Do you think Max's lack of sparring has affected his performances?

[blaseblase]

He gave up hard sparring a few years ago but brought it back for the Gaethje fight. Do you think it impacted his losses to Volk? Even in his wins he's had a few performances where it looked like he was on the decline. The Arnold Allen fight stands out. The last Volk fight especially he just looked like he didn't have it anymore. Maybe there's a tradeoff. Health and longevity for not being as well prepared to go to war.

I have no idea, just throwing it out there because he looked as good as ever against Gaethje.

 

[Uber_Noober]

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

yes i do. i think sparring is one of the best ways to train for a fight there is besides actually getting into fights. there is no other way to sharpen your timing, reaction, and distance than sparring in my opinion.

i'm not saying he'd have beaten Volkanovski if he just sparred, i just think sparring is fundamentally the best way to train.

 

[achoo42]

I don't think so. People were calling his fight against Kattar one of the best performances in UFC history and that was well into his no spar period. Volkanovski was just on a different level.

Also consider the fact that 90% of fighter's wear and tear comes from the gym. Maybe his chin wouldn't have held up against Gaethje if he had been hard sparring the whole time.

 

[NoSmilez]

He is still sparring.

 

[CatchtheseHands]

It might have affected it a little but I don't think it was anything significant. I think it's more that Max is starting to hit his peak now.

 

[Safwan ibn Muattal]

No, Volk is simply a much better fighter than Max

 

[JustforBROCK]

No, and I think every fighter should do as little live sparring as possible.

 

[Vadimadi]

yes i do. i think sparring is one of the best ways to train for a fight there is besides actually getting into fights. there is no other way to sharpen your timing, reaction, and distance than sparring in my opinion.

i'm not saying he'd have beaten Volkanovski if he just sparred, i just think sparring is fundamentally the best way to train.

He still spars, but not hard, as in a full fight in the gym

 

[DalchaLungiambula]

No, he just fought a 35 year old Gaethje who is a can at this point, and styled on him.

 

[Hank Grill]

He was slurring pretty bad a few years ago he seems to be more articulate now so good for him he always brings it war holloway

 

[jooohnmatrix]

I thought max won some of those fights against volk so I’d say no.

 

[ipowerslapmywife]

I thought max won some of those fights against volk so I’d say no.

Ain’t no way lmao

 

[achoo42]

No, he just fought a 36 year old Gaethje who is a can at this point

Gaethje is a can despite knocking out the current title challenger a year ago?

 

[Paolo Delutis]

He gave up hard sparring a few years ago but brought it back for the Gaethje fight. Do you think it impacted his losses to Volk? Even in his wins he's had a few performances where it looked like he was on the decline. The Arnold Allen fight stands out. The last Volk fight especially he just looked like he didn't have it anymore. Maybe there's a tradeoff. Health and longevity for not being as well prepared to go to war.

I have no idea, just throwing it out there because he looked as good as ever against Gaethje.

No.. if anything he prolonged his career..

I think he represents a smarter way to train ...you should be mixing up different training techniques per opponent,..he needed to spar hard for gaithje to prepare for the war ahead...he didnt need that for a guy like Kattar

Going to the gym to train should be more then just getting into gym wars...that is how the art is cultivated vs being hampered

 

[RampageFaction]

He was slurring pretty bad a few years ago he seems to be more articulate now so good for him he always brings it war holloway

I do not think that is how that works. If you are to the point, where you’re slurring because of brain trauma… Giving up sparring is not going to magically improve your speech.

 

[AmonTobin]

Whatever he’s doing or not doing sure looked like it was a step in the right direction. The Rodriguez fight looked like a typical give and take Max performance, but the Allen fight I was happy to see him looking as good as ever. I did worry for him a few years back when he really seemed concussed in some interviews. Hard sparring probably shortens you shelf life but you'd think the best way to practice scrapping is probably scrapping.