UFC Divisions by Age

MacDougall

MacDougall

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I find it interesting that the only guy in the UFC MW top 15 that's under 30 is Whittaker (25). So I set out to see which is the oldest division by average age of the competitor. Of course the prevailing wisdom is that it would be heavyweight, and it is. But not by as much as one may think.

Average of Top 10 Fighters (UFC Rankings) Per Division

1. Heavyweight - 35.2 yo - Oldest = Hunt (41) - Youngest = JDS (31).
2. Middleweight - 33.8 yo - Oldest = Romero, Belfort (38) - Youngest = Whittaker (25)
3. Light Heavyweight - 32.8 - Oldest = Cormier, Teixeira, Evans (36) - Youngest = Jones, Gus (28)
4. Welterweight - 32.1 - Oldest = Maia (38) - Youngest = MacDonald (26)
5. Flyweight - 29.5 - Oldest = Makovsky (33) - Youngest = Horiguchi (25)
6. Lightweight - 29.4 - Oldest = Cerrone (33) - Youngest = Dariush (26)
=7. Featherweight - 29.3 - Oldest = Edgar (34) - Youngest = Holloway (24)
=7. Bantamweight - 29.3 - Oldest = Faber (36) - Youngest = McDonald, Almeida (24)

Notes

The average age of a male top ten UFC fighter = 31.4 years old.
The average age of a UFC champion = 31.6 years old.
The youngest male top ten fighter in the UFC is Max Holloway (4 ranked FW) at 24 years 20 days. (PVZ is youngest)
The oldest top ten fighter in the UFC is Mark Hunt (10 ranked HW) at 41 years 276 days.
The division with the least age discrepancy is lightweight with only 6 years separating Cerrone and Dariush.
The division with the largest age discrepancy is middleweight with 13 years between Romero/Belfort and Whittaker.
The oldest champion is Fabricio Werdum at 38.
The youngest champion is Conor McGregor at 27.
The difference in age of the four lightest divisions is so small as to be virtually meaningless.
Middleweight features just one fighter under the age of 30 (Whittaker).
Heavyweight features zero fighters under 30.
Women's Straw is the youngest top ten in the UFC and features 7 fighters in their 20s.
Lightweight is the division with the most twenty-somethings of the male divisions (6).
Hunt is the only fighter over 40 in any divisions top ten.
If Whittaker and Hunt were bumped and Leities and Mir were moved up one spot, the MW and HW divisions would have the same age.

Thought it was an interesting analysis enough to share.
 
Great thread.

JDS is the youngest HW? Wtf.
 
Interesting analysis, thanks. People have said before that fighters peak in the early 30s and this kind of adds credibility to that IMO. If that's true, and Jones still has 3 years before he's even in his best fighting period, he could set some crazy records
 
Yeah, physical prime and mental prime are completely different.

Charles Woodson is probably the best DB mentally in the game right now, his body is just breaking down too much.
 
Age doesn't matter that much in MMA as it does in other sports. It's all about mileage here.
 
Wow, pretty shocked how old/young some dudes are

Belfort only 38

Cerrone is the oldest of those LW at 33, Maia is 38,

Both Evans and Cormier are the same age but 1 is light years ahead despite Evans being a former champ and all around vet
 
MacDougall said:
I find it interesting that the only guy in the UFC MW top 15 that's under 30 is Whittaker (25). So I set out to see which is the oldest division by average age of the competitor. Of course the prevailing wisdom is that it would be heavyweight, and it is. But not by as much as one may think.

Average of Top 10 Fighters (UFC Rankings) Per Division

1. Heavyweight - 35.2 yo - Oldest = Hunt (41) - Youngest = JDS (31).
2. Middleweight - 33.8 yo - Oldest = Romero, Belfort (38) - Youngest = Whittaker (25)
3. Light Heavyweight - 32.8 - Oldest = Cormier, Teixeira, Evans (36) - Youngest = Jones, Gus (28)
4. Welterweight - 32.1 - Oldest = Maia (38) - Youngest = MacDonald (26)
5. Flyweight - 29.5 - Oldest = Makovsky (33) - Youngest = Horiguchi (25)
6. Lightweight - 29.4 - Oldest = Cerrone (33) - Youngest = Dariush (26)
=7. Featherweight - 29.3 - Oldest = Edgar (34) - Youngest = Holloway (24)
=7. Bantamweight - 29.3 - Oldest = Faber (36) - Youngest = McDonald, Almeida (24)

