Anthony Joshua could jump into the UFC RIGHT NOW: hypothetical career

[Philtard]

There are also levels of skill. To me, this is like saying Lebron James could easily switch over to the NFL and be a top wide receiver in the league. Could he be effective? Sure, but at the world level of these massive sports, skill is what truly matters.

There's a slightly bigger margin of potential success for Joshua than in the lebron analogy because the skills he has do translate to MMA, but it takes one skilled wrestler to put all that to rest. Curtis Blaydes would maul the man.

But we are talking about Anthony Joshua who is a world class athlete in combat sports who has decent kicks? Both of those things together along with full time training for a year and he imo trounces most.

We just disagree.

 

[Hard To Tell]

Only elite level athletes like Travis Browne and Brendan Schaub can do well in the UFC heavyweight division within a short space of time after taking up MMA in their mid twenties with no prior combat sport experience. Clearly someone like Joshua would have no chance of succeeding lol.

Seriously though, Travis Browne is a perfect example. A failed basketball player who took up MMA at 27 with no prior combat sport experience what so ever. Within less than a year he was a pro who put together a winning record that got him signed by the UFC where he was a top contender. He beat Sturve inside a round and Sturve has a win over Stipe which should tell you everything.

MMA heavyweights are low level athletes so the idea that someone like Joshua, who is an elite level athlete, a natural fighter and already an Olympic gold medalist and World Champion in a key area of MMA, would need years of training to be successful is laughable.

We've just seen a 30 odd year-old nightclub bouncer who only recently took up MMA go on a winning streak, get hyped as the next big thing and get a shot at the title within a handful of fights. Where he went 5 rounds with the reigning champ despite gassing out within 2 minutes.

Some of you guys are seriously lacking perspective and understanding on this.

 

[Final Say]

Fucking lol.

But honestly.

Man who trains part time as fire fighter. Works for a lot less money than anyone in boxing or nfl.

Vs fulltime athletic specimen with training in appropriate skill set who makes 20 times as much as part time fire fighter.

If Chewbacca lives on endor you must aquit!

Couple things, Stipe was a D1 wrestler and a national level amateur boxer and is now a full time fighter as well as a part time fire fighter.

And he makes more money than a shitload of NFL players and the vast majority of pro boxers.

 

[chinarice]

Yet he got through olympic testing which is far stricter than USADA...

So he would pass the tests but is a juicer, is what you're saying?

 

[chinarice]

Ngannou is shorter yet heavier and somehow passes USADA......

So you're saying, Joshua is juicing but would pass the tests anyway..

 

[Hard To Tell]

Could he pass a USADA test

Yes, but that doesn't mean he's clean. Elite athletes are on elite doping regimes, the best money can buy. These tests are not hard to beat for these people.

 

[moogie101]

Most guys would take him down immediately. That's why you get him a good manager that takes fights against guys that won't until it's way too late in the fight and they're knocked down 3 belt levels from concussions. He fights those guys while he builds up his skills.

But even the shittier guys on the roster have such a grappling advantage over a novice who in the T/S's scenario has had no training & they are going to be shooting a double from back in the locker room. No-one is going to be standing with him unless there's some shady Kimbo/ Seth payoffs going & we all remember how that worked out...

 

[Final Say]

That's why a good manager won't accept a fight against Curtis Blaydes until he has 2-3 years of experience.

Fair, but even then, will it be enough? Can he reverse engineer the bad habits his boxing experience will give him? It's impossible to say. Fighting is very unique, you never know how each individual will take to each facet. An athletic background is a great foundation, and being a boxer is even better. But it's positively no guarantee that he's championship material.

 

[trolldum]

If Joshua beats Parker, his next challenger will be Jarell Miller. He's undefeated as boxer, but beaten two times by Cro Cop in kickboxing.

So boxing talent pool is very low. Cro Cop with few months of dedication could reach top 10 and fight Joshua for the title.

 

[chinarice]

Yes, but that doesn't mean he's clean. Elite athletes are on elite doping regimes, the best money can buy. These tests are not hard to beat for these people.

I agree. Jones already showed flaws in USADA testing.

