A+ Athletes making better fighters is a myth

[Pious Augustus]

MMA is filled with people who couldn’t compete in the initial sport they did. Deal with it.

that doesn't mean anything

 

[riitzni]

I'm very interested to hear your argument as to why he isn't/wasn't one.

Before taking into account his sport-specific skill and mental capacity, will, etc., he's unquestionably and elite physical specimen. IMO he's one of the greatest combinations of size, strength, quickness, agility, coordination and leaping ability that has ever existed in professional sport, perhaps the greatest.

I was going to argue but it's a troll level white belt poster. I hate Bron but calling him anything less than A++ is ludicrous.

 

[ejazahmednit]

most of these A level athletes cry and retire at a broken toe nail
MMA or any combat sports needs a different kind of drive, self harm for competition is not normal in humans, special training and mindset makes that possible
Sure if you are a good athelete with a combat mindset you'd do better than someone who is not but this combination is rare hence fighters like GSP, Romero, Barboza, Khabib are a rarity

 

[Phi-]

I believe there are A level athletes. Just not in the NFL, that's all marketing for fat american slobs.

 

[Mike K.O]

Marciano was A++ level athlete
His physical strength and endurance were uncomparable to most HW of his era. He was a HW champ only because of his physical atributes, not because he had skill. He won fights by never getting really tired and having power to put down a bull.
The Brockton Blockbuster would maul NFL players. Street or Ring

 

[ralek4grammy]

Thank you.

 

[ralek4grammy]

Of course it doesn't. And being a bigger, stronger person doesn't mean you'll win a fight either. Ask Emmanuel Yarborough.

But MMA proves that when skills become relatively close, size matters a lot and is often the definitive factor in a fight. See Mousasi vs MacDonald. Same is true of athleticism. Top tier athletes still need skills, but as the skill gap narrows, athleticism becomes key. An elite athlete is not better than a unathletic, skilled fighter. But a skilled athletic fighter will murder an unathletic, skilled fighter. Obviously people claiming LeBron would be champs in six months are trolling. It would take half a decade or so to acquire the requisite skills. But there's not much reason to doubt that a guy with LeBron's athleticism would dominate if he committed to MMA for several years.

There's nothing hard to understand about this, and it's true in any sport.

Agreed.

But you still left out other (somewhat) intangibles: reaction to being hit; heart. These, alone, will sometimes trump athleticism in otherwise evenly-matched opponents. When the better athlete quits and the better man bites down on his mouthguard and keeps swinging.

"Fatigue makes quitters of us all."

Recent events in my life have thought me that "digging deep" can be an almost surreal experience.

 

[empsim]

Many of the forum dont understand athleticism because theyve never played a sport or combat sport
Its very simple

better athlete with skilll > inferior athlete with skill

Thats it.
Two people with the same level of skill/ training, the one with more athleticism will win everytime

Yes, but the day only has 24 hours and the human body only has so much energy. Would Cain Velasquez be better with Lebron's physique? Sure, but it doesn't work that way.

You can't become as big, strong, and fast as possible while grinding wrestling & striking practice for hours a day.

And since we have weight classes in fighting, skill > athleticism

 

[Naterade]

If you took a current even mid tier NFL player in a ‘skill’ position or any defensive position (basically anyone on the field aside from QB/linemen) when they’re 14-18 and have them start training solely in MMA you end up with basically Jon Jones.

You’re talking about genetics that are on another level and they don’t ever get into fighting because the money is not comparable.

Greg Hardy has been playing football his whole life and only doing MMA very recently...not a accurate comparison at all. Still takes many years of specific training to become technically competent

 

[Histalian]

Jones is an A-level as is Khabib and GSP.

Don’t forget Henry Cejudo

 

[imarayda]

Of course being an A-level athlete would make you better at fighting. How is this even a question?

 

[tko222]

I partly dis agree with TS.
Athletism which required for MMA is simple.
1.Explosiveness(0-20m running time).
0-20m running time is the good assesment for explosiveness check.
2.Ability to push other person.
Core strength+base for wrestlling
3.Hand speed(with small weight )
If a person exceptionally good at above three in his young age without any prior training then could be considered as A level athlete for MMA.

