Age Statistics by Division (2013 vs. 2018)

[acannxr]

Fighters who were/are 30 years old are included in the "% over 30" columns.

I omitted the women's divisions due to the small sample size (i.e. Women's Featherweight only has 15 fighters in it, total).​

 

[SomniumRabidum]

Interesting data, thanks for posting that.

 

[RenegadeMMA]

MMA is an old man sport.

 

[Reach4theSky]

Erick Silva skews the WW stats...

 

[SeaLevelMizugaki]

 

[Breaking]

That really changes perspective on people who hate on DJ because of the weakness of his division...

 

[MMonk]

Speed and agility matters most in lighter weight classes.

It is first to go away with age.

 

[JOLLYjoe]

Interesting, different athletic primes for weight classes.

Nice info!

 

[acannxr]

Erick Silva skews the WW stats...

He's currently the 86th ranked Welterweight in the world and as such, not factored into the statistics...a part of me feels like a joke just soared over my head.

Yet somehow Fedor was “out of his prime” at 34 :/

I'm of the opinion that a fighter falling out of their prime, at least in MMA, has more to do with the number of years one has been fighting as opposed to their actual age. A well-written article was done explaining this as the 9-year rule.

Quoted from the article (in the link):

FEDOR EMELIANENKO: MMA debut – 5/21/00, 9-year mark – 5/21/09

Emelianenko’s first fight after nine years was the Strikeforce match against Brett Rogers, in which Emelianenko was put in more danger than usual. After that, Emelianenko, whose only previous loss was a doctor stoppage due to a cut against Tsuyoshi Kosaka, shockingly lost two fights in a row, to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.

That really changes perspective on people who hate on DJ because of the weakness of his division...

The people who hate Johnson (or any fighter) for unimportant reasons are hardly likely to be swayed by any evidence that contradicts them, so I wouldn't get your hopes up .

Speed and agility matters most in lighter weight classes.

It is first to go away with age.

I would agree with that explanation, though the UFC's recruiting habits and the age of the division itself also contribute to the stats.

 

[agibmxmma]

MMA is an old man sport.

Martial Arts in general.. as one can only gain experience over an extended period of time. Hence the avg Coach, Instructor, Sensei, Kru, Trainer, etc.. is older.

 

[Reach4theSky]

a part of me feels like a joke just soared over my head.

Meh.. don't worry, it's an old played out joke anyway..

 

[BigMuffler]

Women's featherweight has 15 fighters? I thought it had like 3.

 

[Post 2 Decision]

Part of why this is older than other sports is because the UFC usually doesn't sign guys with less than like 10 pro fights. That can take 5-10 years for some guys after their debut. Whereas in most pro sports a guy will get drafted at 17 and have played in junior/college/etc. And are league ready in less than 5 years.

Women in the UFC are probably younger on average because they are signed with like 3 wins in 5 pro fights lol

 

[agibmxmma]

Speed and agility matters most in lighter weight classes.

It is first to go away with age.

FlyW Champ is 31, BW Champ is 32.. And both men are still getting better it appears. It's really just the lighter weights have more younger prospects. Though I will say speed and agility def matter, though most smaller men are able to maintain a higher level of such as they get older.

 

[Taric]

In the 2000 era everyone in the top 15 were in their 20s.
MMA doesn't cultivate talent like it used to.

 

[ClosetVitorFan]

I'm 33 and I have more control of my body than at 23. At 23 I didn't know how to pace myself and I'd gas out quick BUT I was also stronger at 23. But MMA is usually a marathon and not a sprint. So even though I may be a tad bit weaker than my 23 year old self, my gas tank at 33 is better. It has to do with my training really. When I was young I lifted heavy. Now I lift lighter but go for more reps, conditioning my cardio better. But if I were to fight my 23 year old self very possible 23 year old me, crushes 33 year old me in the first 3 minutes. But 33 year old me would know this. But I could still get caught. I was very high strung at 23. I would be a nightmare that first 3 minutes before I slow down. At 23.

 

[Guinness]

MMA is an old man sport.

30+ is old in your mind, how old are you, meanwhile back in the real world that's still very young no matter how you cut it.

 

[acannxr]

Women's featherweight has 15 fighters? I thought it had like 3.

Number of Women's Featherweight fights in the UFC for 2017? 3.

Aside from Cyborg, all of her opponents were Bantamweights and not true Featherweights.

But I used world rankings because of how arbitrarily the UFC's rankings are handled.

Part of why this is older than other sports is because the UFC usually doesn't sign guys with less than like 10 pro fights. That can take 5-10 years for some guys after their debut. Whereas in most pro sports a guy will get drafted at 17 and have played in junior/college/etc. And are league ready in less than 5 years.

Women in the UFC are probably younger on average because they are signed with like 3 wins in 5 pro fights lol

The UFC has a long and documented history of recruiting male fighters with only 5 fights (many current/former champions) with only 1-2 years of experience, so what you're stating is a false narrative.

 

[ClosetVitorFan]

In the 2000 era everyone in the top 15 were in their 20s.
MMA doesn't cultivate talent like it used to.

Athletes in ALL sports are sticking around longer thanks to nutrition and proper training techniques. Look at Tom Brady. Dude almost got a 6th ring. He is the GOAT and he's 40. Other basketball stars played until early 40s. I think LeBron will. Etc. Its different today. Back in the day, people trained differently. You'd be burned at age 30-32. Ala Fedor. Ala Tyson, etc.

 

[Post 2 Decision]

Number of Women's Featherweight fights in the UFC for 2017? 3.

Aside from Cyborg, all of her opponents were Bantamweights and not true Featherweights.

But I used world rankings because of how arbitrarily the UFC's rankings are handled.


The UFC has a long and documented history of recruiting male fighters with only 5 fights (many current/former champions) with only 1-2 years of experience, so what you're stating is a false narrative.

In the good ol' days. Nowadays there will be some exceptions for 'future stars' and guys on DWTNCS or whatever, but I'm pretty sure most newly signed fighters have at least 9 or more fights under their belts