 

[AnotherOldGuy]

You would think so but look back in history: how did Wanderlei fight Cro Cop? How did Cro Cop and Wanderlei fight Mark Hunt?

Wanderlei did eventually try to take Mark Hunt down but only after he was so knocked around he was too fucked up to do anything. He went from black belt to blue belt from concussions.

JDS fancies himself as a boxer. Overeem thinks he's a world class kickboxer and he has a huge ego. Arlovski loves his hands. These guys get the chance to get in the cage with a world champ boxer and they're going to want to test themselves. They're not going for the takedowns until it's too late.

Fair enough, I wasn't thinking about ego; Couture vs Toney, but Couture didn't have an ego about his striking.

Its possible they'd be dumb enough to strike with him.

 

[moogie101]

Only elite level athletes like Travis Browne and Brendan Schaub can do well in the UFC heavyweight division within a short space of time after taking up MMA in their mid twenties with no prior combat sport experience. Clearly someone like Joshua would have no chance of succeeding lol.

Seriously though, Travis Browne is a perfect example. A failed basketball player who took up MMA at 27 with no prior combat sport experience what so ever. Within less than a year he was a pro who put together a winning record that got him signed by the UFC where he was a top contender. He beat Sturve inside a round and Sturve has a win over Stipe which should tell you everything.

MMA heavyweights are low level athletes so the idea that someone like Joshua, who is an elite level athlete, a natural fighter and already an Olympic gold medalist and World Champion in a key area of MMA, would need years of training to be successful is laughable.

We've just seen a 30 odd year-old nightclub bouncer who only recently took up MMA go on a winning streak, get hyped as the next big thing and get a shot at the title within a handful of fights. Where he went 5 rounds with the reigning champ despite gassing out within 2 minutes.

Some of you guys are seriously lacking perspective and understanding on this.

No-one is arguing the idea that with some training AJ could be a legit force in MMA & could likely walk through everyone.

Everyone you mention above has some MMA training & got a few easier wins on the MMA circuit for experience before jumping into the Octagon. But in T/S's scenario he has NO training & goes into the UFC right now. Even the worse guys on the UFC's HW roster are going to have such a kicking & grappling advantage over AJ that to expect him to win is laughable.

 

[AnotherOldGuy]

There are also levels of skill. To me, this is like saying Lebron James could easily switch over to the NFL and be a top wide receiver in the league. Could he be effective? Sure, but at the world level of these massive sports, skill is what truly matters.

There's a slightly bigger margin of potential success for Joshua than in the lebron analogy because the skills he has do translate to MMA, but it takes one skilled wrestler to put all that to rest. Curtis Blaydes would maul the man.

Well, by Sherdog thinking, Lebron James could also switch over the NHL or tennis or any sport but MLB (Jordan ruined that theory) and be a top level competitor right away.

But switching within combat sports into MMA has a pretty good track record, as most of the top MMA fighters came from another combat sport. Joshua would just be another top level guy in a combat sport generalizing to MMA.

In any case, I don't see him overcoming the money obstacle; the HW boxing title is still worth more than the UFC title, if only because headlining boxers get a bigger percent of the take than headlining MMA fighters.

 

[Final Say]

Well, by Sherdog thinking, Lebron James could also switch over the NHL or tennis or any sport but MLB (Jordan ruined that theory) and be a top level competitor right away.

But switching within combat sports into MMA has a pretty good track record, as most of the top MMA fighters came from another combat sport. Joshua would just be another top level guy in a combat sport generalizing to MMA.

In any case, I don't see him overcoming the money obstacle; the HW boxing title is still worth more than the UFC title, if only because headlining boxers get a bigger percent of the take than headlining MMA fighters.

I'm a boxing Stan. I even support guys in MMA who seem to spend a lot of time boxing. I think it's one of the most valuable skills you can have in a fight if you do it right. It will take him very far

But you just need more than that if you have world title aspirations. Unless he's a freakish talent at grappling, a couple years will never be enough.

 

[Philtard]

Couple things, Stipe was a D1 wrestler and a national level amateur boxer and is now a full time fighter as well as a part time fire fighter.

