This is a question I ask myself quite often pertaining to fighters and especially prospects, when they're young like day 18-25 I think the potential to improve/change/adapt/become aware is there for sure, from around 24-30 I think it exists to some extent but not nearly as much as people like to believe or pretend that it does. After that 27-30 age range with some exceptions (like a Bo Nickal or Pereira who cross over late) I think fighters are largely finished products and can only really make slight improvements and adjustments to what they already are. Now please before I get a bunch of generic goofy as responses about how "it varies" and "there's exeptions" I clearly did not speak in absolutes because that's obvious and I didn't want to make it seem black and white.
That said, I think while the UFC has absolutely no precedent for skill, achievement and ability with who they sign relative to who they could be signing that eventually the growth of the sport will still catch up to the promotiob...that is to say, here's a lot more guys who have been competing amateur at 14-16 years old and in MMA gyms from a young age. Which I think will eventually lead to more and more stunted fighters getting exposed by guys who are so much more developed and comprehensive...it isn't magical mountain man Dagestani powers making a joke out of MMA with Khabib, Islam, Umar and Usman running through the deepest divisions but rather it's a bunch of talented guys who grew up in a massively strong region and had been competing since age 7-9 in various combat sports and began focusing on becoming world champions in MMA by that 15-16 year old mark under one of the best coaches in the world in one of the most talented regions. I say this because I see these guys consistently exploit fighters inabilities to improve and change. Development takes a lot of time, fighters need on average to start younger and compete more to reach ceilings before stagnation.
Some examples? Michael Chandler. You cannot convince me Chandler has improved in over a decade, now he's old and clearly regressed where back in the day he was more explosive and fast which he's always centered his game around to begin with. But his mediocre striking technique, limited shot selection, poor cardio and serious lack of mat grappling to pair with his actually decent wrestling is just wild...when he was young he coasted a lot off of speed, power and athleticism but those holes were still there and visible...pan 13 almost 14 years from the Eddie Alvarez I fight and there's been virtually no technical development and clear physical decline and shopwornness. Petr Yan is another guy, he is one of the more skilled fighters all around I've ever seen with gifted power and cardio but he's a slow starter and tends to give up the first 1-2 rounds which in 3-5 round fights you can't do that...it's not fucking boxing where you're going 6-12 rounds. Besides the slow starts, Yan has issues with finding movers due to his own lack of footwork...it's a big reason I think Omalley gave him trouble and why I don't think he can contender vs Umar, beyond that he has a typical flaw which can be a lack of urgency....this has been the case for years without much development.
To some extent I think MMA coaching is limited and young when it comes to developing fighters. You gotta get kids younger, they need to compete more in various ways, you need to have them cross training at different gyms...boxing gyms, kickboxing, Thailand in between camps, with wrestling teams, with Judo teams, at BJJ academies, at other MMA gyms etc. I think exposure to different kinds of styles, fighters, approaches, coaching, mentality, culture etc. allows for a greater capacity to learn, become aware of strengths/weaknesses, and understand better what it is you do, are most receptive to etc. A lot of guys have strengths but their game isnt developed in a way to impose it or fighters have weaknesses but they dont fight in a way to mitigate it. I think also fighters are fairly underdeveloped athletically, I've noticed for a lot of other sports that require athleticism it's a blend of plyometrics, heavy compounds and specialized explosive movements under forms of resistance. The cardio aspect I think is largely there, in my experience and in observation guys tend to run, do calisthenics, skip rope, run stairs, spar, roll etc etc. But the strength and conditioning for sport specific stuff is lacking.
I hear so often people say "he's 27, he's got tons of time" but I rarely notice these 27 year olds making Charles Oliveira type turnarounds...it's why Charles is so exceptional, that shit rarely happens. And I'd like to not fixate too much on flaws like if a guys massively injury prone or has a horrible chin and it gets exposed. I tend to believe there's a significant aspect of cardio abilities that's genetic but it's debatable. But I'm curious, how realistic is it for fighters to improve?
