Are dynamism and perceived athleticism overrated?

[BigMuffler]

This was brought up in the Rose Namajunas vs Tecia Torres thread where Leto1776 noted that the poll was very lopsided towards Rose... despite Torres having won their first fight and having a better record. Now I'm not saying I know who will win or anything, but would you agree with the thought that maybe Rose's dynamic style has a lot to do with how heavily favored by much of Sherdog she is, when a more dynamic style and the perception of high athleticism that goes with it might not actually be that relevant in determining who is a better fighter? Some other examples -

Glover Teixeira vs OSP, the majority who posted about that fight beforehand seemed to favor OSP even though Glover (to me) has a clearly better, more well rounded skillset and of course a better record

Miesha Tate vs Sara McMann, the vast majority favored McMann even though Tate seemed to have a better skillset and definitely more accomplished

How Forrest is not viewed as that good a fighter by most even though he beat the more dynamic Rampage and Shogun, and was actually beating Rashad before he got finished

How Bisping was treated by many like a joke despite being a very proven fighter with good wins

How Alexis Davis is treated by many like a joke despite a solid resume and respectable skillset

How Weidman was constantly criticized for being 'slow' and 'basic' despite beating more dynamic fighters like Anderson, Vitor and Hall

There are no doubt countless other examples but I'm sure you get the gist of it. Fighters who are not perceived as dynamic and/or 'fast' seem to often get the short end of the stick around here.

Is a good portion of the MMA fanbase overly biased towards a dynamic style when judging the quality of a fighter?

 

[joeyjoejoe]

Of course.

 

[The lord of bones]

To an extent, being an athlete the level of Ronda & Holly doesn't automatically guarantee you the win, you have to have the work ethic to evolve your game, Miesha is a solid fighter, but she's just nowhere near the level of athlete of Ronda & Holly and that's why Ronda beat her with ease twice and Holly will likely beat her at 196. She refuses to evolve as a fighter.

 

[WSOFool]

One could argue that Weidman won because of his physical advantages in his matches...youth and strength

Also guys like Fedor, Randy, Chuck, Cormier etc...get plenty of love around here, not really seeing this bias you are talking about.

 

[Post Crisis]

People perceive well-roundedness as mediocrity.

 

[YesMySon]

being a great athelete is not overrated.

what is overrated is the per-concieved notion of what an athlete is supposed to look like.

 

[LouisBolanos]

If athleticism isn't winning you fights, it's because you don't have enough of it. True A level athlete that destroys everything in its natural habitat:

F-level human athlete who would get his arm snapped in half by LW chimps:

 

[YesMySon]

If athleticism isn't winning you fights, it's because you don't have enough of it. True A level athlete that destroys everything in its natural habitat:

F-level human athlete who would get his arm snapped in half by LW chimps:

untouchable.

whale c-level animal athelete AT BEST

 

[LouisBolanos]

untouchable.

whale c-level animal athelete AT BEST

A level elusiveness does not equal A level athleticism. Just ask Kalib Starnes.

 

[xP]

It definitely is overrated based on what i read from fans here exclusively. I think it comes from less appreciation for the more subtle technical aspects.

Remember when people used to say Eric Silva was a great striker and future champion?

There is a lot to say about how being explosive and dynamic are assets but they are far from everything you're going to need.

 

[sidecheckkick]

That's crazy the poll is lopsided for Rose. Goes to show it's more of a popularity contest than an actual breakdown of their skills. Rose loses a lot and I'm sure she will lose again to Torres who I see fighting for the belt by the end of the year. Rose has gotten a lot better though

 

[YesMySon]

A level elusiveness does not equal A level athleticism. Just ask Kalib Starnes.

guess again

 

[HaterSlayer]

Torres looks like the better athlete between the two. Rose seems to have a higher fight IQ and is more skilled.

 

[LouisBolanos]

guess again

-Weighs less than 300 lbs
-Jumps less than 6 feet in air
-Top speed in natural habitat < 25 mph

F level athlete

-Weighs 16000 lbs
-Jumps 15 feet out of water
-Top speed in natural habitat > 40 mph

A level athlete

 

[King Bastar]

We're impressed by big muscles.

 

[YesMySon]

-Weighs less than 300 lbs
-Jumps less than 6 feet in air
-Top speed in natural habitat < 25 mph

F level athlete

-Weighs 16000 lbs
-Jumps 15 feet out of water
-Top speed in natural habitat > 40 mph

A level athlete

fat, flabby, high vertical.

sorry, nothing new here. What is this the lineman combine?

flying > floating sorry lets see that whale keep that jumping up for longer than a minute.

 

[JayElectra]

One could argue that Weidman won because of his physical advantages in his matches...youth and strength

Also guys like Fedor, Randy, Chuck, Cormier etc...get plenty of love around here, not really seeing this bias you are talking about.

Both Fedor and Cormier were/are clearly two of the best athletes in their divisions. Chuck almost exclusively got by on his physical gifts, as well.

 

[BigMuffler]

One could argue that Weidman won because of his physical advantages in his matches...youth and strength

Also guys like Fedor, Randy, Chuck, Cormier etc...get plenty of love around here, not really seeing this bias you are talking about.

Fedor, Chuck and Cormier aren't dynamic or athletic? Er... we're not talking about looks here.

 

[LouisBolanos]

fat, flabby, high vertical.

sorry, nothing new here. What is this the lineman combine?

flying > floating sorry lets see that whale keep that jumping up for longer than a minute.

Nothing new? Show me a lineman who can put on 16000 lbs weights and jump 15 feet out of a bottomless pool without touching the ground, just with strength in his A level muscles.

 

[BigMuffler]

being a great athelete is not overrated.

what is overrated is the per-concieved notion of what an athlete is supposed to look like.

I'm talking more about how a dynamic style often leads to the perception of being a superior athlete than looks. Or maybe it's the opposite and not having a dynamic style leads people to think of a fighter as an inferior athlete.