How much of JDS' success is because of his athleticisim?

Junior Dos Santos is one of the baddest men on the planet. He has KO's over great names including talented strikers, grapplers, wrestlers, and well rounded fighters.

But how much of his success is because of his amazing athleticism for a Heavyweight?

He is simultaneously one of the strongest and fastest fighters at HW, along with having great skill and technique.

If another fighter just as if not more athletic than JDS fought him, whether he be an equally dangerous striker or a great wrestler, do you see JDS struggling and potentially losing to the more athletic/equally athletic fighter?

 

JDS has ridiculous power, ridiculous chin and good boxing. That can take you a long way in the HW division.

 

those last 10 rounds with Cain have made him a shell of himself

 

the quite subjective "athleticism" is only so easily argued because it's so vague to be utterly meaningless. cain beat him with a wrestling based pressure and heavy hands. Stipe almost but not quite beat him with good boxing and tdd.

he's a top HW b/c he's good to great in pretty much every category. including 'athleticism'. whatever that means.

 

I wonder how much of Jon Jones's success is due to his long limbs.

 

He's big fast and skilled, his physical tools are a big part of his success though. I'm interested to see how his game evolves as the years go by.I hope he becomes a crafty veteran rather than an aged punching bag.

 

He is very quick for a man his size, he moves like a lighter guy. And obviously his chin is extremely good which will get you a long way at HW.

 

I'd say the one thing JDS could use more of is fight IQ.

 

Exactly. He always find a way to get cornered with his hands down.
He should fix it asap.

 

JDS, Jon Jones, Chris Weidman, Ronda Rousey, Conor McGregor all show that this "new breed" talk is total crap.

These people were all top fighters with just a few years of MMA training. If you have the physical gifts, you don't need to train much to be great. Fighting has always been, and will always be, mostly about physical tools.

If you have a guy like Bones, Conor, or The Chris, you can make him a top 5 fighter in one year of MMA training, if it's the right training.

 

jds has plenty of skills. Nice offensive footwork. he strings together punches in combinations. I agree that he is a great athlete though

 

Good question, I think Stipe was arguably more athletic but JDS had the more technical boxing......or was it he just had the better chin? I'll have to rewatch that fight now.