A Staggering Statistic about Age in MMA.

So all of what you threw out there you simply miss a few obvious things.
1. If you assume randy was juiced then so was everybody else so that still doesn't erase what he accomplished.
2. He lost to some but he was almost always the underdog and never backed away from a challenge.
3. He fought the best in his era and won 6 UFC titles in two divisions. He didn't win a belt and hide with it afraid to defend in case he lost like most of todays champions.
lol "so was everyone else"
I never said they weren't special guy. Half his fights were against washed up dudes. and many of the others ended with him beaten.
I said that an old guy was likely juiced to help explain why he could compete in high level MMA rather than on a cruise ship playing shuffleboard.
 
Weird not to include MW/LHW/HW fights.
 
Khabib beat the game. He got out at 32, which is 3 years earlier then the magic number, but remember he was fighting since he was kid, and had multiple knee surgeries. His millage and wear and tear was probably more of that of a 35 year old.

It sucks he had that knee injury after he beat Dos Anjos that basically set him back from fighting for a title for 3 years.


He has 13 ufc fights


Charles is the same age and has like 40
 
I feel the lower the weight classes get the more pronoced the age difference becomes.
 
That is not surprising at all, age and damage is always something that i consider when betting on fights. Especially going down the weight classes.
 
Then there is DJ at 36

Yep. I was saying that for a while now in regards to the usman and valentina fights. Now it has me worried for Volk, too.
Same. Yair is very dangerous. Hope he gets it done. Losing his title to Yair after putting on some of the best performances would be very tragic. He still needs to get that second belt!
 
I just heard Luke Thomas claim that there's been 30 times in UFC history where a fighter age 35 or older at 170lbs or lower, so from Welterweight to Flyweight fought in a title bout and do you know what the win/loss record is for them apparently? 2 out of 30, that's right, they lost 28 out of 30 times. I think MMA fans don't understand what a fighters prime is or how significant age is. I hear so often "he's only 36" or that a 30 year old is "young" with "plenty of time", no guys, not really.

So here's a fun fact to check. I haven't done the leg work to confirm it but it sounds right, when I compiled the data of every champions age when they won the title and lost the title and created averages...The highest average for the age of a champion when losing the title of any division was Heavyweight and it was roughly 34 years old. The claim that "the heavier weight divisions age slower" I wholeheartedly agree with but I think people fail to mention another huge driving factor why that is, it's because those divisions are incredibly shallow compared to 170lbs and lower.

Credit to Alexander Volkara France of Twitter.


HWs May age slower, but they don't usually hold onto the belt. Stipe with 3 defenses as a record.

Shallow division, sometimes. Dangerous division due to power, probably always.
 
I just heard Luke Thomas claim that there's been 30 times in UFC history where a fighter age 35 or older at 170lbs or lower, so from Welterweight to Flyweight fought in a title bout and do you know what the win/loss record is for them apparently? 2 out of 30, that's right, they lost 28 out of 30 times. I think MMA fans don't understand what a fighters prime is or how significant age is. I hear so often "he's only 36" or that a 30 year old is "young" with "plenty of time", no guys, not really.

So here's a fun fact to check. I haven't done the leg work to confirm it but it sounds right, when I compiled the data of every champions age when they won the title and lost the title and created averages...The highest average for the age of a champion when losing the title of any division was Heavyweight and it was roughly 34 years old. The claim that "the heavier weight divisions age slower" I wholeheartedly agree with but I think people fail to mention another huge driving factor why that is, it's because those divisions are incredibly shallow compared to 170lbs and lower.

Credit to Alexander Volkara France of Twitter.


This is a young man’s sport.
 
I'd say physical drop off often BEGINS to hit well before 35, I think it tends to hit HARD around 35, there's a difference between slight decline, visible decline and literally dropping off. I also think fighters hit the beginning of their primes earlier than people think, you know a lot of guys are in their primes or could win a title a couple years before they even get that chance...Fighters are often at their best during that climb though.

Physical drop starts a lot earlier than drop in performance, because better technique, fight IQ, cardio management, etc. offsets the drop in pure physical abilities.
 
That is all professional sports. Most people do not play professionally past the age of 30. Baseball is the notable exception. The average football career is 3-4 years, which means most last a season or two to make up for Tom Brady.

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Yes that first sentence needs to be written better. I agree though- speed is the first thing to go- power being the last, and the lighter divisions thrive on speed.
 
lol "so was everyone else"
I never said they weren't special guy. Half his fights were against washed up dudes. and many of the others ended with him beaten.
I said that an old guy was likely juiced to help explain why he could compete in high level MMA rather than on a cruise ship playing shuffleboard.
1. Your implication was he was able to compete despite his age because he was juiced yet if you are assuming he was so was his competition. Nice pivot where you showed your ignorance.
2. "Half his fights were washed up dudes" Randy was born June 22, 1963.
Tony Halme was 5 months older, Mo Smith was 2 years older. Those are his first and 3rd opponents. None of the other 28 opponents were older and the vast majority were 10 plus years younger so how the Fnck are they washed up but he isn't? Just admit you read about his fights rather than watched any of them. You are talking out of your ass.
 
1. Your implication was he was able to compete despite his age because he was juiced yet if you are assuming he was so was his competition. Nice pivot where you showed your ignorance.
2. "Half his fights were washed up dudes" Randy was born June 22, 1963.
Tony Halme was 5 months older, Mo Smith was 2 years older. Those are his first and 3rd opponents. None of the other 28 opponents were older and the vast majority were 10 plus years younger so how the Fnck are they washed up but he isn't? Just admit you read about his fights rather than watched any of them. You are talking out of your ass.
Yeah bro I totally didn’t watch him fight Coleman or Tony in all their youthful glory lmao
Get help bud.
 
Yeah bro I totally didn’t watch him fight Coleman or Tony in all their youthful glory lmao
Get help bud.
They were both still younger then Randy and Coleman was 100% juiced to the gills where you say Randy might have or probably. Seriously you are an idiot. Also are you saying Tony Halme wasn't in his youth or did you mean James Toney.
 
I just heard Luke Thomas claim that there's been 30 times in UFC history where a fighter age 35 or older at 170lbs or lower, so from Welterweight to Flyweight fought in a title bout and do you know what the win/loss record is for them apparently? 2 out of 30, that's right, they lost 28 out of 30 times. I think MMA fans don't understand what a fighters prime is or how significant age is. I hear so often "he's only 36" or that a 30 year old is "young" with "plenty of time", no guys, not really.

So here's a fun fact to check. I haven't done the leg work to confirm it but it sounds right, when I compiled the data of every champions age when they won the title and lost the title and created averages...The highest average for the age of a champion when losing the title of any division was Heavyweight and it was roughly 34 years old. The claim that "the heavier weight divisions age slower" I wholeheartedly agree with but I think people fail to mention another huge driving factor why that is, it's because those divisions are incredibly shallow compared to 170lbs and lower.

Credit to Alexander Volkara France of Twitter.


A lot more data can be gathered around this finding. When did the fighter start? Whats the record currently looking like? How much money they making? More factors could playu a role in these losses.

But all in all i wounldnt be surprised if its because they just arent marketable and are wink wink nudge nudged into losing.
 
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