CM Punk taught us an important lesson about fighting.

[TemDee]

That this sport requires a degree of athleticism mostly determined by genetics?

Top athletes always say that genetics have nothing to do with it, it's only hard work. But from what everyone says, Punk was one of the hardest workers at the gym, with no other obligations, and he wasn't even competent enough to defend himself.

I really don't consider this a loss for Punk. He went in, got paid, got to live his dream. It's a loss for his coaching staff, since it's now abundantly clear that a coaching staff cannot prepare a man, no matter how motivated, if they don't have a base level of athleticism.

Edit: I was curious given the discussion so I creeped the Roufussport instagram page. Every group practice picture didn't include Punk. Did he actually train hard? Did he train with the amateur guys, or did he just get one on one sessions with Duke?

 

[DS66]

Yup, it's the same at the elite levels of virtually any sport. You need to at least start with a base of good athleticism and coordination in order to cut it at the highest levels of the sport. MMA is no different in this regard.

 

[nightfx]

No one becomes top tier at anything through pure hard work, natural ability is real.

 

[LoopingRight]

Losing a fight and going 0-2 in front of a crowd on PPV isn't anybodies dream.

 

[AronaBeatsJones]

This is a rational take on the situation.

 

[TemDee]

No one becomes top tier at anything through pure hard work, natural ability is real.

I never believed in this, I always thought it was an excuse.

I think I was wrong.

 

[Jibsta69]

I remember people would always say Forrest Griffin is unathetlhic but was UFC champ yet hes probably still way athletic then the average Joe.

 

[accolyte1022]

Yup, it's the same at the elite levels of virtually any sport. You need to at least start with a base of good athleticism and coordination in order to cut it at the highest levels of the sport. MMA is no different in this regard.

I'd say MMA is towards the bottom of any sport/athleticism chart.

1. Soccer(football) Football(handegg) basketball
2.Hockey

???. some other stuff


29. MMA

EDIT: Apparently I pissed off a Canuck.

1. Hockey

Other stuff.

 

[kflo]

You can be more of an average athlete the more time you’ve put in. Brooks had neither the time or the athleticism. If he grew up doing bjj or boxing he would look different in the cage even with his poor athleticism.

 

[tatsuke]

I played hockey at the highest local levels my whole life. In my prime, I would have gotten equally embarrassed by the professionals in the NHL as CM Punk has by the UFC pros.

Imagine if I had only learned to skate a few years before?



Pro Tip: High level athletics aren't something you can get good at in a couple years, especially at 35+ years of age.

 

[podsox]

Darren elkin disagrees

 

[TemDee]

There are plenty of guys who find success in the UFC without crazy genetics.

He's just too old.

Mind boggling how someone with that much money and time could look so horrendous.

He started at 35. There are a lot of guys who started in their late 20s who made it to the top of the heap, maybe even some in their early 30s that I can't think of. Yoel didn't start striking until he was in his 30s.

 

[kflo]

I'd say MMA is towards the bottom of any sport/athleticism chart.

1. Soccer(football) Football(handegg) basketball
2.Hockey

???. some other stuff


29. MMA

Because most golfers are more athletic than gsp or yoel. Of course they are more athletic than most athletes.

 

[neandertal]

Its amazing that he has gotten this far.

 

[Turkleton]

the UFC and Punk have been selling y'all some wolf tickets, and you guys were eating them right up.

Nobody that works out on a regular basis has a body like CM Punk. There are countless guys that have a full time job and only train a few times a week and they still look better than that fool.

4 years of training at a high level gym with world class coaches and training partners and he can't even throw a punch and is tired after 2 minutes? c'mon, he hasn't been training shit and just wanted 1 last big payday before he disappears

 

[Terp]

Losing a fight and going 0-2 in front of a crowd on PPV isn't anybodies dream.

Yeah but at least he got a taste of what it is like to go three rounds in the UFC Octagon in front of a crowd. That in of itself is an achievement the majority of people won't see or feel.

 

[HereticBD]

Depends on the division, I'd say.

To some extent, you could get away with being a dad bod who isn't athletically gifted at HW, as long as you had some power and resilience. At least at an entry level in the UFC. I think you can be a solid C level HW in the UFC, fighting other lower tier UFC guys, and find moderate success.

The lower you go though in the divisions, I'd say the bar gets higher for sheer athleticism.

 

[West Linn]

People like to shit on MMA in comparison to other sports, but it's legit. If guys from UFC can beat the shit out of other people in other sports, that's really all you need to establish that it is a legitimate athletic sport on the same level as the other big sports.

 

[LoopingRight]

Yeah but at least he got a taste of what it is like to go three rounds in the UFC Octagon in front of a crowd. That in of itself is an achievement the majority of people won't see or feel.

I can agree with it being a unique experience, just not a dream come true.

 

[IGotAHugePeckah]

It's like any other mainstream sport: you can't wake up one morning at 37 years old and say "hey, I'm going to compete on the highest level of this sport I've never trained in my life". Just not going to happen.

Punk was lucky that sport he chose has serious freak show roots and he could get in and put on a side show act. But he got his ass thoroughly whipped last night by an 0-1 part-time fighter.