Are we too obsessed about fighters not being "A" level athletes?

"A level athlete" belongs right along side of "pound for pound" rankings. Both are stupid, and irrelevant.
 
Being a great ahtlete doesnt mean you are,or will be, a great fighter. A great athlete may go to sleep as soon as he gets touched with the jab. Gutting it out in a basketball game is not the same as gutting it out when your on your back and someone is bashing you to hell. It takes something else then. Some people are born fighters and more often than not they will have the advantage over the gifted athlete. Of course there are exceptions,but that is what they are,exceptions.
 
In my opinion people think to much about physicality in martial arts. Mental toughness, gameplan, skills are much more important than genes, speed, strength and all other shitty traits. Look at Gilbert, Diaz bros and something like 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 other fighters.
 
WhiteMousse said:
Anyone who talks about "A Level Athletes" should be killed. They should have their lower lip stapled to their forehead and then have a sneeze induced.
Click to expand...

OK, as should anyone denying that there are varying levels of athleticism in or species!

If A,B,C,D is too complicated, try 1,2,3,4!
 
What I don't get is how people talk about athletes from the NFL and NBA being able to be top MMA with minimal training but Boxers can't become top MMA fighters with years of training. Don't get the logic with some posters here. None of these A-level athletes have tried to make it in Boxing despite the potential for big paydays so that says something.
 
HHJ said:
Being a great ahtlete doesnt mean you are,or will be, a great fighter. A great athlete may go to sleep as soon as he gets touched with the jab. Gutting it out in a basketball game is not the same as gutting it out when your on your back and someone is bashing you to hell. It takes something else then. Some people are born fighters and more often than not they will have the advantage over the gifted athlete. Of course there are exceptions,but that is what they are,exceptions.
Click to expand...

I am not disagreeing with you entirely, and of course there will be top level athletes that do not react well to being hit, and not succeed in MMA. It is ludicrous (IMO) that it is the rule that they cannot.

This is the entire reason to "wonder". Again I stress it is ONLY the HW and possibly LHW male weight classes we are talking about here.

I think (PED case aside) we have seen a high level athlete in the HW division that has the single worst reaction to being hit in the face that I have ever seen. He wound up winning the UFC HW championship with virtually ZERO MMA experience 100% on sheer athleticism.

Even if only 5% of the LARGE mainstream sport athletes can and 95% can't in the NFL alone (1,500 players) that would leave 75 players to add depth to the HW division in MMA. IMO, it is highly likely that one or more of these 75 WOULD win the UFC HW belt!
 
screaminleeman said:
I am not disagreeing with you entirely, and of course there will be top level athletes that do not react well to being hit, and not succeed in MMA. It is ludicrous (IMO) that it is the rule that they cannot.

This is the entire reason to "wonder". Again I stress it is ONLY the HW and possibly LHW male weight classes we are talking about here.

I think (PED case aside) we have seen a high level athlete in the HW division that has the single worst reaction to being hit in the face that I have ever seen. He wound up winning the UFC HW championship with virtually ZERO MMA experience 100% on sheer athleticism.

Even if only 5% of the LARGE mainstream sport athletes can and 95% can't in the NFL alone (1,500 players) that would leave 75 players to add depth to the HW division in MMA. IMO, it is highly likely that one or more of these 75 WOULD win the UFC HW belt!
Click to expand...

We are still talking about an athlete who was an NCAA champion. He did THAT largley with his athleticism too,but my point is he had been trained since he was a child to wrestle and competed at an elite level. Its not the same as just bringing in some NFL guys.
 
There are no A level athletes in MMA. Max level is B- and that's being generous. There are guys in the UFC who are solid Q level athletes
 
I'm not.
 
and to follow up on lesnar having shitty reaction to being hit,so long as he is as good at wrestling as he is,so long as he doesnt get knocked out,and can take someone down and control them,he doesnt need to be able to take hits well to win,as he has shown,but it will say alot about his consistent ability to win fights against elite level competition,and stylistically difficult opponents.
 
golfers make alot of money. they are a-level!

it's dumb. mma "fans" are the only ones who care. and assume a "real" athlete just picks whatever sport they want and dominates.
 
