Have we reached Peak MMA?

[fedja]

Scientists confirmed that people are getting less intelligent since '80s, around 2 iq points per decade....

Also you could argue that better fighters come from one specific background, and learn other aspects.... Its maybe better to be GREAT in one thing and good in others, than to be really good in everything...

I would always bet on great wrestler with natural feel for striking, even against a fighter that has been doing mma since he was a kid.

 

[Coconutwater]

Basically all sports evolve and continue to get better over time as athletes, technique, and training methods continue to improve. Any answer other than "future" to this question is ignorant to how the world works.

Gospel.

 

[Ronoc Rogergcm]

In terms of technique, athletes, or media. Some argue peak MMA was in the past (2005) with Fedor, Cro Cop, and Big Nog. Others argue MMA hit it’s peak now with Conor, and Ronda in terms of money. Or it is the future with the arrival of more A level athletes?

We are over the hill, MMA will never be as exciting

 

[ferrisjso]

Early 2010s, the largest MMA got before "money fights" and "champ champs" ruined everything.

 

[johnmangala]

2004-2011 was probably the golden era

Yeah that's the golden age. Maybe the arrival of more A level athletes coming in after pay is increased will usher in a new golden age in a few years.

 

[Dana's Moonface]

The 'best' ever MMA fighter hasn't likely been born yet

 

[Zarate]

The Klitchko Bro's ruined Heavyweight Boxing for a fucking Decade. Now Promoters / Managers are ruining HW Boxing by ducking and only caring about X-0-0 Stats.

Rico Verhoeven / Glory Promotion ruined Kick Boxing for so long now.

UFC / MMA is ruining himself with all this lack of (authentic) promotion and focusing on one or two Cashcows. Not a Fanboy but without McGregor MMA is going to be a niche Sport again without the Mainstream Casual Audience. The amount of pure Wrestlers will do the rest (Klitchko-Effect).

 

[moreorless87]

The Klitchko Bro's ruined Heavyweight Boxing for a fucking Decade. Now Promoters / Managers are ruining HW Boxing by ducking and only caring about X-0-0 Stats.

Rico Verhoeven / Glory Promotion ruined Kick Boxing for so long now.

UFC / MMA is ruining himself with all this lack of (authentic) promotion and focusing on one or two Cashcows. Not a Fanboy but without McGregor MMA is going to be a niche Sport again without the Mainstream Casual Audience. The amount of pure Wrestlers will do the rest (Klitchko-Effect).

To be fair to Glory their simply a much smaller promotion than K-1 were and don't have nearly as much money to spend.

The UFC has IMHO been underinvesting in MMA for over a decade, depending on talent other promoters brought though, all those years of massive profit margins have robbed the sport of a lot of its future,

 

[Iron Nick]

Evolving athleticism is the biggest factor for change. Most techniques you see have been in their respective arts for decades and even centuries.

Hm... i agree mostly, but i think there's still quite a way to go in terms of fighters skills. There's still divisions where fighters having glaring weaknesses in the fundamentals, like for example fighters who can't really wrestle, or who have bad striking.

 

[Iron Nick]

Also, the current athletes don't have the talent and skill to execute a lot of striking techniques. For example, in almost every fight, I see an opening for a spinning back kick i.e. Barboza vs Etim, and the athletes don't take it, because they don't have the skill and talent.

Hm, i know what you mean, but even with lots of training, not everyone will have the kicking accuracy and especially speed of Barboza. He's exceptionally explosive. That's mostly a good thing in MMA, but when grappling it can be a big disadvantage. Or when you fight a fighter who knows how to use his cardio, while knowing how to exhaust his opponents.
Plus it's a low percentage technique. It's hard to land; fundamentals are more important.

Also, the current rules are limiting the sport. For example, the favoritism towards takedowns is limiting striking to a few safer strikes like 1-2-punch-leg kick combos.

What exactly do you mean by the favoritism towards takedowns?