This is part one of a two-part article. The second installment will be released tomorrow, January 23rd.

In the lead-up to Alexander Gustafsson's fight with light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, the UFC's promotion centered around the fact that Gustafsson was as tall and long-limbed as Jones. "Greatness within reach," was the tagline, and it was widely mocked. Jones wasn't expected to struggle with Gustafsson in the slightest.

I myself predicted that Gustafsson's reach alone would not avail him against the champion. I had just watched Gustafsson struggle with a badly regressed Shogun Rua--the same man that Jones had effortlessly dispatched two years before to win his belt. Granted, Gustafsson had beaten an impressive list of fighters in the six-fight win streak he was riding at the time, but it was difficult to forget how mightily he had struggled with the wrestling of Phil Davis, who tapped him out in a single round.

In analyzing the fight, I had missed a few crucial details. First, I undervalued the fact that Jones had really never been forced to fight an opponent on equal terms on the feet--even Lyoto Machida had struggled to traverse the wide circle described by Jones' lanky arms and legs. Second, I overvalued Gustafsson's difficulties against the considerably shorter Shogun Rua and Thiago Silva. And third, I had forgotten some of Gustafsson's most pertinent bouts.

Long story short: Gustafsson excels at fighting opponents near his own dimensions. Though he is more than capable of beating shorter men with his length and height, his most dominant striking performances have all come against men near his own size--Jared Hamman (6'3"), Cyrille Diabate (6'6"), and even the six-foot tall Vladimir Matyushenko who, despite his size, fights taller than most mixed martial artists his size.

That was certainly the case against Jones, who struggled to escape Gustafsson's rangey jab and control the Swede's frustrating lateral movement. Now that I and the rest of the MMA world have a better grasp of the Mauler's true potential, we can start to take a closer look at his game and identify his strengths and weaknesses against a wide variety of opponents.

As far as opponents are concerned, Gustafsson has his plate full with his next adversary. Anthony "Rumble" Johnson is versatile, powerful, and very, very dangerous. As a style matchup, the fight is fascinating. But, as is the case with most Gustafsson fights, the respective frames of the fighters are the biggest story.

Let's talk about height, reach, and the mechanics of fistfighting.

Fighting Long

Usually, when someone uses the phrase "fighting tall," what they really mean is "fighting long." Height has its own advantages, but length, in both arm and leg, is usually the deciding factor in a bout.

The first and foremost of long techniques is, as you might have guessed, the jab. While the front-leg teep comes in at a close second, and in fact performs many of the same tasks, the jab reigns supreme thanks to its speed, efficiency, and the relatively low risk with which it can be thrown. These qualities also make the jab the king of all counters.

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1. Gustafsson and Vladimir Matyushenko circle at long range.

2. Matyushenko feints with a forward step.

3. Gustafsson maintains the distance at which he is comfortable, stepping back and moving to the right.

4. As soon as Gustafsson stops moving, Matyushenko rushes forward to attack.

5. As he moves forward, Gustafsson stops him short with a single, stiff jab.

6. Matyushenko melts.

The beauty of Gustafsson's knockout of Matyushenko is that the Belarussian did all of his work for him. Gustafsson's knockout punch was nothing special or unique, but rather the same jab that he uses all the time. Matyushenko's careless rush into Gustafsson's range cost him, as he ran full-force into what, for all intents and purposes, might as well have been a lamppost attached to Gustafsson's shoulder. It doesn't take much to hurt someone when they run face-first into your punches.

Most opponents are too wary to rush into the pocket the way Matyushenko did, but the jab easily deters whomever it can't hurt outright.

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1. Gustafsson stands at his comfortable range--just a step away from landing a jab.

2. Silva feints and moves forward, and the Swede backs up accordingly, to maintain his distance.

3. Now, however, Silva has walked carelessly close, and out of stance.

4. Gustafsson doesn't even have to move his feet to land a jab now. He pops Silva's raised arms with his left . . .

5. . . . and then does the same with a right.

6. Silva quickly scurries out of range.

This is precisely why so many tall fighters struggle on the inside when they finally find themselves against an opponent skilled enough to get there. Too often tall men lack the skills necessary to fight in close because they know how to stop most men from ever closing the gap long enough to do some work. A castle doesn't need a hefty garrison if it has a treacherous moat. And every time that shorter opponents attempt to attack Gustafsson, they must cross his moat. They take one step forward, and suddenly find themselves crossing the range at which he is most effective, while they can't even touch him.

Note also that Gustafsson's starting distance in that last example is considerably closer than the starting distance in the Matyushenko one. Over time, the Swede has grown more and more comfortable with his range, so that he is very rarely too far away to put his lead to use.

Of course, fighting long isn't all about throwing jabs and straight rights. Once the jab has been established, it also means having an innate understanding of the range of all of your tools. At his best, Gustafsson fights as if he knows exactly how far away his opponent needs to be to land a certain punch--say, his right uppercut--as well as how close they must be to hit him back. The Swede is still a work in progress, technically speaking, but he is steadily improving in his measuring and judgment of distance.

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1. Gustafsson feints, and Silva flinches.

2. Gustafsson's next feint prompts Silva to move forward and lower his head.

3. Gustafsson, eyes trained on his opponent, sees his opening and connects with a right uppercut as Silva bends down.

4. Meanwhile, Silva's overhand right falls JUST short of Gustafsson's chin.

Having judiciously employed his jab up to this point, it was a simple thing for Gustafsson to not only create the opening for his uppercut, but to know that he was safe to throw it from where he stood. Even leaning forward, Silva barely manages to brush Gustafsson's chin, while Alexander's uppercut is at the perfect range to be effective. And because Gustafsson is stationary at the time, Silva's right hand is less likely to hurt him, while Silva himself is moving into the uppercut, which drops him.

Uppercuts, just like jabs, don't need to be thrown with power to be effective. They are at their most potent as counter strikes, when opponents violently lower themselves into the punch as it comes up, damaging themselves in the process. We've talked a lot about fighting long, but uppercuts are also a vital aspect of the tall fighter's game--more on that in part two tomorrow.

For more fight analysis, check out Heavy Hands, the only podcast dedicated to the finer points of face-punching. On this week's episode, Connor and Sherdog's Patrick Wyman break down Gustafsson-Johnson in-depth, and look back at Conor McGregor's victory over Dennis Siver, and his upcoming bout with featherweight champion Jose Aldo.