Ngannou and Wilder are the living proofs that fighting isn't that much about technique!

[Vergilius]

Well, probably the reason Wilder and Ngannou are doing so well is due to the weakness of their divisions. HW boxing is at an all-time low - we have Joshua and Wilder who are athletic freaks but unrefined as fighers and then there is Fury who is a headcase and often out of shape, but who dominates through actually being technical as well as big, though his footwork is pretty clumsy.

Before that you had Wlad for 10 years fighting like a metronome - a true ABC boxer who was able to stay champion until almost 40 because of the insane discipline with which he always stuck to his gameplan.

But have a look at the lower weights: Floyd was the biggest name in boxing for years, despite having brittle hands and consequently getting few KO's for the last 10 years of his career - he had some physical gifts, of course, but his skillset was superb. It is at the levels below HW and LHW you see the true importance of skills because there isn't likely to be champions who dominate just through being big and powerful.

 

[GoatArtemLobov]

Wilder and Ngannou got beat up by Fury and Miocic.

Two dudes with more technical ability.

The fact that Wilder got beat up but still got to a draw because of 2 hard punches proves my point.
It took Miocic to win against Ngannou. And it's very likely he gets caught in a rematch. And he won thanks to wrestling, not striking, which again shows that striking (especially mma striking) is actually way less technical than grappling.

Lobov vs Malignaggi is an other example...

 

[spacetime]

No they don't. Which is why he generates that power with them. If he kept it tight and technical those hooks would have half the power.

Hooks? His right cross is the ko punch, and it was damn tight vs ortiz

 

[The-AxeMurderer]

Ngannou got beat up by Stipe? Or boringly laid on by Stipe?

Stop with the revisionist history and go rewatch the fight.

I watched the fight live. Stipe dominated him. If you think Francis won that fight you are a certified dumbass.

 

[TheToqueville]

I watched the fight live. Stipe dominated him. If you think Francis won that fight you are a certified dumbass.

Never said he won it. But don't sit here and pretend that he "beat up" Ngannou. What really happened is he desperately laid on Ngannou in a boring 5 round display of LnP, scared of ngannous power. So much so that the ref had to tell him over 4 times to work.

So funny how people can distort reality to fit their preferred narrative. Getting "beat up" is what DC did to Stipe in the first fight, despite being a short pudgy LHW.

 

[GoatArtemLobov]

I watched the fight live. Stipe dominated him. If you think Francis won that fight you are a certified dumbass.

Nobody says that Stipe didn't win you fucktard, but that he mainly won with wrestling, and striking once Ngannou was gassed.
And that, despite being years ahead of Francis from a technical standpoint, it isn't unlikely that he gets caught in a rematch.

 

[Nightwish]

Im currently doing my PhD on adult secondary education and Ngannou would still beat the shit out of me in less than 30 seconds.

 

[fzoid4454]

So, if you have 1 in a billion physical talent, then you can overcome greater skills.
Except that Stipe totally shut down Ngannou with technique. Tyson Fury stalemated Wilder (beat, by what most say, but we'll stick with the official result) with better skills.

So.... not so much.

 

[Reyesnuthugr]

Wilder lacks restraint more than technique (he throws at 100%), and it works for him because he's bigger and way more athletic than everyone else. This doesn't work for 100% of the human population (because he's not human), so this idea about technique not mattering in fights does not apply to you or anyone else.

Ngannou, if he was technical, wouldn't have lost fights he shouldn't have. So yes, he's still human and technique does matter.

In short, if you are as gifted as RJJ or Wilder then you might be able to make it to the top for a while, but even they would find greater success and easier wins with technique. And since 100% of people are NOT like that, then the OP does not actually apply.

