Age Statistics by Division (2013 vs. 2018)

[Guinness]

Well considering as you age your metabolic rate slows down making it harder to keep the weight off it makes sense that the % of fighters over 30 typically goes up in the heavier weight classes.

 

[acannxr]

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.

What's the drug testing like in the sports for athletes you mentioned?

People often talk about how much better training and nutrition have become, and while that's certainly true, the age limit of athletes remaining competitive has a lot more to do with PEDs.

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

I could cite individual examples, but if you have a citation for the recently signed/new recruits of the UFC then I could better analyze their records and experience to either support/deny your premise.

 

[BigMuffler]

What's the drug testing like in the sports for athletes you mentioned?

People often talk about how much better training and nutrition have become, and while that's certainly true, the age limit of athletes remaining competitive has a lot more to do with PEDs..

So guys in earlier decades didn't use PEDs?

 

[Kaybee]

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.

35+ is old for sports in general. It isn’t a mental thing; most athletes begin to decline in their thirties.

In the real world, yeah 30s are still young - but sports aren’t treated the same

 

[MMonk]

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.

Stipe is 35, Werdum whi was champ was 38 or 39.
DC, who fights Stipe is now 40.

 

[acannxr]

So guys in earlier decades didn't use PEDs?

That's too vague for me to properly respond. Please specify a decade .

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

Again, combing through that data from scratch on my own would be too much. I can cite many examples that contradict the premise that the UFC only signs fighters with 9 or more fights, but that in and of itself doesn't disprove the premise that it's just a majority. But the evidence for your claim is just an assumption.

For example: Jordan Johnson made his UFC debut on the Shevchenko vs. Pena card in January of 2017, he was 6-0 with 2 years of experience.

 

[Post 2 Decision]

That's too vague for me to properly respond. Please specify a decade .


Again, combing through that data from scratch on my own would be too much. I can cite many examples that contradict the premise that the UFC only signs fighters with 9 or more fights, but that in and of itself doesn't disprove the premise that it's just a majority. But the evidence for your claim is just an assumption.

For example: Jordan Johnson made his UFC debut on the Shevchenko vs. Pena card in January of 2017, he was 6-0 with 2 years of experience.

Tonight as an example there are 5 guys making their UFC debuts?

One guy has like 30 fights, one has 12, I believe 2 have 10 and one has 8.
Sure there are guys signed with less fights but I'd be willing to bet that's a small minority of them

 

[savemgs]

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

Hey man give the kid some respect he is a young Prospect.

 

[acannxr]

Tonight as an example there are 5 guys making their UFC debuts?

One guy has like 30 fights, one has 12, I believe 2 have 10 and one has 8.
Sure there are guys signed with less fights but I'd be willing to bet that's a small minority of them

The lack of data makes it impossible for us to prove/disprove our theories. I'm a fan of making statistics (see my signature), but sifting through the UFC debuts of 2017 alone would take more time than I'm willing to give.

 

[Headkicktoleg]

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

This was my biggest takeaway from the data as well

 

[BigMuffler]

That's too vague for me to properly respond. Please specify a decade .

The 80's, 90's, and 2000's? Ie. "Fedor and Tyson's" eras and the time in between.

 

[agibmxmma]

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.

+1

Stipe is 35, Werdum whi was champ was 38 or 39.
DC, who fights Stipe is now 40.

Faber retired at 39, Edgar is 37 this year, Floyd was 40 when be fought Conor, Manny is 40 this yr and still fighting Champs. I am 40, turned Pro at 35, fought 155, 145 and 135 as an Am.. fought at 135 and 125 as a Pro, and headed back to the Army as my original 11b MOS, to finish my 20 this year.. still get a 320+ on my Army PT scores, and as I get older, I continue to get in better shape then I ever was at 20.. when I played college football.

