So much for the " A-Level " athlete...

[KhosVaziri]

This is really stupid.

Will the comparisons ever stop? No! Of course not! Why would they? It's sports. Lebron still gets talked about as a wide receiver.

But you're out of your damn mind if you don't think some of the greatest athletes in the world couldn't compete in MMA.

Quit getting your feelings hurt when people talk about great athletes competing in other sports.

There are so many wrestlers and football players who TODAY could win fights in the UFC. They're not doing it because of pay and/future circumstances.

We have no evidence those guys wouldn't fold after a few punches or would lose their will to fight after they end up on their back, getting elbowed to death.

This is just speculation and wishful thinking. Maybe they would do well, maybe not. Also when you say today, do you mean they would just show up and fight a low level UFC guy and win without training mma specifically?

 

[KhosVaziri]

Lol Shertards still comparing fighters to NFL athletes to legitimize their interest and $75. The pseudo-racial angle to the whole thing and constant anger/emotion is very telling.
Enjoy your BMF toy belt sport. Two MMA champs got KOd by a YouTuber in a year lol

If the NFL guys thought it was easy, some of them would just show up to shatter records and make millions without taking damage but they don't. That's really the end of the conversation.

 

[Lee_]

lol the whole A level athlete thing- especially with the wildly different types of athleticism in various sports, gymnastics to power lifting.

The talent pool is not deep in the UFC, but the top-level guys will always beat guys like Hardy. The sport requires natural talent and skill building just like anything else. You aren't going to dominate it merely because you did well in other sports.

 

[Lee_]

If the NFL guys thought it was easy, some of them would just show up to shatter records and make millions without taking damage but they don't. That's really the end of the conversation.

In terms of NFL Combine type performance, Lesnar was an A level athlete- and we saw how that turned out.

 

[welldone]

Football isnt A level sport. American love it So they think it is. Some positions and some players are A level athletes.. most positions and players arent.

yeah, no. have a nice day kiddo.

 

[BrockLesnarsTurtleBack]

Francis Ngannou began MMA at the same age as Greg Hardy and had no prior fighting sport experience. By the time he had done it six years, he was knocking out UFC Hall of Famers left and right and had established himself as the most frightening KO machine the sport had ever seen. While Greg Hardy, an elite NFL player is the CM Punk of HW division.

Imagine had Ngannou started playing football when he was a kid... the level of athleticism is just on a different level. He would be the GOAT easily.

 

[Myrddin Wild]

That narrative might had been "truer" back in the day when fighters were hinging more on one style than being more well rounded. At some point though... we started seeing MMA gyms popping up & people training MMA specifically. They learned the cardio lesson, diet etc... and sorted out what techniques works best... & the fights have gotten a lot closer, technical, & more competitive.

I remember the UFC was first advertised as a prooving grounds to see which style was best. Funny, MMA itself created its own style & became the best.

 

[welldone]

If the NFL guys thought it was easy, some of them would just show up to shatter records and make millions without taking damage but they don't. That's really the end of the conversation.

such a dumb post lol, they already make more than most mma guys...

 

[Givvee]

Yeah idiots like Brendan Schaub is spreading that false narrative, athletic ability is one thing, but in a sport like wrestling for example, it is only one of the variables, otherwise the most athletic guy would win everytime. Let the biggest NFL freak do nothing but wrestling for 3 years, and let him wrestle Gable Steveson, and see how it goes.

 

[KhosVaziri]

such a dumb post lol, they already make more than most mma guys...

Unless they are superstars, they don't make more than the UFC champs. If it was so easy, they'd just show up and be the next Jones, McGregor, etc but they don't.

 

[AndrewGolota48]

Stipe is nowhere close to A Level dude.
The guy is literally 40 years old, and was never neither especially fast nor powerful, he just has these heavy punches a la Chuck and a great chin, on top of being a great combat sport practicionner.
Shane Del Rosario (RiP), who started around the same time, in example, was a much better athlete.
Young DC was A Level.

N'Gannou just has big power and a great chin, and is also kinda quick, not sure he is A Level by league sports standards ( which is what is referred here when people talk about being A Level, basically = would have great combine numbers ) .
But let's definitely class him as A Level for combat sports for sure.

