I don't understand what you are getting at.
We are talking about athleticism here. Not about knowledge of NFL formations, work ethic or being a team player. MMA is not a team sport anyway. Poor comparison.
You continue to ignore the fact that Lesnar had a credentialed wrestling background which which is an integral aspect of MMA. It does not translate in to the NFL. It's a poor comparison. One has nothing to do with the other. Do you honestly think that Lesnar would have had the same success in MMA if he had no prior wrestling background? Where would Conor be without his boxing background?
Wrestling can't be translated to the NFL? tell that to these guys...
http://www.sectiononewrestling.com/documents/nfl_players_wrestled.html
and obviously Lesnar wouldn't have done shit in the UFC without his wrestling background. but there are more than a handful of high level wrestlers who have not been able to successfully translate into MMA, ergo, high level wrestling alone is not enough to have a successful MMA career
Lesnar did not make the NFL because he did not understand the game well enough. It had nothing to do with his age. He was in his 20s at the time. Jerry Rice was in his 40s when he retired. That says absolutely nothing whatsoever about how gifted he was/is as an athlete as compared to NFL players or MMA fighters. If he knew the game better he probably would have been a killer in the NFL.
im pretty sure Lesnar himself said that age was one of the deciding factors on why he didnt take the Europa league offer but that's a moot point.. he was told that he would make the team in a couple of years if he played for the Europa team and developed but he was not willing to spend that time developing when he had the WWE to fall back on. and regarding your Jerry Rice comment, yeah, Lesnar is more athletic than Jerry Rice. that's clear as day. But that alone doesnt mean he's a better football player. I have a higher vert than Andre Miller, but he'd destroy me 1000/1000 times in a game of one on one. being gifted athlete does not equal success in your sport and i can cite hundreds of NFL players who have busted because all they brought to the table was freak athleticism
Is Jerry Rice not gifted as an athlete seeing as how Lesnar was much bigger, stronger and still able to run a forty-yard-dash faster than him? He was one of the most decorated WRs in the NFL.
of course he's not as gifted of an athlete as Lesnar. his success in the NFL came because of his work ethic, mastery of running routes, and having amazing hands. he fine tuned his craft and was un-coverable because of it, not because he could jump higher or run faster than anyone else. we're talking athleticism, that's your strength, your speed, your quickness, your vertical, etc etc.
Why was Lesnar able to tackle an NFL player and cause a fumble with very little experience? You want to make these kind of arguments to knock MMA but not the NFL? And don't tell me about UFC gold. You don't win a personal belt in the NFL. In a team sport like the NFL you can be a less than average player and still win a Superbowl.
Because of his wrestling credentials. have you ever tried tackling someone? from your comments i dont think so. it's not as simple as it seems on TV
Gymnasts are more athletic than NFL or NBA players so what is your point? Your personal athletic list is not some unquestioned universal truth that we must all agree with.
right, that's my opinion. but so is your comment about gymnasts being more athletic than basketball or football players. Why should we all agree that gymnasts are more athletic? you're doing the same thing. i simply stated my opinion
The fact that Lesnar did not make the starting team for the Vikings tells us nothing about his ability as a fighter. It also tells us nothing about how well any other NFL player would do in MMA. There is no point in even bringing it up because it proves zilch.
there have been a handful of NFL players that have successfully made it into the UFC with minimal training. how many fighters have successfully made it into the NFL?... oh, right. im not saying fighters are bum athletes. but in the grand scheme of things, no. there is a much higher level of athleticism in football than there ever has been in the UFC