 

[Headkicktoleg]

I wonder how much WME spends to scout new talent compared to how much Zuffa did. I feel like WME is trying to be cheap and market off of guys who pretty much should be retired by now like Hunt, or Bisping, or GSP instead of investing in new up and comers.

 

[erg0n]

can you do the top 15 (based on UFC rankings) on each division?

 

[acannxr]

The 80's, 90's, and 2000's? Ie. "Fedor and Tyson's" eras and the time in between.

I don't mind talking about MMA and Boxing during that time, but originally the discussion was on the NFL and NBA (as you cited Brady and James for older athletes). So are we changing the scope or talking about the NBA/NFL?

 

[BigMuffler]

I don't mind talking about MMA and Boxing during that time, but originally the discussion was on the NFL and NBA (as you cited Brady and James for older athletes). So are we changing the scope or talking about the NBA/NFL?

I'm not the guy who mentioned Brady and James, just chiming in on athletes lasting longer because of PEDs.

 

[ClosetVitorFan]

35+ is old for sports in general. It isn’t a mental thing; most athletes begin to decline in their thirties.

In the real world, yeah 30s are still young - but sports aren’t treated the same

A lot of it has to do with the mileage, not the years. Fedor was in wars from 21 onward. Never in an easy fight. Always outsized etc. Wear and tear. By early 30s Fedor is largely shot. This happens. YOEL Romero doesn't start MMA until he's 30. Much fewer miles on his system and why he can be competitive at 40. Plus he's a freak of nature.

 

[MMonk]

+1


Faber retired at 39, Edgar is 37 this year, Floyd was 40 when be fought Conor, Manny is 40 this yr and still fighting Champs. I am 40, turned Pro at 35, fought 155, 145 and 135 as an Am.. fought at 135 and 125 as a Pro, and headed back to the Army as my original 11b MOS, to finish my 20 this year.. still get a 320+ on my Army PT scores, and as I get older, I continue to get in better shape then I ever was at 20.. when I played college football.

Faber wasn't top for many years before retirement, Floyd doesn't accept top challenges at his age.
DC is 40 and still champ.
Manny - phenom.

Respect, man.
I went to military service at 28 till 33 and was also increasing my strengh and stamina.
(got a medal in competiton)
Still , don't have much time for MA as i did in 20s and feel like my agility and reflexes might not be as sharp.

 

[Njmma209]

MMA is an old man sport.

Because PEDs are still so widely used.

If they were completely eradicated and everyone was truly clean I’d bet each of these averages would be 3-5 years younger.

 

[acannxr]

+1


Faber retired at 39, Edgar is 37 this year, Floyd was 40 when be fought Conor, Manny is 40 this yr and still fighting Champs. I am 40, turned Pro at 35, fought 155, 145 and 135 as an Am.. fought at 135 and 125 as a Pro, and headed back to the Army as my original 11b MOS, to finish my 20 this year.. still get a 320+ on my Army PT scores, and as I get older, I continue to get in better shape then I ever was at 20.. when I played college football.

Faber fell out of his prime in 2012; it's a testament to how truly gifted he was and is that he still managed to earn victories.

Edgar fell out of his prime between 2014-2016, which is why I wasn't surprised that he lost against Ortega.

Mayweather and Manny aren't tested year round, and the former's controversy with being granted a retroactive TUE for an IV from USADA is why I don't have confidence in the organization (that and the Morales controversy).

This was my biggest takeaway from the data as well

I wonder how much WME spends to scout new talent compared to how much Zuffa did. I feel like WME is trying to be cheap and market off of guys who pretty much should be retired by now like Hunt, or Bisping, or GSP instead of investing in new up and comers.

I did some statistics on division representation in the UFC, which you can see here, or just look at my signature. The women's divisions are grossly over-represented, while the in-between men's divisions suffer the cost. I don't mind WMMA, but there's zero justification for it to be promoted in the UFC based purely on the numbers.

can you do the top 15 (based on UFC rankings) on each division?

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