Derrick Lewis: mma is easier than boxing

[A.S. Deep]

In theory, the sport of MMA is harder than boxing simply because it includes boxing and a load of other shit too. In reality though, the competition in boxing is just way greater with most top level fighters being groomed since toddlers. There are high quality amateur programs in many countries like Russia, GB, US, Cuba, etc, and only the best make it to pros. From there it's an uphill battle with many organisations each with 100's of talent and 1000's of gatekeepers It's probably one of the hardest sports to make it to the top actually.

Plus, having 1 loss in boxing is like a death sentence where as in MMA a guy can have a 50% winning record and still become champion lol.

Seriously, at times it feels like it's easier to get into the NFL then it is to become a world class boxer.

 

[Mr140]

Maia isn't a master of BJJ? Overeem isn't a master of kickboxing? Yoel Romero, Olympic silver medalist, isn't a master of wrestling?

Still not master of mix martial art as a craft though and that still stands. Most of those guys lost to people who just more well rounded in the cage not really greatest at anything really.

 

[jjresq]

Those fights dont mean anything. Both those fighters got booted from the Ufc while Lewis is in the top10 and headlining fight cards

 

[JRSD]

i dont think boxing is harder. its much harder to stay in mma undefeaded and make 50 fights than in boxing. in boxing u can make much much more fights not in mma. and u say boxing is harder ? come on.
and the transition from stand up to ground is much harder in fighting than the single dimension of boxing with the big gloves.

Boxers throw way more punches per round. If they wore anything smaller they would break their hands in one fight. Seems as if you’ve never been hit with an 8oz. glove...it’s not as “BIG” as you think. & There’s actually more to it than a “single dimension.”

 

[SuperiorHands]

Yes and no. What makes boxing hard is its something so specific so you have to be incredibly good at one tiny thing, and not everyone will have that.

MMA however if you cant box for shit, but you could have decent takedowns and GNP and still do fairly well if you gameplan. Or you could have great striking and a sprawl. The amount of options in MMA gives you the option to take the path of least resistance (sometimes) when in boxing if you're getting tuned up it just is what it is if you got nothing for the other guy in the hands department.

 

[Oscaraps]

i dont think boxing is harder. its much harder to stay in mma undefeaded and make 50 fights than in boxing. in boxing u can make much much more fights not in mma. and u say boxing is harder ? come on.
and the transition from stand up to ground is much harder in fighting than the single dimension of boxing with the big gloves.

Boxing is harder...it’s a sport that has evolved for hundred years. Mma is still relatively new, not shitting on any sport.

 

[Bend NvR Break]

It is

 

[Pakman]

Yea but if your worse in something you can make it up in another area not to mention not many MMA guys trained it as a sport there whole life. Boxing as a art and sport has been around for over 100 years most fighters train really young and go with big amateur programs before even going pro. Master a craft can be harder the being a jack of all trades and master of none which is MMA.

Ty. It seems as if people are too dumb to figure this out.

 

[MacGregor]

Would he say mma is easier than bjj?

 

[Fight Professor]

In theory MMA should be more difficult due to all the disciplines. In practice it is easier to become the jack of all trades rather than a high level expert at something.

 

[Marc A]

i dont think boxing is harder. its much harder to stay in mma undefeaded and make 50 fights than in boxing. in boxing u can make much much more fights not in mma. and u say boxing is harder ? come on.
and the transition from stand up to ground is much harder in fighting than the single dimension of boxing with the big gloves.

Thank you for sharing your vast knowledge, when is your next ufc fight?

 

[Marc A]

Er, no.

In boxing, there's different styles, techniques, and ways of fighting, but it's still boxing. MMA is boxing, wrestling, BJJ, TKD, Muay Thai, various forms of karate, judo, and more. You have fighters from around the world with unique styles and abilities completely different from other opponents you've faced. One fight you could face a wrestle-boxer, the next you could face a Demian Maia-style BJJ fighter, the next you face a kickboxer. You have to train for those styles, learn enough to be able to feel comfortable facing them, and then apply your strengths over theirs to get the win.

I'm not trying to insult boxing here, but MMA is a far more complex sport and as a result it's more difficult. Period. Floyd never had to learn to kick or stuff a TD. That's the kind of thing you learn from the get-go in MMA.

You are not insulting anyone , it just shows your lack of knowledge at high level competition vs theory

In theory sure but in high level competition the pure sport is usually harder

Be it BOXING, BJJ . Thai Boxing etc

 

[Fungoose]

Those fights dont mean anything. Both those fighters got booted from the Ufc while Lewis is in the top10 and headlining fight cards

If Mitrionne and Lewis rematched tomorrow do you feel Lewis would beat him? Getting “booted” from the UFC doesn’t mean you are worse than the guys who are still signed to the promotion.

 

[wigglestick]

Thats almost like saying checkers is harder then chess

 

[IvanDrago2.0]

Derrick Lewis on UFC Unfiltered podcast says he chose mma over boxing because mma is easier.

He believes the grappling aspect gives "resting" phases not allowed in boxing. So one does not need to train as hard as boxers do.

Do you believe he is on to something?

He sucks at both so his opinion doesn’t really matter

 

[maxi diablo]

The most natural way of fighting is punching. If you discover at a young age that you are good at boxing than of course you're going to pick boxing over MMA. I've also noticed that people respect boxers more than MMA fighters.

 

[Apollo33]

You are not insulting anyone , it just shows your lack of knowledge at high level competition vs theory

In theory sure but in high level competition the pure sport is usually harder

Be it BOXING, BJJ . Thai Boxing etc

You are simplifying what is considered difficult or hard when difficulty itself is subjective. Some sports have very high variance and less restrictive rules, while other have very narrow rules that only allows people to focus on a few actions.

I would argue Boxing is somewhere in between, it's not like something very restrictive like track and field or weight lifting. but it's also not a free for all.

MMA is on the other side of spectrum, there is essentially no rules, you have an objective of defeating your opponent, how you get to that objective is up to you.

Some people simply thrive more in more open environments that allows for high variance and creativity, while others likes to fine tune 1 or 2 precise movements.

By your logic something like a Javalin throw, or weightlifting would be more difficult than boxing because it is even more "pure" and it's all about perfecting 1-2 movements over and over again.

 

[azerty]

i'd say they're the same but it's obviously easier to be succesfull in mma than boxing because there is less competition

 

[pride_is_back]

What an idiot.

Like Stipe won't beat Joshua...

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

"Wrestling is easier" says fatass who can't wrestle.

More news at 11