I thought you weren't one of the eye rollers.
When you spar or fight you WILL for the very most part find yourself in front of your opponent. Do you think people will just let you flank them? That is where the fight will happen for the most part.
You guys are not getting it. When you spar or fight you will very very very often have to deal with not what you want but what you don't want. Your opponent is actively trying to not let you do what you want and impose what he wants. Some people seem to think that just because they want to do something or think it a great idea things will go that way. If a person is really sparring he will see that for the most part he will be in front of his opponent, that he will need to trade punches, that he won't be controlling their cog or arm, and so forth.
Let me ask you a question. What is the single most important skill or ability in offense? What is the single most important skill or ability in defense? I will give you a clue. It is the same thing.