is it easier for smaller fighters to be skilled?

[McGangsta]

If so, how does p4p ranking really make sense? it favors skilled rfighters and smaller fighters are more likely to be skilled

 

[discrawg]

P4P rankings don't make sense. It is an inherently floored way to look at fighting.

 

[chunglii]

According to Joe Rogan, yes

 

[TheRassler]

It's like playing slap-boxing, except with punches.

 

[Primitivo]

 

[punky brewster]

Speed and balance generally favor small people.

Speed and balance aren't necessarily skills, but help greatly in honing ones skills.

 

[Grijswaarde]

Obviously smaller guys are faster and tend to have better cardio, so their focus can be more on reaction time and technique.

That doesn't really translate well to P4P imo (think P4P is BS anyway), but a fair measure would be: how dominant is a fighter in his own weight class. But that is also flawed since some weightclasses have way more fighters.

 

[Liquid Smoke]

At HW skills can be negated easier by a haymaker.

 

[Verace]

It mostly allows to have better balance, easier mobility(speed) and better stamina. it doesnt make you more skillful

being smaller has nothing to do with heart, judgment of distance, fight IQ, submission defense, etc...

 

[Liquid Smoke]

If fights were still open weight, the best "skill" would be weighing 265 lbs.

 

[MechMA]

Unless you've found a gym dedicated to a size range (alpha male is full of smaller guys for example), training with other people of different weight classes is a reason for this...

If you're fucking huge, there may be only one other guy in the gym who matches you physically... Everyone else you can resort to your strength/reach during sparring and such.

If you are really small, the only way you can hang in there is perfect technique.

 

[AceCooch]

When your smaller its hard to knock out other people, so it takes greater technique to score a ko. DJ has amazingly technique which is why he can tko people at 125lbs, however, a fighter llke Mark Hunt or Rumble can get away with sloppier hits..

I score PVP just based on the dominance of a champion... so imo, Jones and DJ are the top 2 right now, judging skill is impossible and pretty silly.

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

P4P rankings don't make sense. It is an inherently floored way to look at fighting.

Very true, agreed.

 

[Forever Young]

Not necessarily.

There are different skills amenable to different body types. Despite his best efforts, Matt Mitrione will never move quite like Dominick Cruz. At his weight and size, he is prohibited from bouncing in and out that effortlessly.

But, similarly, despite his best efforts, Cruz will never knock some dude out by sprawling on his head. In fighting, both of those skills can be used to win fights. There is no way of telling which will be more successful overall, therefore, we can't necessarily say either guy is relatively more skilled on the basis of being able to do something the other cannot.

The reason the heavyweights outside of the top ten or so in ranking are so much less skilled than their counterparts from 135-185 is because the talent pool is much shallower. These heavyweights get fewer fights, they have fewer sparring partners, and many of the fights and sparring rounds they do get are against fatboys with no athletic capability, where minimal skill can be more than enough to destroy a guy.

All this to say, the best heavyweights are just as skilled as their smaller counterparts, no doubt about it. Just with different skillsets. However, below the top ten (or so), the heavyweight talent pool becomes so shallow that many 205s and 185s would absolutely run roughshod over them, and the heavyweight fetishism has to be reigned in a little bit.

 

[Godzilla3232]

A smaller frame in general gives you better cardio, makes you less prone to injury, so in theory you can train harder, longer, faster, etc.

P4P is a dumb metric in every regard, not just this one. You can't change a fighters size without turning him into an entirely different fighter, so there's no basis for comparison.

 

[mmaday4day]

YES. Smaller guys are the best.

 

[Th3Sav4ge]

If fights were still open weight, the best "skill" would be weighing 265 lbs.

nah. the last couple hw champs weigh like 240.

 

[UkraineFreightTrain]

As a smaller martial artist, I'd have to say that it is easier to become more skilled (in general) compared to being a larger martial artist. For example, I can practice my high kicks all day whereas a heavyweight couldn't throw as many high kicks before fatigue setting in. My kicking technique would appear to be cleaner since I've had more repetions.

But as far as grappling/wrestling/BJJ it is a little more difficult since little guys have to mix it up with everyone generally and we do tend to get manhandled atleast initially where big guys don't have to worry about that.

 

[phatron]

If fights were still open weight, the best "skill" would be weighing 265 lbs.

Why 265 if open weight? Wouldn't 400 be better?

I use Fedor v everyone and Bob Sapps entire career to counter your statement.

 

[klnOmega]

If fights were still open weight, the best "skill" would be weighing 265 lbs.

Not true at all. Look at Heavyweight now. Very few good 265lb fighters.

220-240lb seems to be the sweet spot.