 

[Sherdog Oliver]

When you listen to some coaches, you get the impression that getting to black belt level in something (whether it's bjj, boxing, mt or whatever) is the same as becoming a PHD in something, you are now SO technical, you have SO much knowlege...
Then guys like Ngannou or Wilder with freakish power come in and proove that, while technique is certainly important, what matters A FUCKING LOT in fighting (especially striking) is aggressivity and power. Ngannou is the Fucking N1 contender in the HW division and has a 1st stripe white belt level on the ground (we saw it in the fight against Stipe, dude was literally laying down flat on his back doing Nothing) and is a swinging windmill on the feet.
Wilder became an Olympic medallist within 1.5 years of training...

You just made the lack of skill up. Lol Nganou is like 5 years strong or more into professional 2x a day mma training WITH technique

 

[Sherdog Oliver]

He didn't lie there, he was getting Stiped

 

[g*r*b]

Ngannou got beat up by Stipe? Or boringly laid on by Stipe?

Stop with the revisionist history and go rewatch the fight.

Stipe got a few licks in himself, it's just that Ngannou proved to have a granite chin. And to even get to the point where he could "boring lay" on Ngannou he had to call upon elements of his boxing technique: head movement, feinting etc.

 

[ConorFacts]

Well, probably the reason Wilder and Ngannou are doing so well is due to the weakness of their divisions. HW boxing is at an all-time low - we have Joshua and Wilder who are athletic freaks but unrefined as fighers and then there is Fury who is a headcase and often out of shape, but who dominates through actually being technical as well as big, though his footwork is pretty clumsy.

Before that you had Wlad for 10 years fighting like a metronome - a true ABC boxer who was able to stay champion until almost 40 because of the insane discipline with which he always stuck to his gameplan.

But have a look at the lower weights: Floyd was the biggest name in boxing for years, despite having brittle hands and consequently getting few KO's for the last 10 years of his career - he had some physical gifts, of course, but his skillset was superb. It is at the levels below HW and LHW you see the true importance of skills because there isn't likely to be champions who dominate just through being big and powerful.

HW boxing right know is almost as good as the golden era. In ca. 5 year (fury,efe etc.) it will be even better.

 

[grimballer]

Fighting is usually for d level athletes who couldn’t cut it in nfl/nba

 

[Baltimore Bro]

I watched the fight live. Stipe dominated him. If you think Francis won that fight you are a certified dumbass.

No one said Francis won.....where did you see him say Francis won

 

[CodCommando]

fast twitch muscles are vital to having this sort of power. Look at wilders skinny legs, devastating power because he can instantly throw a kamehameha. Now look at Fury's absolutely freaky genetics, yet lacks power, because as much as his body is highly advantageous in boxing, he lacks any fast twitch muscles.

 

[Titleboxe]

Bro, let's get real here, lots of boxing experts give Wilder s**t because he came late to the sport and found great success. But they all agree that even though he has his own style and looks wild at times, that there is in fact a lot of technique and positioning involved in how he puts almost everyone to sleep.

 

[dreden1982]

This thread has no point. Of course athletic ability is important and of course technique plays a part also and of course some people will claim that one is much more important than the other.

 

[Kuona]

1. There isn't a black belt in boxing or muay thai
2. In bjj, it applies. Knowledge is very important. Steroids matter also, but still...
3. Examples. You have Wlad who dominated the division for many years, without having row KO power. And many other fighters. May, RJJ and so on... It's not like boxing mostly consists of KO power champions. Same in MMA. Usman, Adesanya, Khabib, Jones. Technique, grappling, hight IQ

wladimir klitschko is one of the hardest punchers ever

 

[Baltimore Bro]

Nobody says that Stipe didn't win you fucktard, but that he mainly won with wrestling, and striking once Ngannou was gassed.
And that, despite being years ahead of Francis from a technical standpoint, it isn't unlikely that he gets caught in a rematch.

I love how people on sherdog acts like if you loss to a fighter that means you can never beat them as if DosVsCain never happened lol

 

[Khaiser]

The heavyweight division is its own beast really.

When it comes to Wilder, I would caution against saying he has poor technique. His strategy for every fight is simply to ensure he lands a few power punches flush on his opponent, and so far his technique has been good enough to implement that strategy pretty flawlessly.