Why do Japanese fighters struggle so much in the UFC?

[caesar]

Here's another example:

Consider how dominant Aoki has always been in Japan. Then he came to the US and fought Alvarez and literally had fucking NOTHING for Eddie. Nothing.

EASY fight for Eddie against a Japanese legend.

Shinya Aoki's only a legend in his mind,...a deluded mind at that lol,...he got his ass kicked my Joachim Hansen way back and here in Japan everyone knows he's full of shit,...not a legend here, not even close.

 

[PurpleAki]

I beleve its to do with bone strukturę and anatomy. Not many A level from cu fu kak.

 

[Guestx]

Shinya Aoki's only a legend in his mind,...a deluded mind at that lol,...he got his ass kicked my Joachim Hansen way back and here in Japan everyone knows he's full of shit,...not a legend here, not even close.

Really?

He's certainly had an extremely successful career, with far more wins than losses and many wins over notable fighters as well. Avenged that Hansen loss you mentioned too.

 

[Krazybee129]

Majority or the reason has to go to injuries. He tore his ACL! For an explosive wrestler/KO artist that's one of the worst possible injuries. He never looked the same after that, even in Japan, losing to a green Joe Warren and Kanehara.
KID came to the UFC as a 34 year old bantamweight with surgically repaired acl and surgically repaired elbow.
He lost his speed and due to his fucked knees he could no longer defend takedowns. We saw that in all of his losses. This guy was a stud wrestler and gEtting taken down by BJJ bums.

"Prime" isn't just about age, it's about physical condition. Shogun Rua was past his prime when he won the UFC belt at age 27 - you can tell his striking style was so slow compared to before his knee injuries, and the Shogun that fought Hendo looked like he was waist deep in water compared to his prime.

You can't compare bantamweights to bigger guys, even if they are older.
"Godfather of TRT" Randy Couture retired after a 12 year career. KID was already 10 years into his career when he came to the UFC.

Bro stop it. Ur breaking my heart with kid background and his injuries and loses.

 

[nhbfan8080]

I think that Japanese MMA is a step or 2 behind because training camps are smaller, don't have full time dedicated coaches because the money isn't there.

 

[MMouse]

White power!

 

[ElKarlo]

I've heard a lot of stories like this, usually about guys who train at the same gym as some low-level journeyman who maybe got a few fights in the UFC or whatever and then washed, and those guys just kill everybody in the gym and are total beasts.

Just shows you how good the top guys really are. These kinds of stories make me shake my head when I see some random Sherdogger talking shit on fighters outside the Top 10 and saying they suck and are shitty fighters or whatever.

Yeah, guy could handle me easily. But he didn't train with anyone who could push him. It's weird here how people stay at a gym forver, even when they're not going anythwhere. If I were the coach I'd make him go train somewhere else.

 

[IvanDrago2.0]

They don’t use ‘horsemeat’

 

[MirRocksFedor]

Another Japanese fighter lost in the UFC last night. She was undefeated before the match.

That's just another in a long line of fighters from the Land of the Rising Sun who are stars in their home country but struggle in the United States.

In the best of cases you get a fighter like Okami who comes into the UFC and does very well. Okami was a top contender for awhile.

But more often, you'll either get a fighter like Kawajiri or Gomi who wins a few and loses a few before heading back to Japan to try to reclaim lost success, or you'll get less fortunate examples like Kid Yamamoto or Urushitani, for whom a UFC win is as elusive as a prime Machida.

What's the deal? We're not talking about Japanese scrubs here. We're talking about guys who were on top in their own country.

Why does it seem like once they enter US airspace they lose all their superpowers?

Just like in WW2 they're only good if you don't have time to prep for em

 

[campbecc]

they didn't do that well in Pride either.

 

[Beta Wolf]

America’s got like 300 million people, Japan has like 10. Also, they’re shook to come here because of ww2 outcome.

 

[DRMZ]

Wrestling and genetics

 

[jeremyemilio]

Are you saying jetlag is the cause?

People from all over the world, including the United States, used to go to Japan and fight and do well.

Most Americans who fought in Japan and did well spent a lot of time in Japan. They often had homes there and lived and trained there.

That avenue is available to Japanese fighters as well, but very few seem to take it, probably because the pay just doesn't justify such a dramatic whole life adaptation. Okami is one of the few I can think of who has gone that route, somewhat, and as someone stated earlier he's had a fairly good career.

If you gamble on prize fighting at all, though, you know that a card in Japan or Australia or somewhere else on the other side of the world is a crapshoot. And if you've ever traveled to the other side of the world, whether for business or pleasure, you understand why.

 

[aokimasaru]

Japanese don't like to cut weight.

 

[mma_genius]

Another Japanese fighter lost in the UFC last night. She was undefeated before the match.

That's just another in a long line of fighters from the Land of the Rising Sun who are stars in their home country but struggle in the United States.

In the best of cases you get a fighter like Okami who comes into the UFC and does very well. Okami was a top contender for awhile.

But more often, you'll either get a fighter like Kawajiri or Gomi who wins a few and loses a few before heading back to Japan to try to reclaim lost success, or you'll get less fortunate examples like Kid Yamamoto or Urushitani, for whom a UFC win is as elusive as a prime Machida.

What's the deal? We're not talking about Japanese scrubs here. We're talking about guys who were on top in their own country.

Why does it seem like once they enter US airspace they lose all their superpowers?

Well, they don't generally cut weight like the rest of the fighters in the world do. Hell, they barely believe in weight classes.

Also, I doubt they are exposed to very much wrestling.

 

[mma_genius]

America’s got like 300 million people, Japan has like 10. Also, they’re shook to come here because of ww2 outcome.

Japan has 130 million people

 

[bigeastgi43]

Also most Japanese fighters are clean unlike everyone else

The Brazilian girl last night was clearly
On some serious tren/hgh and was slowly transforming into cyborg(voice started already)

If you just looked at the pshyical differences between the 2 girls
It was laughable

How do you know she wasn't clean?

 

[chubbman]

Because they have giant balls and fight clean at their natural weight class. Unlike most.

 

[Organic Damage]

they didn't do that well in Pride either.

For some reason this thread always comes up as though the Japanese ruled Pride with an iron fist or something.

What I want to know is, if you took the top western fighters over to Rizin, would the Japanese champs at those weight classes even be competitive? Obviously Gucci would, but then he was competitive over here.

 

[Yodsanan]

.... they're asian.... not typically the best athletes on the planet.

that's why run the show in kickboxing and are one of the great nations in boxing.