How does Jose Aldo have the best TDD in MMA history even though he never wrestled in HS or college?

[Ceez]

He's quick to react and see shit coming, that a pure raw natural ability

 

[Venom]

People who play soccer tend to have very fast and precise legs/feet.

I don't think Aldo plays soccer all that much, but his fast twitch fibers do the trick anyway.

 

[MMAandBOXINGfan]

yes hes worked hard for those skills but it does come a bit easier to some than it does others. some people are simply more natural and better athletes than others are. god

 

[James12345]

Soccer built legs.

There is nothing a pair of well developed soccer legs can't do.

I wish more soccer players fought MMA. Of course they never will because of the vast attendant pay cut. But soccer players have the perfect bodies for modern MMA.
Excellent cardio, low body fat, not too muscled but with fast twitch potential. Fearsome kicks of course, as Mike Goldberg astutely recognised.

 

[Th3Sav4ge]

one of the best mma fighters ever.

 

[613]

The most explosive hips and pivots in MMA helps

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

He is a legit freak athlete. He was amazing at everything during his title run. Would like to see him regain "the eye of the tiger" and make a run at getting the belt back.

 

[MMAandBOXINGfan]

 

[fightfan84]

Soccer built legs.

There is nothing a pair of well developed soccer legs can't do.

Man played soccer my whole life. Provincial team for 10 years. High level as it gets in Canada and I've always had Ethiopian style legs. Soccer legs is a myth my little baby bitch legs are proof

 

[Mixedfights]

Because he is just naturally talented at it.

 

[kevinramsdell]

Really?

showing me a judges scorecard is pointless. they get half of their decisions wrong anyway.

 

[tenniswhiz]

 

[Bubblun]

Correction: Aldo and Barao have the best takedown defense from the non wrestlers.

Taking down and holding down Chad Mendes is even harder.

 

[BLACKWOLF]

There's a lot of videos on YouTube that explain it, bloke works a lot with MMA specific drills, time and time again pivoting and applying head pressure to defend takedowns against high level wrestlers in the gym, also works a lot on scrambling up immediately.

 

[Loriquero]

Barão also had aweome TDD, Dudes in Nova União train wrestling with cuban wrestlers. Pederneiras knew Wrestling was the achilles heel of brazilian fighters and he called those cubans to Brazil, and those guys seem to know a thing or two about wrestling

 

[aichokyu]

same for GSP who took down wrestlers with ease in MMA

 

[glasshouses999]

Woodley's is higher

 

[glasshouses999]

Aldo, BJ, Cro Cop, Tibau, GSP, all fighters with great TDD that didn't have a backgroud in wrestling. Shows again that wrestling and mma wrestling are far from the same thing.

Tibau was a state champion in wrestling in Rio.

 

[Omega Man]

Good genes. He has a bunch of fast twitch muscle fiber. That and good technique.

 

[cevo]

It's actually better not to have a background in other martial arts.

Aldo started early and trained TDD specifically for MMA instead. Same with GSP. No need to burn yourself out reaching the top in 1 sport, and then spending lots of time transitioning to another. In the future the level in MMA will be so high that cross-over athletes (wrestling/jiujutsu/kickboxing->MMA) will be at a huge disadvantage.

If Aldo dedicated himself to wrestling instead he would probably be elite there too, so he has the talent for those types of movements.