 

[AtaTheCrow]

I'm going to rely on this heavily researched and accurate scientific chart.

we can work with that

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

Agreed.

But you still left out other (somewhat) intangibles: reaction to being hit; heart. These, alone, will sometimes trump athleticism in otherwise evenly-matched opponents. When the better athlete quits and the better man bites down on his mouthguard and keeps swinging.

"Fatigue makes quitters of us all."

Recent events in my life have thought me that "digging deep" can be an almost surreal experience.

Yeah, no doubt you are correct. Fighting has different intangibles than most other sports or athletic activities. Others here have cited it as well. Being fast doesn't mean you'll react well to being punched in the face.

As I see it, this is one of those debates that will never need because both sides have good points. The A level folks are right that other sports tend to have higher caliber athletes who could potentially excel at MMA. The A level is crap folks are right that fighting cannot be reduced to only athleticism.

 

[bigconan]

In his youth he worked out on homemade weightlifting equipment (later in his life, Marciano was also a client of Charles Atlas)[5] and used a stuffed mailbag that hung from a tree in his back yard as a heavy bag. He attended Brockton High School, where he played both baseball and football. However, he was cut from the school baseball team because he had joined a church league, violating a school rule forbidding players from joining other teams. He dropped out of school after finishing tenth grade.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Marciano

ath·lete
/ˈaTHˌlēt/
noun

1. a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise.

By definition, you are dead wrong. The word I actually used


ath·let·i·cism
/aTHˈledəsizəm/
noun

1. the physical qualities that are characteristic of athletes, such as strength, fitness, and agility.

Are you telling me Rocky showed no strength, fitness or agility? Or are you confused?


You think a girl is going to ever be as good the best males? Why not? The level of athleticism, not the techniques..

Dude, playing sports in high school, means nothing..many do..that is not unusual...he was not athletic...he hit hard...had a ton of endurance...and everything you mentioned, does not dispute that...all it shows, is he had imagination in creating things to workout with..I did that as well, in my martial arts days...I trained for hours per day...

And athletisism is not the reason males are physically superior to women...it all boils down to hormones...men have far greater levels of testosterone...far greater number of fast twitch muscle fibers...and much greater lung capacity, which allows greater endurance....

So, playing baseball and football in highschool for a couple of years, is anything but unusual...I knew tons of guys in my high school that did that...that means nothing...Just means they enjoyed sports...Again, it has nothing to do with fighting....you can suck in every single sport there is, but still be a great fighter...and you can be great in every single sport there is, but suck ass in fighting...do you get it now....young one...now go do your homework son....I hear your mommy calling.

 

[Taric]

Athleticism can go a long way if the other attributes are equal but you also have to have that strong mentality, that when you are in pain and your body wants to shut down but your mind fights through it!

Take a guy like Big Nog, how many fights didn’t he take beatings, which so many other fighters would succumb to and still came out victorious? That is evident of extreme will power and fighting spirit!

There is a vast difference between mma and sports where you can signal your coach to say that you need a Gatorade and to sit on the bench for a while to rest!

Linemen don't take breaks from plays. They play every down, assuming they're healthy
There are a lot of sports you can say the athletes don't need to be mentality strong but American football, the guys in the trenches, is definitely not one of them.

 

[chinarice]

Lebron James would fold with the first punch Black Beast landed on him.

Take your deluded wet dreams of A-level athletes and keep them in your bedrooms, losers.

Your level of athleticism does not close the gap to world champion status when your martial arts background consists of throwing a ball in a hoop.

 

[storeybuckle]

I don't think there has ever been what is truly considered an A-level athlete in MMA. Who?

It’s a fake term made by NFL/NBA fanboys.

So you will never truly get a real answer

 

[Khalabeeb Stiopic]

Fat no cardio football players are not a level athletes. You need a level mentality. If they had that they would all be fighting. Not for everyone

 

[MusterX]

It’s a fake term made by NFL/NBA fanboys.

So you will never truly get a real answer

There is a such thing as a super athlete. I'm not going to derail too much to prove it, but most of those that would be considered a super athlete or a class A athlete are not going to get punched and kicked in the face when they can play other sports, make more money, and not get beat up.