Fighter Leg-Reach To Be Added To UFC Broadcast Stats

UFC officials have opted to add one more statistic to their fight broadcasts.

Leg reach.

MMAJunkie.com got the scoop:

There will be a brand new addition to that list in the near future, though, as the length of a fighter’s legs will be measured and listed, UFC officials confirmed to MMAjunkie.

“I think it’s a real positive for the sport,” FightMetric live statistics producer and research analyst Michael Carroll told MMAjunkie. “It could be a really interesting measurable, and I think it’s long overdue.

“We know what arm reach is, we know what a sizable discrepancy is in arm reach. Jon Jones with his 84.5 versus, say, Dan Henderson with 76. That’s a huge difference. But what’s a huge difference in leg reach? I have no idea. It’s going to take a little while on the analytical side of things to figure out what’s a good length in proportion to what weight class you’re in and what’s a sizable discrepancy. A sizable discrepancy in leg reach might be much smaller than arm reach.”

Leg reach will be measured from the hipbone to the heel. Even though measurements for every fighter still need to be gathered, one noticeable aspect is the fact there’s a much narrower gap in leg reach between two opponents as opposed to the arms.