After numerous calls by Joe Rogan to do so, the UFC has introduced leg reach to their tale of the tape. For some reason, they were reluctant to show this stat during events. Maybe it's because the stat doesn't really give an accurate prediction of how successful a fighter will be with their kicks. Flexibility and speed are more important. It doesn't help that a good number of fighters in the UFC hardly ever throw kicks. The Diaz brothers, the Nogueira brothers, Roy Nelson, Jake Ellenberger, and BJ Penn are examples of guys who wouldn't throw kicks even if their lives depended on it.

However, the measurement is not entirely useless. Having long legs can give you a huge guard. This can deter your opponents from getting in your guard as they don't want to be susceptible to submissions. It's not a fluke that Stefan Struve has more than 16 submissions in his career. Fighters with long legs are able to use their knees more effectively, especially in the clinch. Delivering standing knees to the face can be quite a challenge if you have short legs.

After conducting some research, I was surprised at some of the details that I saw. It became clear to me that leg reach, unlike arm span, doesn't really differ much between individuals. The difference between the average leg reach of a middleweight and a bantamweight fighter is only around four inches. However, the difference in the average arm span between these two divisions is six inches.