Notes

The average age of a male top ten UFC fighter = 31.4 years old.
The average age of a UFC champion = 31.6 years old.
The youngest male top ten fighter in the UFC is Max Holloway (4 ranked FW) at 24 years 20 days. (PVZ is youngest)
The oldest top ten fighter in the UFC is Mark Hunt (10 ranked HW) at 41 years 276 days.
The division with the least age discrepancy is lightweight with only 6 years separating Cerrone and Dariush.
The division with the largest age discrepancy is middleweight with 13 years between Romero/Belfort and Whittaker.
The oldest champion is Fabricio Werdum at 38.
The youngest champion is Conor McGregor at 27.
The difference in age of the four lightest divisions is so small as to be virtually meaningless.
Middleweight features just one fighter under the age of 30 (Whittaker).
Heavyweight features zero fighters under 30.
Women's Straw is the youngest top ten in the UFC and features 7 fighters in their 20s.
Lightweight is the division with the most twenty-somethings of the male divisions (6).
Hunt is the only fighter over 40 in any divisions top ten.
If Whittaker and Hunt were bumped and Leities and Mir were moved up one spot, the MW and HW divisions would have the same age.

Thought it was an interesting analysis enough to share.
Click to expand...
great post mate

Yea combat sports are a little different from other sports.
Athletes are in their "overall" physical prime mid to late 20's in ball sports but in combat sports the added experience in the 30-35 year old zone usualy counter acts the slight decline in physical prowess that men undergo as they enter their 30's.

Every athlete is different of course but you can not deny the general rules of thumb,
 
I think in as the USADA era takes hold over the next few years the average ages will start to drop.
 
it's crazy that Rory MacDonald is only 26.
 
MacDougall said:
I find it interesting that the only guy in the UFC MW top 15 that's under 30 is Whittaker (25). So I set out to see which is the oldest division by average age of the competitor. Of course the prevailing wisdom is that it would be heavyweight, and it is. But not by as much as one may think.

Average of Top 10 Fighters (UFC Rankings) Per Division

1. Heavyweight - 35.2 yo - Oldest = Hunt (41) - Youngest = JDS (31).
2. Middleweight - 33.8 yo - Oldest = Romero, Belfort (38) - Youngest = Whittaker (25)
3. Light Heavyweight - 32.8 - Oldest = Cormier, Teixeira, Evans (36) - Youngest = Jones, Gus (28)
4. Welterweight - 32.1 - Oldest = Maia (38) - Youngest = MacDonald (26)
5. Flyweight - 29.5 - Oldest = Makovsky (33) - Youngest = Horiguchi (25)
6. Lightweight - 29.4 - Oldest = Cerrone (33) - Youngest = Dariush (26)
=7. Featherweight - 29.3 - Oldest = Edgar (34) - Youngest = Holloway (24)
=7. Bantamweight - 29.3 - Oldest = Faber (36) - Youngest = McDonald, Almeida (24)

Notes

The average age of a male top ten UFC fighter = 31.4 years old.
The average age of a UFC champion = 31.6 years old.
The youngest male top ten fighter in the UFC is Max Holloway (4 ranked FW) at 24 years 20 days. (PVZ is youngest)
The oldest top ten fighter in the UFC is Mark Hunt (10 ranked HW) at 41 years 276 days.
The division with the least age discrepancy is lightweight with only 6 years separating Cerrone and Dariush.
The division with the largest age discrepancy is middleweight with 13 years between Romero/Belfort and Whittaker.
The oldest champion is Fabricio Werdum at 38.
The youngest champion is Conor McGregor at 27.
The difference in age of the four lightest divisions is so small as to be virtually meaningless.
Middleweight features just one fighter under the age of 30 (Whittaker).
Heavyweight features zero fighters under 30.
Women's Straw is the youngest top ten in the UFC and features 7 fighters in their 20s.
Lightweight is the division with the most twenty-somethings of the male divisions (6).
Hunt is the only fighter over 40 in any divisions top ten.
If Whittaker and Hunt were bumped and Leities and Mir were moved up one spot, the MW and HW divisions would have the same age.

Thought it was an interesting analysis enough to share.
Click to expand...

Whittaker is one loss away from dropping from MW. He is lowering that age by a decent amount.

When Anderson wins his next fight he will jump into the top ten.

That will be a 15 year turn around.
 
Crazy to think Hunto is so old and he still goes out there and woops ass. Can still take a hit too.

Thanks for the post TS.
 
It makes sense the average age increases as the weight does; speed is more important at lower weights, and power is the last to go.
 
The real outlier is middleweight and if not for Whittaker it would be a grandparents club. He has the chance to own that division for years as he is possibly 6 years from peak!
 
I have a PHD in statistics and a black belt in econometrics, and by looking at the data you provided we can make a 100% accurate claim that:

nvtsuq.jpg

People are getting smaller and smaller these days. Alex Jones was right, they are putting chemicals in the water that are making guy more feminine and weight less:
 
Good stuff TS.
 
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