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This is wrong, though.
Despite starting MMA at 30, Matt Mitrione has had considerable success in both the UFC and Bellator, including knocking out Derrick Lewis in all of 41 seconds, and knocking out a Fedor Emelianeko that wasn't quite as washed-up as people thought back then.
Eryk Anders, despite starting MMA at 25, is a very intriguing prospect and borderline top 10 light heavyweight who arguably beat MMA legend Lyoto Machida.
Even Brendan Schaub, who started MMA at 24 and was a very middling football player, had a respectable 6-5 record within the UFC (4-0 outside it) and a knockout victory over MMA legend Crocop.
Now, can you imagine if any of these guys had started training a martial art at, say, 15 years old?
THAT is what we mean about better athletes getting into MMA.
Many MMA fighters started training in their 20’s. You can’t possibly argue Brendan Schaub and Matt Mitrione are significantly superior to top 10-15 UFC heavies in terms of athleticism.