MMA Decline or UFC Decline?

I definitely think move sets, stances, transitions, tactics are more sophisticated than ever.
 
Eventually the skill level will plateau. Even if there are increases at the moment, you're not going to ever get crazy leaps. Kinda like video game graphics, at one point each console had a crazy leap in technology. Nowadays it's much harder to see.
 
It's only been a few years that people figured out calf kicks and the "Dagestani handcuff".
The sport evolves every day, basketball isn't nearly as good as it was in the 1990s, is it worse now skill wise?
 
I think a better way to describe it is "stagnation" than decline in terms of the sports growth.

In terms of the technique the fighters are better than ever. But the rapid evolution of MMA comes from how young it is. As the sport ages that's going to slow down it has to.
 
It was much better times when "heavily skilled" fighters like Brock Lesnar dominated their divisions...
 
BowserJr said:
Maybe the top skilled fighters are just spread out now
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It almost doesn't even matter any more because the UFC isn't having them fight other top fighters.
 
BowserJr said:
I agree with alot of this.

The highest skill guys are on the level of the top 1 or 2 guys before... except HW.

I dont see skill rising overall though.
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UFC HW has historically been shallow/low level. people want to say Cain was some uber elite dude, but the facts are he beat JDS three times and loss to Werdum. Thats his resume at "greatness." wins over an aging Big Nog mean very little. Prior to that Tim Sylvia was the best they had lol. LHW's golden era was chuck/tito/randy/vitor era for sure. Jones was the dude. but like any era, fighters come and go, new ones will rise to fill the voids left by the old guard.
 
BowserJr said:
LMFAO!

he definitely was a more complete fighter. Though I think Izzy KOs him. I think a better comparison is Bustamante who I think would beat most if not all of today's MW. The guy went toe to toe with Chuck and Rampage who hit hard as fuck and his overall grappling is better than anyone at MW right now
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Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in years.
 
koquerelle said:
It's always been like that. Always.
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No. There have always been instances of that, but it wasn’t the sport’s operating basis as it is now alongside several other things I mentioned (which you didn’t quote).
 
BFoe said:
No. There have always been instances of that, but it wasn’t the sport’s operating basis as it is now alongside several other things I mentioned (which you didn’t quote).
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Tell that to Couture, a washed-up Shamrock, etc.
 
The only divisions that are obviously worse are 205 and 265.
 
koquerelle said:
Tell that to Couture, a washed-up Shamrock, etc.
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What do you mean specifically? If you’re talking about things like Couture coming back to get a shot at Sylvia’s belt, I’m generally fine with that. I’m fine with Jones coming back to fight for the HW belt, or Cejudo fighting Aljo.

Back in the day though when MMA media did rankings, there might be slight differences but overall there was a sense of the landscape, and those rankings mattered. Now, the UFC manipulates rankings and lets fighters slip into the top 15 or top 10 when it suits them; they let guys like Stipe, (who should be unranked due to inactivity) not only stay ranked but stay at #2 and get a title shot for no merit-based reason; Conor stayed ranked at LW for literal years despite not winning fights or being active, green prospects like Bo Nickal or Rosas are being put on $80 PPV main cards, guys like Colby get undeserved title shot after undeserved title shot, no one seems to have any idea how to do proper matchmaking so we see the same shot recycled in endless rematches, everyone and their mom has to have an interim title…
This is the shit that’s hurting the sport.
 
You have presented only two options: MMA decline or UFC decline.
Assuming that "on the rise" is the opposite of "on the decline", and "stable" means little movement up or down, some other options are:

MMA on the rise, UFC on the rise
MMA on the rise, UFC stable
MMA stable, UFC on the rise
MMA stable, UFC stable

If either MMA decline or UFC decline are certainly true, the available options are:

MMA in decline, UFC on the rise
MMA in decline, UFC stable
MMA in decline, UFC in decline

MMA on the rise, UFC in decline
MMA stable, UFC in decline

Personally, I would be inclined to say that if we are talking about skill level specifically, both MMA and UFC are remaining stable more or less at present.
 
DestinedAussie said:
I disagree. Fighters are bigger, stronger faster. Fighters are previous generations would likely have to move down a weight class to be competitive.

Personally I think the wider training means that there are more "stalemates" in fights which aren't as good to watch as one fighter dominating. Wrestlers even when they get it to the ground can't just ground and pound or they lose position meaning more maintaining position.

Not saying fighters of the past aren't great, they were great at the time but the body shape of athletes has changed just like other sports. With modern training they would all be much greater fighters than they were.
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Nah, in rampages era lhw werr way faster with better cardio

During Fedor and the subsequent Cain era hw had better cardio and were better grapplers

From Silva to Luke's era mw was more explosive with better grapplers
 
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