A-Level Athlete Anders.

[ThEiCeMaN6791]

By Sherdog logic shouldn’t he have thrown old man Machida around like a rag doll and mauled him within the first minute?

 

[VVarhead]

Football translates so well into MMA, holy cow at all this explosiveness.

 

[BigMuffler]

A man who can make 185 can never be an A level athlete.

(j/k)

 

[ThEiCeMaN6791]

A man who can make 185 can never be an A level athlete.

(j/k)

Just keep moving those goal posts.

 

[Hairrow]

I guess it goes to show that it takes more than athleticism.

 

[BigMuffler]

Just keep moving those goal posts.

J/k means just kidding.

Although Anders didn't really play top level football, but I don't believe in A level athletes either. Especially walking noodle NBA guys being some superhuman beings lol

 

[josh345]

Lol! What is an A level athlete anymore on here. On another note, Machida looked just as fresh in the 5th round as he did in the first round. I was impressed. Liked the orthodox stance body kick he was using.

 

[ThEiCeMaN6791]

J/k means just kidding.

Although Anders didn't really play top level football, but I don't believe in A level athletes either. Especially walking noodle NBA guys being some superhuman beings lol

Sorry the JK showed up as weird symbols on my end.

 

[ThEiCeMaN6791]

I guess it goes to show that it takes more than athleticism.

I think we are underrating how athletic Machida is. He looked just as strong in the clinch and just as fast.

 

[Lifeform]

Fight was super close, i think that in the USA Anders could have won it

 

[xyzxyz94]

He started training at 24. Too old to pick up so many different skills.

 

[rjmbrd]

By Sherdog logic shouldn’t he have thrown old man Machida around like a rag doll and mauled him within the first minute?

You realize the guys who actually play in the NFL are the elite athletes, not the guys who wash out, right?

Anders went undrafted, signed as a free agent but never played. He think kicked around Canadian football and the arena circuit before landing in MMA as a last resort.

The reason we don't get elite athletes of that size in MMA is the risk -vs- reward is so bad considering the starting pay, they literally need to exhaust their options before taking up fighting.

 

[A.S. Deep]

Machida, a striker, outgrappled a younger, stronger, more athletic Anders for the entire fight. Even when he was taken down he easily stood back up. Imagine a younger Machida versus current Anders. Imagine a younger Machida who had access to American football S&C versus current Anders. It'd be a worse mismatch than the Shevchenko fight.

 

[Squintz]

Lol! What is an A level athlete anymore on here. On another note, Machida looked just as fresh in the 5th round as he did in the first round. I was impressed. Liked the orthodox stance body kick he was using.

Been a Machida fan since day 1 but how can he NOT look fresh when he didn’t do anything the whole fight?

He should’ve retired like 4 years ago. The speed, instincts, reflexes, timing, chin. It’s all gone. Prime time ended a long time ago.

As for Ya boi... he can’t be taken seriously as a MW prospect. I hated the idea of Anders making a name off of Machida which he easily should’ve been able to do yet somehow he looked just as bad if not worse than a guy that’s about to turn 40 in a few months.

 

[Universal Kombat]

I think we are underrating how athletic Machida is. He looked just as strong in the clinch and just as fast.

I think people give athletes a super human ability that just isnt there. It seems any inner city kid who focuses on American sports from youth instead of becoming a lawyer is in peoples minds an "A level athlete"

I'm positive that there's hundreds and thousands of white collar guys who would have been "A level athletes" had they never had the opportunities they did towards education, and focused on sports instead.

 

[DLX]

Idk, Anders is clearly a ridiculous athlete. All you gotta do is look at him. I think it speaks more to Machidas apparent athleticism.

According to Sherdog, the best fighters aren't in the UFC, but in NFL/NBA. That, in turn, also means by the Sean McCorkle property of Athleticism Arithmetic, whoever beats the said fighter who transitioned from these sports would dominate the sport they came from.

For ex, Whoever beats Greg Hardy should be getting calls from the NFL quickly, because they're most likely a hall of fame pass rusher.

 

[ThEiCeMaN6791]

You realize the guys who actually play in the NFL are the elite athletes, not the guys who wash out, right?

Anders went undrafted, signed as a free agent but never played. He think kicked around Canadian football and the arena circuit before landing in MMA as a last resort.

The reason we don't get elite athletes of that size in MMA is the risk -vs- reward is so bad considering the starting pay, they literally need to exhaust their options before taking up fighting.

Did it ever cross your mind that the difference between guys who make it in the NFL is skill, not athleticism.

 

[Hairrow]

There have been some fighters with little athletic ability to speak of (at elite levels), but their grit and will carried them. I think in this profession athleticism is only going to carry you so far.

 

[Squintz]

You realize the guys who actually play in the NFL are the elite athletes, not the guys who wash out, right?

I’ll take what are skills for $500, Alex.

 

[Franc Mittelo]

Anders should have finished that fight in the first round. It was there for him. He showed too much respect, and fought himself into a split decision loss.

However, according to Wikipedia, Anders had his first pro-fight in 2015, and in less than three years, he was good enough to step up to a former UFC champion with significantly more experience, and make it a split decision fight.

It is so obvious that the current MMA fighters are not the best athletes mother Earth has to offer. Machida should have made Anders look like he had a long way to go.

How can a guy who has his first pro-fight in August 2015, be good enough for a former champion with years of fight experience at the highest level?

The so called GOATs of today are simply not that good. They are good for our times, but if the sport continues to improve, their achievements will be dwarfed by the future GOATs.