And he makes more money than a shitload of NFL players and the vast majority of pro boxers.

That's fair enough mate. And I agree with some of it and that I don't mean to shit on stipe at all. Now look up ajs history.

Hw gold at Olympics after training for 2 years. HW champion on his 15th fight. (Unheard of in boxing) unifys title vs klitchko on his 19th fight.

Unbeaten 99% ko success. Not even 30 years old. He's going to be an all time great athlete. All time great.

 

[Final Say]

That's fair enough mate. And I agree with some of it and that I don't mean to shit on stipe at all. Now look up ajs history.

Hw gold at Olympics after training for 2 years. HW champion on his 15th fight. (Unheard of in boxing) unifys title vs klitchko on his 19th fight.

Unbeaten 99% ko success. Not even 30 years old. He's going to be an all time great athlete. All time great.

I just said it, but I will again, Im a complete boxing stan have great respect for Joshua. If he proves to be a talented grappler and/or can stop world class timing and takedowns, he's an immediate threat to any fighter on the planet.

But to just assume that he will take to it like that is going waaaay too far in my mind. It's kind of shrugging off the years and years of work that guys like Cain, Stipe and Werdum have done to become elite grapplers. Not many people ever have that kind of immediate success and the ones that have are not elite athletes... talking about BJ Penn and Garry Tonon types... they're prodigal grapplers and look like normal guys with no other real athletic skills. I'm just saying that it doesn't necessarily correlate or translate.

 

[Philtard]

I just said it, but I will again, Im a complete boxing stan have great respect for Joshua. If he proves to be a talented grappler and/or can stop world class timing and takedowns, he's an immediate threat to any fighter on the planet.

But to just assume that he will take to it like that is going waaaay too far in my mind. It's kind of shrugging off the years and years of work that guys like Cain, Stipe and Werdum have done to become elite grapplers. Not many people ever have that kind of immediate success and the ones that have are not elite athletes... talking about BJ Penn and Garry Tonon types... they're prodigal grapplers and look like normal guys with no other real athletic skills. I'm just saying that it doesn't necessarily correlate or translate.

I'm not shrugging it off at all and yiure right. But once in a while a guy with exceptional talent and ability to just pick stuff up comes along.

As I said I don't believe all "a star athletes" will transition well. But y9u can be damn sure I believe in aj after doing so much in so little time Can pick stuff up quickly. He's a humble guy too and not a Deontay full of himself type either.

I believe he specifically would go on a wrecking tear and id put my money on it in his specific case given you give him a year of tdd and grappling.

 

[Philtard]

Only elite level athletes like Travis Browne and Brendan Schaub can do well in the UFC heavyweight division within a short space of time after taking up MMA in their mid twenties with no prior combat sport experience. Clearly someone like Joshua would have no chance of succeeding lol.

Seriously though, Travis Browne is a perfect example. A failed basketball player who took up MMA at 27 with no prior combat sport experience what so ever. Within less than a year he was a pro who put together a winning record that got him signed by the UFC where he was a top contender. He beat Sturve inside a round and Sturve has a win over Stipe which should tell you everything.

MMA heavyweights are low level athletes so the idea that someone like Joshua, who is an elite level athlete, a natural fighter and already an Olympic gold medalist and World Champion in a key area of MMA, would need years of training to be successful is laughable.

We've just seen a 30 odd year-old nightclub bouncer who only recently took up MMA go on a winning streak, get hyped as the next big thing and get a shot at the title within a handful of fights. Where he went 5 rounds with the reigning champ despite gassing out within 2 minutes.

Some of you guys are seriously lacking perspective and understanding on this.

It's ok. They don't know.

 

[TheMasterofTime]

He would get killed by anyone with good grappling

 

[PivotPunch]

So you're saying, Joshua is juicing but would pass the tests anyway..

I don't know if he's juicing but yeah if he is why shouldn't he pass the tests? He fought in the Olympics and yes he was much smaller back then but he passed these tests. And right now he is VADA tested like all WBC top 10 boxers so the USADA testing wouldn't even be a big difference and so far he has passed random testing