12 Untrained Strongmen vs a Silverback Gorilla. Which side wins?

[DoomPatrol]

I think it'd be do-able if you could change the composition of the team. I'd want a couple of bodybuilders and Peter Aerts.

The bodybuilders would be used as sacrificial cannon-fodder.

I'm going by the theory that when an animal wants to kill something, they're usually pretty focused on the job and won't stop attacking their target until it stops moving.

This is where bodybuilders have some useful traits.

1. All their muscles would mean it'd take considerably longer for the gorilla to rip them apart than a regular skinny person.

2. They're used to situations where the adrenaline is pumping and their body is under extreme stress. If you give them tons of pre-workout supplements, hopefully that means they'll be able to stay conscious and moving long enough to provide a suitable distraction.

The second part of the plan pretty obvious. Once the gorilla is distracted eating the faces off the bodybuilders, Peter Aerts sneaks up on it and kicks it square in the head. Sure, a gorilla's skull is much thicker and tougher than a human's, but when Aerts connects it's way overkill to take out a person.

I back my claims up with scientific evidence. If a goat can knock out a bull, Aerts could definitely knock out a distracted gorilla.

That video is insane. Reminds me how important keeping that nice straight spine is.

 

[Alphaboy]

I m in no way downplaying the gorilla, but they have a limited amount of energy. It would be expending all of its "fight or flight" resources on the 12 strongmen.

It doesn't fight like our favorite MMA fighters and pace itself.

 

[Reyesnuthugr]

The gorilla doesn't need to expend hardly any energy to kill them. If you could lift two cars how hard to you think it would be to clumsily kill some guys 1/8 as strong as you and 20x more fragile?

 

[kurtwpg]

Strongmen via gameplan and teamwork.

 

[D Train]

Gorilla vs 12 game pits?

 

[Rex Kwon Do]

If the dudes weren't untrained, numbers would probably beat instinct. As it stands now, fear would most likely obliterate their resolve. Especially when biting and socket yanking is on the table.

Essentially I see it like this:

Speed + leverage - Restraint vs Numbers + Fear
​

With 12 trained men, you could form four three man formations. Surround the silverback, then as a ring stay out of arm's reach encroaching and receding as necessary. Each formation attacking in waves, one guy creates distraction while the other two strike from blindspots -- creating three points of immediate threat while maintaining the remaining nine points of stressful intimidation. Chip away until fatigue and damage set in.

It's going to look like a hate crime.

Marathon runners would prove superior to strongmen, as someone else mentioned.

This is very optimistic. A silverback is shockingly quick and agile. An enraged one is going to move a hell of a lot faster than 3 strongmen backpedaling can. The first time one of them tries this "encroach and recede" tactic, the gorilla will see this is a challenge and meet them head on. He will rip those 3 limb from limb, and the problem is that the other 9 are split into 3 groups and not terribly close to their now-bloodied and dying comrades. Such an inauspicious gambit will likely lead them to panic and abandon this strategy--probably for the better as it benefits the gorilla, since swarming it as one collective body is probably their best shot.

 

[Halge]

Marathon runners would prove superior to strongmen, as someone else mentioned.

Maybe, maybe not. OP states the fight will take place at very close quarters, where the gorilla is bound to get a hold of its opponents repeatedly. When it comes to fending off an angry gorilla, I'd rather be Big Z than Dennis Kimetto. People act like the strength difference between a strong human being and an average one would be inconsequential if faced with a silverback gorilla, but I simply doubt this. Compared to your average human being, strongmen are very, very much stronger and much more shock-absorbant.

Marathoners would have an endurance advantage over strongmen, but when there's twelve of them to alternate between, cardio might not even be that much of an issue.

 

[Iroh]

Marathon runners would be snapped like wishbones.

 

[kuromusha]

How about 20 body builders vs a gorilla w/ a gun?

 

[Fox by the Sea]

good lord i love threads like these.

 

[Frittata]

Where do you guys get that a gorila is invulnerable and invencible?

Ageing Farmer Kills Leopard With Bare Hands In Kenya
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Ageing_Farmer_Kills_Leopard_With_Bare_Hands_In_Kenya.html

Killed the leopard exactly like one p

 

[genecop]

Would it be possible if Ronda joined the strongmen...?

 

[Tyrannosaurus rex]

The gorilla doesn't need to expend hardly any energy to kill them. If you could lift two cars how hard to you think it would be to clumsily kill some guys 1/8 as strong as you and 20x more fragile?

Gorilla

 

[Chaos Spawn]

How about 20 body builders vs a gorilla w/ a gun?

Spoiler

i was there

 

[markulous]

Gorilla vs 12 game pits?

You'd only need one game pit. That gorilla is going to be wishing he could be facing the 12 untrained strongmen at that point, begging even.

 

[Reyesnuthugr]

Gorilla

 

[DaDamn]

The true answer died with the Romans. I’m sure this fight has already taking place.

 

[minute bull]

He will rip those 3 limb from limb, and the problem is that the other 9 are split into 3 groups and not terribly close to their now-bloodied and dying comrades. Such an inauspicious gambit will likely lead them to panic and abandon this strategy...

I think we're in agreement here.

since swarming it as one collective body is probably their best shot.

But not here. My strategy focuses on keep close distance, but distance is key. Of course someone is going to get caught, but with eleven other people intervening, there's a better chance of mitigating damage so long as everyone maintains the dance. Tire it out. Keep it guessing and off-balance. Pressure pressure pressure. The mentality of the gorilla starts with exerting displays of force; I think that strategy can be used against it.

Your strategy brings people into bite range and holding down a gorilla. Do these guys know their gable grip? How is that better, considering the holes you identified in mine?

Maybe, maybe not. OP states the fight will take place at very close quarters, where the gorilla is bound to get a hold of its opponents repeatedly. When it comes to fending off an angry gorilla, I'd rather be Big Z than Dennis Kimetto. People act like the strength difference between a strong human being and an average one would be inconsequential if faced with a silverback gorilla, but I simply doubt this. Compared to your average human being, strongmen are very, very much stronger and much more shock-absorbant.

Marathoners would have an endurance advantage over strongmen, but when there's twelve of them to alternate between, cardio might not even be that much of an issue.

Marathon runners would be snapped like wishbones.

Oh, I agree. I think any human being is going to get ripped to shreds, even the strongmen. I was thinking of the endurance exemplified by special forces operators, who are more like marathoners than strongmen.

 

[Iroh]

For all the people doubting the gorilla's cardio relative to the strongmen's, you gotta remember that strongmen are seriously overdeveloped in muscle mass and their cardio is nowhere near developed at a similar rate. While a gorilla is normally build like that and his normal physiology is probably way better adapted to provide his muscles with oxygen. Just look at the difference in chest/rib cage size, I'm betting it has some big ol' lungs.

Also, most strongmen have a good amount of injuries that they carry with them, in varying degrees. Which means that they are likely even less agile (than expected), and more likely to reinjure.

 

[chardog]

I remember hearing/reading a story of a man who saved a group of people from a bear. He killed the bear by shoving his arm down its throat and choking it to death. I'm not sure if it's true, though.

EDIT:

Definitely possible if one of the strongmen manage to bite the jugular vein. A few guys would have to sacrifice grabbing an arm while a few guys try to bite the neck. Jugular = Achilles heel of any animal, you're simply not going to knock out a gorilla no matter how hard you punch.

strongmen would have to be seriously prepped to beat this thing.