- Joined
- Apr 23, 2015
- Messages
- 2,372
- Reaction score
- 0
In the past when drug testing was not as strict as USADA or when there was no drug testing at all like in Pride or K-1 MMA, fighters who were older could get away with having much better accomplishments.
Cro Cop for example looked solid against King Mo in Japan. But had Cro Cop fought in the United States than he probably would had looked like a Caucasian James Toney fighting Cain Velasquez. USADA has made it to where younger fighters will now really shine because their testosterone and GH levels are naturally higher along with them having more cardio and lesser lactic acid development.
Now let's add striking into the mix. Boxing in MMA has improved 100 times over since 10 years ago. When Couture beat Tim Sylvia by utilizing bob and weave, it shocked many boxing haters who would never credit the art for being an effective style to utilize in MMA. Their opinion was that with Muay Thai alone you can win any MMA fight standing as long as you threw wild punches and block them with your face.
Now boxing has improved greatly with more footwork and head movements being utilized. And Kickboxing has improved with more fancy but effective kicks being utilize from different forms of traditional martial arts along with the more direct power approach of Muay Thai.
But to utilize head movements, footwork and more fluent kicks and still be strong in the last round of a fight takes a lot of energy. This benefits younger fighters a lot more.
Jones likes to move a lot around the cage and throw many kicks to keep his opponents at distance. If he grapples than he still has plenty of energy to apply his grappling effectively without wasting it standing.
Grappling tends to work better for older fighters. But takedown defense and grappling skills has increased drastically with more fighters making it a no choice factor for a fighter having to be force to stand and strike.
This will in turn make MMA into a young man's sport and make it more attractive for younger athletes to want to compete in MMA.
Cro Cop for example looked solid against King Mo in Japan. But had Cro Cop fought in the United States than he probably would had looked like a Caucasian James Toney fighting Cain Velasquez. USADA has made it to where younger fighters will now really shine because their testosterone and GH levels are naturally higher along with them having more cardio and lesser lactic acid development.
Now let's add striking into the mix. Boxing in MMA has improved 100 times over since 10 years ago. When Couture beat Tim Sylvia by utilizing bob and weave, it shocked many boxing haters who would never credit the art for being an effective style to utilize in MMA. Their opinion was that with Muay Thai alone you can win any MMA fight standing as long as you threw wild punches and block them with your face.
Now boxing has improved greatly with more footwork and head movements being utilized. And Kickboxing has improved with more fancy but effective kicks being utilize from different forms of traditional martial arts along with the more direct power approach of Muay Thai.
But to utilize head movements, footwork and more fluent kicks and still be strong in the last round of a fight takes a lot of energy. This benefits younger fighters a lot more.
Jones likes to move a lot around the cage and throw many kicks to keep his opponents at distance. If he grapples than he still has plenty of energy to apply his grappling effectively without wasting it standing.
Grappling tends to work better for older fighters. But takedown defense and grappling skills has increased drastically with more fighters making it a no choice factor for a fighter having to be force to stand and strike.
This will in turn make MMA into a young man's sport and make it more attractive for younger athletes to want to compete in MMA.