If you are familiar enough with the sport, its easy to see mistakes fighters make from the outside. What you dont realize is that they could be totally aware of such deficiency and still not be able to change it. In fact the majority of competitors are kind of stuck with what they have skill wise. Stop saying Barboza needs to improve his hands, do you honestly think after his multiple year career he doesn't know this? His style and strengths are set in stone. He isnt some 20 year old dude who is going to change his game drastically. Kind of like AJ, he will never change the fact that he fades after the first round. Brian Ortega will never beat Max on the feet. It is what it is. Maia just sucks at striking and its never gonna change.
I find the premise of this thread dubious. Cain Velasquez was basically a wrestler when he entered the UFC but soon became an adept striker. Rafael Dos Anjos was an undistinguished fighter for years until he put it all together and became elite. Alistair Overeem was another middling figure until he changed his physique. Mike Pyle went on a tear on the down side of his career. Fighters can and do improve. Maybe some are complacent or stuck in a rut but there's no law that says they have to be.
St Pierre wasn't a highschool wrestler much less division one... but go out there and grapple with him...
Personally, I'd like to see Barboza go on to Glory open up on some fighters that won't try to smother him to a decision. Barboza has amazing talent that is not being utilized in the UFC.
Honestly unless he wants to fade into obscurity, Cody needs to pull a TJ and leave Team Alpha Male. I think if he went to American Top Team and focused on grappling and some wrestling he could really round out his game. It would make his striking even more effective.
Georges "The Anomaly" St Pierre This what I respect most about the guy. Maybe aliens gave him these powers
Just like anything else in life, it takes a lil something extra to get to the top. You can have all the work ethic in the world, but alot of the time there is a talent or skill gap that you'll face.
Werdum's striking has always been very decent even during days in Strikeforce. He made Overeem looks like amateurs in his striking department, maybe people just feared his ground game? very underrated heavyweight, he is indeed a very skilled heavyweight.
Counter example: Andrei Arlovski. Up until he started training at ATT after the Ngannou fight, he had bunch of bad habits that got him knocked out regularly. He didn't know how to circle out with footwork and always backed himself straight into the fence where he got flurried on and KO'd. Every fight was the same thing, he'd get hit a couple times, lose his composure, then get flattened while backing away in a straight line. After joining ATT, he fixed his footwork and learned to circle out from the fence. He became a lot more composed under pressure and stopped leaving his chin wide open with his hands down. He hasn't won all his fights but he hasn't been wobbled or knocked out in his last 6 fights despite getting hit with some heavy shots. If he had a better gas tank and threw a bit more he could be on a pretty good streak right now.
problem can be that when you've been taught Incorrectly for many years, especially during those initial formative years In your martial arts journey..Many habits become so deeply ingrained, our brains and neural pathways become conditioned towards this. As such It can be very difficult to undo. Which is why guys like Barboza, who came up In muay thai and TKD will struggle to improve his boxing. Same can be said for countless other muay thai, kickboxing and traditional martial arts practitioners. Unfortunately those systems typically teach boxing In an incorrect way. They'd need to have trained with a legitimate pro boxing coach alongside their martial arts / muay thai training I think what you're saying Is mostly true. There's a few exceptions though. There's a saying, perfect practice makes perfect. Fighters who are taught how to do things the correct way from the jump, along with having an open mind and don't allow their brains / pathways to become attuned towards certain ways of thinking and doing things.. These are people who don't become set In their ways and are able to continually evolve and change their styles throughout their careers. I'd say they're the exception, not the rule though.
