Athletes from other sports that could become UFC champions with some training

rantajuoppo

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Let's list athletes from other sports that could become UFC champions with some training.

-Anthony Joshua
-Reuben Foster
-LeBron James
-Mijain Lopez
 
Let's list athletes from other sports that could become UFC champions with some training.

-Anthony Joshua
-Reuben Foster
-LeBron James
-Mijain Lopez

Define "some" training, dude.

6 months of grappling in the gym?
 
Back in the day I thought Alfonso Soriano would have been WW goat.
 
...and then immediately, without any professional fights, straight into the title shot?

No one.
/thread.
Lesnar went from WWE to UFC champion pretty much instantaneously and he's not nearly as A level as these guys.
 
Jon Jones is a good example of a lower end A level athlete competing in UFC. His brother was a relative nobody in NFL and can still allegedly kick Jon's ass.
 
Kobe Bryant. Dude can take a shot..

kobe-gets-punched-chris-childs.gif
 
Lesnar went from WWE to UFC champion pretty much instantaneously and he's not nearly as A level as these guys.

"pretty much instantaneously"!

By that small "pretty much", you mean:

1. Wrestling background - the most comfortable background to start MMA with, because it allows you to control the fight pace;
2. Winning the debut and gaining confidence;
3. Getting an "L" and getting submitted;
4. Going to a decision win, testing cardio in a real battle.

Plus, he fought against a guy half his size who fought after big layoff, and who held his own quite well before the knockdown in 2nd round.
 
Let's say a couple years of serious MMA training.

Anthony Joshua 2 years of sprawl training = goat

No but seriously, "a couple of years" isn't enough and having talent for boxing doesn't mean that you will have talent for MMA. Completely different sports.
 
"pretty much instantaneously"!

By that small "pretty much", you mean:

1. Wrestling background - the most comfortable background to start MMA with, because it allows you to control the fight pace;
2. Winning the debut and gaining confidence;
3. Getting an "L" and getting submitted;
4. Going to a decision win, testing cardio in a real battle.

Plus, he fought against a guy half his size who fought after big layoff, and who held his own quite well before the knockdown in 2nd round.
Still doesn't change the fact that a crap tier wrestler became a UFC champion in just a couple of years.

Now imagine Lopez, the most dominant wrestler since Karelin, enter UFC. Nobody could stop him.
 
Ronaldo would be WW champion after a 15 minute instructional DVD and a Dana White pep talk. Dude is an A level athlete.
 
Most people just don't have a chin for fighting.
At least that's my guess.

Even if you could take all top athletes and train them into technically wonderful grapplers and strikers, I bet most wouldn't have the chins to survive a pro fight.
 
Let's list athletes from other sports that could become UFC champions with some training.

-Anthony Joshua
-Reuben Foster
-LeBron James
-Mijain Lopez
No non-combat athletes
Boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, wrestling, Kyokushin champs etc

IF they transition their game smartly and effectively into MMA and learn to defend any inherent holes (eg: boxers defending low kicks and takedowns, learning some defensive and offensive BJJ; wrestlers developing dangerous top game and good boxing/low kicks; etc etc etc.), then they MIGHT do well (after YEARS of training).
We'll see how Gokhan Saki does.
 
Back in the day, British footballers were on a lowly maximum wage, most other sportsmen were either amateur or receiving small under the counter payments. The top boxers on the other hand were earning thousands. Guess how many top athletes transitioned to the ring ..... no-one. Prize fighting isn't a game and very few of these athletes would have the bottle for it.
 
"pretty much instantaneously"!

By that small "pretty much", you mean:

1. Wrestling background - the most comfortable background to start MMA with, because it allows you to control the fight pace;
200px-WWE_Champion_CM_Punk.jpg
 
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