Is there any science behind heavier fighters being competitive at an older age?

[TempleoftheDog]

Old man strength.

 

[mkt]

Is Mayweather the anomaly?

He also didn't have much competition, and ducked better fighters when they were in their primes. There's no way he would've held the belt that long if it were the 1980s and he had to face a steady stream of guys like Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns, prime Robert Duran, Aaron Pryor, etc.

With that said, Mayweather very defensive style certainly helped. If he'd been more of a brawler/slugger, he probably woud've taken too much damage in his early years to remain competitive that long.

 

[mkt]

Guys like Mayweather and Hopkins were so dominant and ahead of the competition that even after slowing down and getting older, their talent and experience compensated for their loss of speed/reflexes (but is has its limits).

They're very special athletes. We're yet to see that kind of exceptional athletes at HW in the UFC

In terms of just athleticism, I'd put Yoel Romero up there. He was never a UFC champ or highly skilled striker, but his chin, power and freakishly good reflexes for a guy in his late 30s and 40s allowed him to stay competitive much longer than most.

 

[L0ki]

HUGE shoutout to Jan.

He seemed to have cut a corner in his late 30's and is fighting better than when he was in all of his 20's and early 30's.

 

[octagonation]

No.. They only retain their power

 

[JarlSkuld]

More experience = more precision, more intelligent gameplan, and better judgement when to throw. All of these thing are amplified by a LHW/HW's ability to finish a fight with one strike.

Jarl

 

[GiganticMeat]

HUGE shoutout to Jan.
View attachment 1006486
He seemed to have cut a corner in his late 30's and is fighting better than when he was in all of his 20's and early 30's.

Shout-out to Cannonier too. Looked the best he ever has, endurance inclusive, in his last fight at 39.

 

[oldschoolmmafan]

He also didn't have much competition, and ducked better fighters when they were in their primes. There's no way he would've held the belt that long if it were the 1980s and he had to face a steady stream of guys like Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns, prime Robert Duran, Aaron Pryor, etc.

With that said, Mayweather very defensive style certainly helped. If he'd been more of a brawler/slugger, he probably woud've taken too much damage in his early years to remain competitive that long.

After be broke his hand he became more defensive and a point fighter. Up until he broke it he was getting plenty of knockouts.

 

[checktheknuckles]

No it just shows how weak HW is. But in the higher classes, it seems like the pace isn't as up tempo as some of the lower classes, so from a cardio perspective, an older guy can be more successful under this scenario.

 

[djacobox372]

Bernard Hopkins is. Guy was elite until he was almost 50.

Remember him in his mid/late 40's doing pushups between rounds when fighting a 20-something yo champion. LOL

 

[jko1355]

As has already been said, speed is rarely as big a factor at heavyweight as it is in smaller weight classes.

When you do have heavyweights that rely on speed or reflexes (like Chris Byrd) at heavyweight, they typically go over the cliff just as quickly as smaller fighters when it comes to age.

When you have the more traditional style heavyweights who rely on power (not speed, which can also produce violent KO’s, but pure raw power), they can typically prolong their careers beyond what we’d normally expect out of a fighter.

That said, it cannot be discounted as to just how historically bad heavyweight has been in the UFC. Generally speaking, you’ve only ever had a very small handful of decent to good fighters at that weight at any given time. It’s not hard for older fighters to feast on mediocre talent.

I remember, for example, when Evander Holyfield had lost three fights in a row and was getting beat by guys like Larry Donald, he took two years off and when he came back, he took on a pug by the name of Jeremy Bates and just absolutely decimated him. He looked like a fucking world beater. Just totally obliterated him within two rounds.

So don’t discount the UFC’s perennially bad heavyweight division as a huge reason why old pros have been able to hang on and extend their careers.

And before anyone gets butthurt and tried to deny it, without Google you can’t even name the UFC’s top 10 heavyweights in the division right now, let alone the top 10 of all time.

Top ten right now?

No idea probably Jones, Stipe, Pav, gane, Tom, Blaydes, tuivasa, Louis, The grappler Almeda? And Volkov?

I might be missing someone...

All time... Stipe, DC, Cain, JDS, Mir, Randy, Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, Brock Lesnar, Werdum, ... thats got to be close... not in order. Overeem over Timmy or AA?

 

[AmonTobin]

I think most people will agree you don't lose the power, just the speed. If there's any weight class where you can get away with that, it's HW.

 

[StonedLemur]

First thing to go is speed and reflexes, the lighter you are the more crucial it is. The last thing to leave is your power. Which still make you competetive at the heavier weights where one shot can make all the difference.

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