Best athlete to fight in the UFC?

[Kenny Powerth]

Dillashaw and mighty mouse[/QUOTE

 

[ramair455]

Why is it unfair? Those PRs were accomplished between ages 22-26 and I'm comparing them with NFL players' college track performances at ages 21-22.

He obviously received more specialized training but that only accounts for so much... either way he is in the same athletic ballpark as all those guys in their best events. Eaton competes at that level in over ten different events.

And having said all that... there is no way that I think he beats Whittaker or Romero at 185 even with many many years of MMA training. That's my point. There's no such thing as a universal A-level athlete. That is just some dumbass broscience.

I wont argue with him being in the same Athletic ballpark as some of the best NFL players, but per capita...the NFL is the best sport to find pure athleticism.

 

[StrikerKing]

210 is small compared to 280. In the context of a fight, it matters a lot.

There is a reason Romero nearly kills himself trying to cut down to 185.

I agree with that, for sure. I was only pointing out that for someone to be considered extremely athletic encompasses more than being a giant 300lber.

 

[BobbyHillComedian]

I wont argue with him being in the same Athletic ballpark as some of the best NFL players, but per capita...the NFL is the best sport to find pure athleticism.

It's a tough comparison because football positions are so specialized. You can be a successful football player being more athletically one-dimemsional. If you are extremely fast or strong but that's all, there's a place for you in the NFL. Combat sports imo require a more balanced athleticism, which was why I picked a decathalete for my example... but ppl needed to have it framed in terms of NFL athleticism levels because that's what they're familiar with, so I tried to translate those results into NFL players who have posted comparable results

 

[ramair455]

It's a tough comparison because football positions are so specialized. You can be a successful football player being more athletically one-dimemsional. If you are extremely fast or strong but that's all, there's a place for you in the NFL. Combat sports imo require a more balanced athleticism.

I agree with that. I see the big X factor when talking about pro athletes entering combats sports is "are that fighters" and how do they react to getting hit in the face. Over the years I have seen many NFL players attempt boxing and fail.

 

[TRYHARD 2001]

Hardy is.....Lesnar had even better combine results.

• Greg Hardy weighed 281 lbs, recorded a 4.87 on the 40 yard dash, 21 reps on the 225lb bench press, 35" vertical jump, and a 9' 9" broad jump.
• Brock Lesnar weighed 283 lbs, recorded a 4.65 on the 40 yard dash, 30 reps on the 225lb bench press, 35" vertical jump, and a 10' broad jump.

Lesnar never entered the NFL Combine. That's some fake news that's been circulating on here for nigh on a decade now.

 

[BobbyHillComedian]

I agree with that. I see the big X factor when talking about pro athletes entering combats sports is "are that fighters" and how do they react to getting hit in the face. Over the years I have seen many NFL players attempt boxing and fail.

That is also something I was thinking about. Does a guy have natural aggression? You can't just teach someone to enjoy fighting.

Greg Hardy's success so far isn't due to some nfl A-level athleticism or anything... it's due to him having at least good athleticism combined with being a fucking savage. He looks like he enjoys fighting... that's the main thing imo

 

[StrikerKing]

everyone knows that most of the best athletes go where there's the most money. Theres a reason why HW boxing isn't so deep anymore.

at least pick someone from boxing, nfl or nba from lmao.

I'll agree that athletes chase the money, but I don't agree with anything else you said, particularly when it comes to international sports. The talent pool of NFL and NBA essentially only applies to American college kids. Everywhere outside of the U.S. doesn't give a shit about playing in those leagues, and they rarely scout/recruit internationally.

If we are talking pure athletic ability, I think @BobbyHillComedian is right on the money. NFL and NBA athletes are great for sure, but they will never surpass Olympic track and field athletes. This is true mainly for 2 reasons. 1) Track and field really is a test of physical ability and has nothing to do with learning the tricks and trades of a particular sport and 2) the pool level is MUCH greater for olympic athletes. While NFL/NBA has maybe tens of thousands of young college athletes, Olympians can come from anywhere in the world, and essentially has a talent pool of hundreds of millions.

 

[ramair455]

That is also something I was thinking about. Does a guy have natural aggression? You can't just teach someone to enjoy fighting.

