MMA is the only relevant sport. Endurance sports are the next closest, as MMA is an endurance sport. Hilarious that you're too dense to realize the arguments you're attempting to make contradict what you and others are trying to pass off as truth in order to save face for your favorite fighter that you've never met, who doesn't know you exist. Now you're claiming that you've done some "research", but all you did is recently google articles that you believe agree with what you're saying, and combat what I'm saying. Problem is, you're not intelligent or competent enough to understand what I'm saying, nor are you able to conceptualize the difference between the two. You still think that performance reviews are as good as science in regards to physical development and the deterioration of muscle and bone mass. It's not. One of the big arguments that another guy thinks helps his case is :
- The age of peak athletic performance depends upon the key functional element required of the successful competitor. In events where flexibility is paramount (for example, gymnastics and brief swimming events) the top competitors are commonly adolescents.
How do you think that applies here? You just kinda shot yourself in the keyboard there, buddy boy, didn't ya? These "arguments" you're trying to make, have already been made by other users (years ago) and were shot down then as well. The other guy thought that this exact statement meant gymnasts were in their physical prime. It doesn't. I'll cite some of the science I cited back then that shows you peak athletic performance does not equate to physical prime. Maybe you can try to comprehend how and why they are different? Doubtful, but give it a shot:
A study done by Robert Kail and John Cavanaugh and featured in the book,
Human Development: A Life-Span View, stated that men reach their physical peak between their late 20s and early 30s. These findings are further substantiated by a report found in the Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine and Science:
AGING AND EXERCISE (sportsci.org)
The
Human Development: A Life-Span View study concluded that by the time a man reaches their late 30s their physical strength, flexibility, and muscle mass begins to decline and will continue declining. However, you can combat this by participating in regular sporting and fitness activities which will allow you to maintain your peak for at least 20 years longer if you don’t have any debilitating injuries.
Here are some highlights from the Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine and Science that are most relevent:
- Young adulthood typically covers the period from 20-35 years of age, when both biological function and physical performance reach their peak. During young middle-age (35-45 years), physical activity usually wanes, with a 5-10 kg accumulation of body fat.
- Strength peaks around 25 years of age, plateaus through 35 or 40 years of age, and then shows an accelerating decline, with 25% loss of peak force by the age of 65 years.
- Muscle mass decreases, apparently with a selective loss in the cross-section if not the numbers of type II fibers. It is unclear whether there is a general hypotrophy of skeletal muscle, or a selective hypoplasia and degeneration of Type II fibers, associated with a loss of nerve terminal sprouting.
- There is a progressive decrease in the calcium content and a deterioration in the organic matrix of the bones with aging. However, the dividing line between normality and pathology is unclear, and it is also uncertain how far a decrease of habitual physical activity contributes to the age-related calcium loss.
- The calcium loss can begin as early as 30 years.
- Regular load-bearing exercise can halt and sometimes even reverse bone mineral loss through the eighth decade of life. Such a regimen is particularly effective when accompanied by a high calcium diet (1500 mg/day).
- The age of peak athletic performance depends upon the key functional element required of the successful competitor. In events where flexibility is paramount (for example, gymnastics and brief swimming events) the top competitors are commonly adolescents.
- Because of a longer plateauing of muscle strength, performance in anaerobic events declines less steeply, and in pursuits such as golf and equitation, where experience is paramount, the best competitors are aged 30-40 years.
- Caution is needed in drawing physiological inferences from athletic records, since the pool of potential competitors decreases with age.
Current MMA Champions by age - The average age of current UFC Champions is 33.55, the average age of Bellator Champions is 32.33, and the average age of all champions from both organizations combined is 33. I've been keeping track and updating this for roughly a year or so. You can see the updates and the failed argument of the other guy in that thread. I've also done every champion from every male division in UFC history, with links in the OP of that thread to each divisional thread, and you probably won't like the results. Just for shits and giggles, I'll link you the HW thread, but I'll make you click on it to see the average.
UFC Champions by age - HW
Do you think the people at the Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine and Science might know a thing or two about science, biology, and physiological development? Maybe a bit more than you do? Will you just concede and acknowledge that you were at the very least confused by what I was saying? More realistically, will you admit that you're just emotionally fueled by fanaticism and were talking about shit you didn't know about? This isn't me making shit up, boy, it's me trying to help you understand the difference. These aren't my theories, this is science vs event-based peak individual performance. It just so happens that MMA peak performance aligns almost perfectly with physiological science. Nobody is "past prime" at age 33. This is when their body is naturally at its highest level of physicality.
