut, jab-cross-uppercut sequences on the heavy bag.
• Clinch uppercut drill: from over-under clinch position, drill the uppercut from the underhook hand.
• Live sparring with uppercut emphasis: light sparring where the uppercut is the primary scoring tool.