Greg Hardy's success so far isn't due to some nfl A-level athleticism or anything... it's due to him having at least good athleticism combined with being a fucking savage. He looks like he enjoys fighting... that's the main thing imo

Exactly - you need that controlled aggression like a Ray Lewis ,Mike Singletary or Lawrence Taylor lol

 

[Sam's UFC title reign]

So lets ignore Olympians, and world champs and crown Greg Hardy the best Athlete in MMA. Lets ignore DC, Yoel, Hendo, Cejudo, etc. Come on guys. I though we were over this

 

[rearnakedchoke]

Gsp

 

[propain14]

The "modern-day Bo Jackson," of course (according to Brock at least).

 

[randumo24]

The answer is Brock Lesnar. The guy was able to win the HW title in the modern era based mostly on his athleticism, and don't discount the fact that he didn't even join the UFC until he was really at the end of his physical prime. The most athletic version of Brock was the one in his first fight that somehow managed to overwhelm Mir in the standup, despite obviously having only a 1+ of training in MMA and definitely no pro fights where any striking took place.

 

[BobbyHillComedian]

So lets ignore Olympians, and world champs and crown Greg Hardy the best Athlete in MMA. Lets ignore DC, Yoel, Hendo, Cejudo, etc. Come on guys. I though we were over this

I feel like a broken record but Matt Lindland is a silver medalist, other than Cejudo he is the most accomplished UFC Olympian along with Romero who also has a silver.

Feel like he always gets overlooked in these discussions

 

[El Fernas]

When considering raw athletic ability, why even consider smaller guys?

Not their fault to be smaller, thats why sports have weight classes.

 

[560ti]

This, running fast and jumping high does not equal a good mma athlete automatically. There are many other things involved that some of these guys would run circles around nfl and nba guys.

This.

Local gym that has Axs TV LFA talent (Fortis MMA) is literally full of guys that run sub 5 minute miles, deadlift 3x there bodyweight, have ungodly flexilbility/toughness, and train a high contact sport anywhere from 25 to 35 hours a week.

These are freaking regional guys and yet every single athletic trait they have is better than 99.9% of the world and there better overall athletes even some of the major professional sports (shertards would label these guys as "F" level athletes).

Those who don't think full time mma guys are good athletes have NEVER stepped into a real gym and seen what these guys actually do on a daily basis........

 

[CerebralKnievel]

Because they're retarded. A guy I know was one tenth of a second away from qualifying for Olympics, yet people here would probably call him a D-level athlete, being that he cannot catch a football.

People basically fellate imaginary NFL/NBA dick because they are out or shape beta pear-bod losers with no concept of how to be men.

 

[Brock-B-level-Athlete]

It's a tough comparison because football positions are so specialized. You can be a successful football player being more athletically one-dimemsional. If you are extremely fast or strong but that's all, there's a place for you in the NFL. Combat sports imo require a more balanced athleticism, which was why I picked a decathalete for my example... but ppl needed to have it framed in terms of NFL athleticism levels because that's what they're familiar with, so I tried to translate those results into NFL players who have posted comparable results

you know why HW boxing isnt as deep as it used to be?

Athleticism is like intelligence a powerful weapon. Brock lesnar showed what he can achieve with pure athleticism (yes! he even achieved everything in wrestling with pure athleticism).

The best athletes go where the most money is. If mma offers more money, the whole ladder will change.

This is the money era ... whether you like it or not.

i think soccer (i think it's already a top 5-8 sport) will change things in the USA.

I know it hurts, but money rules the wolrd bebe

 

[Brock-B-level-Athlete]

fuck man i cant edit my post gn8

 

[BobbyHillComedian]

you know why HW boxing isnt as deep as it used to be?

Athleticism is like intelligence a powerful weapon. Brock lesnar showed what he can achieve with pure athleticism (yes! he even achieved everything in wrestling with pure athleticism).

The best athletes go where the most money is. If mma offers more money, the whole ladder will change.

This is the money era ... whether you like it or not.

i think soccer (i think it's already a top 5-8 sport) will change things in the USA.

I know it hurts, but money rules the wolrd bebe

By your logic, no top athletes would want to play in the NFL.

People don't have some baseline level of "overall athleticism" and then make a conscious decision about what sport to pursue based on potential earnings... they have specific athletic skills that make them suited to one sport or another and they gravitate to what they are best at.