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It gives an advantage in essentially every sport.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ape_index
http://www.ape-index.com/
Most champions, not just Jon Jones, have a serious reach advantage over their opponents -- look at Weidman, GSP, Anthony Pettis, Jose Aldo etc. -- and you will find that most of them have a serious reach advantage over their competition.
But reach alone is not the only factor that matters. A lot of people probably don't realize this, but having large hands generally means a person will punch harder. Some fighters (Cain comes to mind) have abnormal cardio, strength or speed. I'm sure that there are other physical attributes that give an advantage. Having a single advantage probably won't be enough to guarantee a fighter or athlete will be dominant, but it's still an important factor nonetheless.
When you guys bring up Stefan Struve as an example for why reach doesn't matter, it's like saying height doesn't matter in basketball, and then pointing out that Shaq isn't the best NBA player of all time. Yet there aren't very many players in the entire sport who are under 6 foot tall, if you follow my drift.
And quite frankly the Mike Tyson argument is silly. It's literally on par with bringing up Mugsy Bogues in the NBA. Sometimes athletes are so good that being at a physical disadvantage doesn't matter. But individuals like this still represent a very small % of the overall population of any sport.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ape_index
http://www.ape-index.com/
Most champions, not just Jon Jones, have a serious reach advantage over their opponents -- look at Weidman, GSP, Anthony Pettis, Jose Aldo etc. -- and you will find that most of them have a serious reach advantage over their competition.
But reach alone is not the only factor that matters. A lot of people probably don't realize this, but having large hands generally means a person will punch harder. Some fighters (Cain comes to mind) have abnormal cardio, strength or speed. I'm sure that there are other physical attributes that give an advantage. Having a single advantage probably won't be enough to guarantee a fighter or athlete will be dominant, but it's still an important factor nonetheless.
When you guys bring up Stefan Struve as an example for why reach doesn't matter, it's like saying height doesn't matter in basketball, and then pointing out that Shaq isn't the best NBA player of all time. Yet there aren't very many players in the entire sport who are under 6 foot tall, if you follow my drift.
And quite frankly the Mike Tyson argument is silly. It's literally on par with bringing up Mugsy Bogues in the NBA. Sometimes athletes are so good that being at a physical disadvantage doesn't matter. But individuals like this still represent a very small % of the overall population of any sport.
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