Someone88 said:
What I don't get is how people talk about athletes from the NFL and NBA being able to be top MMA with minimal training but Boxers can't become top MMA fighters with years of training. Don't get the logic with some posters here. None of these A-level athletes have tried to make it in Boxing despite the potential for big paydays so that says something.
Click to expand...

In boxing there is a much smaller margin for error. In MMA if you have shitty footwork,cant punch,cant take a punch,cant go three rounds...well...there are still other things you can do to win.
 
kflo said:
golfers make alot of money. they are a-level!

it's dumb. mma "fans" are the only ones who care. and assume a "real" athlete just picks whatever sport they want and dominates.
Click to expand...

I think most of it are applying it to barrier to entry which is still pretty laughable when it comes to MMA. It's incredibly more difficult to become a pro golfer on the PGA tour than it is to become a fighter in the UFC. It comes up often in the MMA pay discussion when comparing to other sports.
 
Because the sport is so young,and because alot of people who post here have very low expectations in life,they have a sort of inferiority complex about their own sport,and highlight whatever hypothetical negatives they can come up with as the story of the entire history of it.
 
screaminleeman said:
I am not disagreeing with you entirely, and of course there will be top level athletes that do not react well to being hit, and not succeed in MMA. It is ludicrous (IMO) that it is the rule that they cannot.

This is the entire reason to "wonder". Again I stress it is ONLY the HW and possibly LHW male weight classes we are talking about here.

I think (PED case aside) we have seen a high level athlete in the HW division that has the single worst reaction to being hit in the face that I have ever seen. He wound up winning the UFC HW championship with virtually ZERO MMA experience 100% on sheer athleticism.

Even if only 5% of the LARGE mainstream sport athletes can and 95% can't in the NFL alone (1,500 players) that would leave 75 players to add depth to the HW division in MMA. IMO, it is highly likely that one or more of these 75 WOULD win the UFC HW belt!
Click to expand...

then let them. the difference between many football players who succeed and fail is often size, in that they're not 300+ lbs compared to their counterparts. all those guys, top college players, who aren't the right size for the nfl, are free to come on in. all the basketball players not quite big enough for the nba. free to come in.

lesnar had TONS of relevant experience at a very high level. he was a great collegiate wrestler. and his reaction to getting hit is tremendously exaggerated. people post the cain gif as an example when that's not even a bad reaction to getting hit. that's a consequence of getting rocked, and fedor didn't look much different against fabio running across the cage. his reaction to getting hit is mostly from the one exchange with carwin.
 
"A" doesn't measure heart, there is no test for the in the combine. If you stripped this "A" level athletes down and put them in a difficult scenario that is often encountered in combat sports, how would they do? Think about Cam Newton, high "A" level athlete, but a little cry baby bitch when something doesn't go his way.
 
Oblivian said:
I think most of it are applying it to barrier to entry which is still pretty laughable when it comes to MMA. It's incredibly more difficult to become a pro golfer on the PGA tour than it is to become a fighter in the UFC. It comes up often in the MMA pay discussion when comparing to other sports.
Click to expand...

yes, it's hard to become a pga player because the barrier to entry is that you had to grow up playing golf on golf courses. that's the barrier in golf. not that you have to be a great athlete. most athletes don't grow up playing golf. do golf fans obsess about not having a level athletes?

people who think it's easy to become a top fighter have never stepped anywhere near a good fighter in a gym. gold medalist cejudo who has been training mma for years looked like an amateur against the very best.
 
Golfers and Bowlers are A level as it was stated earlier as well as all Team Sports are B level, hence inferior due to herd mentality and follower psychology.

Has something to do with stress hormones and alpha traits associated with hunting and dominance which is best associated in non team sports.

Race car drivers score above most NBA players but defensive positions in NFL score relatively higher.

Tennis players are above baseball players. Baseball has been best associated with gathering which is most identified as a female beta trait.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
1,236,567
Messages
55,427,849
Members
174,774
Latest member
Judoka_Noob

Share this page

Back
Top