Before They’re Relevant: Corbin Howard
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Many fighters are born into the sport, and that was the case for Missouri’s Corbin Howard. Howard was destined for combat sports even before he was brought into this world. His parents owned a taekwondo gym, so Howard was born and raised in a healthy fighting environment from day one.
By the age of seven, Howard received his black belt in taekwondo. By age eight, he won his first world title. From 8 to 14-years-old Howard won six world titles. With dreams of competing in MMA, he saw that wrestling was a big aspect of the sport. He went on to wrestle and was a 3x state qualifier for Missouri State, and was all-state his junior year.
Fighting out of a traditional taekwondo stance, Howard stands sideways and will frequently switch stances. He is light on his feet and agile with his legs. He hasn’t had that finish coming from a kick yet, but it’s a main weapon of his. He can easily throw a roundhouse in close spaces. Going to the body, legs, and head is all-natural, and uses his kickboxing to set up his wrestling. Howard has fast hands and uses feints to land the bigger shots. For a smaller guy, he has deceptive power. He holds a clean uppercut knockout that was just brutal. More so it’s his timing, placement, and vision that sets his striking apart.
The taekwondo world champion may be ultra dangerous on the feet, but his collegiate wrestling is what has him undefeated as a pro and an amateur. Howard does fantastic work at letting guys come to him and change levels for a takedown, using their momentum against them. He can throw a head kick followed by a level change so smooth and so quick and the execution is stellar.
Howard isn’t all about timing though, as he can get takedowns from the clinch and has good chain wrestling. His power double leg is what shines the most. Most of his wins are by submission and he has shown the ability to transition from submission to submission. Howard attacks the limbs and the neck being well-versed on the mat.
There are still some questions on how he fares off of his back, and when he can’t take guys down like he’s been doing. Just being challenged in general, since he’s blitzed through everyone. As a pro, his competition has a combined record of 7-14. He’ll need a step up in competition eventually, but has performed as he should.
Watch out for this young man cause all the writing is there, and all he has to do is put it on paper.
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