Blaydes LOL... What are you basing this assumption on ?
Gane being A Level is debatable too, he is athletic but has no power and strengthwise got ragdolled by Francis.
Definitely wouldn't cut it in a NFL combine sorry. Good coordination and speed but lacking the strength/power side of natural athlecism imo.

Not saying it's a guarantee Ngannou would make it as an NFL player, but you're completely passing over the fact that those NFL guys have been training since childhood in many cases, and at that latest since 14 years old, to specifically enhance their ability in those combine measured attributes.

Why in the world would we not assume that Francis would be stronger and more explosive by now had he the extra decade plus of specific training in these areas?

Or vice versa that someone like Hardy would not be quite as big and strong had he been relentlessly working on technique and cardio to build up his MMA ability at the expense of the specific strength, size, and explosion he needs as an NFL lineman?

 

[KhosVaziri]

In terms of NFL Combine type performance, Lesnar was an A level athlete- and we saw how that turned out.

Lesnar actually did great and became champ but he was also a d1 wrestling national champion.

He just reacted terribly to being hit and that messed up his career. He also had an iron chin and could take huge shots. I think if he didn't become ill and then get that steroid suspension, he could have had a resurgence.

Lesnar is also why I don't blame Dana for not chasing really good wrestling prospects. You see what happens when a guy reacts badly to strikes. It's not a sure thing they will be even good mma fighters. They may or may not be.

 

[BigDramaShow26]

Jake Paul ended that bizarre theory when he flatlined an A-level athlete in seconds.

The entire concept is just a weird Americanism, where people who excel at US-centric sports are considered A-level, and those that excel at other non US-centric sports (ironically more popular sports with far larger talent pools) aren’t.

You obviously have to know how to fight and Nate Robinson had no idea how to box. He also was 40 lbs smaller.

 

[GrantB13]

I know. It's almost as if training in fighting makes you a better fighter than training in completely unrelated sports.

I wish more people could come to this conclusion.

 

[AndrewGolota48]

Amen
Mitrione and even Schaub had better instincts/evolution fightingwise.

Mitrione was more naturally inclined as a fighter than all of them I'd say, although he was never able to really improve his wrestling.

But that gets to what my position has been: surely there are NFL or NBA players that would make for GREAT fighters, but it's just as likely to be some guy riding the bench as an all star.

Yes athleticism matters but once you're at that level, everyone there is athletic enough in a general sense. The all star player might be dramatically better at the sport in question but that doesn't translate to MMA equally, that's an absurd notion.

Nate Robinson for example would make Mike Tyson look like the most helpless shit athlete on the planet on a basketball court but Tyson does have freak athleticisim as it pertains to boxing.

 

[Bend NvR Break]

Doesn't Dominic Reyes prove the opposite? He was a division 2 defensive back who couldn't cut it in football and within 6 years of training was fighting for UFC titles and sherdog pushed as the uncrowned champ

 

[wolfss]

nah, those guys are incredibly athletic especially for their size.

the difference is, those things dont guarantee success in mma, that's all. Being a good lifter or sprinter, etc doesn't mean you're going to be a good striker, wrestler, grappler, etc

Nah, football is football and mma is something way different. Would you call Tom Brady “athletic”? I love football but it is played three seconds at a time. There isn’t much athleticism needed there, or stamina. The offensive and defensive lines are a bunch of lard asses, that are running out of breath five seconds into a play. MMA actually takes real athleticism and stamina. It’s just a whole different sport. The A level argument has been trashed repeatedly.

 

[KhosVaziri]

Nah, football is football and mma is something way different. Would you call Tom Brady “athletic”? I love football but it is played three seconds at a time. There isn’t much athleticism needed there, or stamina. The offensive and defensive lines are a bunch of lard asses, that are running out of breath five seconds into a play. MMA actually takes real athleticism and stamina. It’s just a whole different sport. The A level argument has been trashed repeatedly.

It definitely is a skill and is a different type of athleticism. It's a sprint, mma is a different animal.

 

[KhosVaziri]

Doesn't Dominic Reyes prove the opposite? He was a division 2 defensive back who couldn't cut it in football and within 6 years of training was fighting for UFC titles and sherdog pushed as the uncrowned champ

Yeah he's a good example but ppl use him to say, well if he's doing well and couldn't make it to the NFL, imagine what an NFL guy could do!

 

[Herwald]

That narrative might had been "truer" back in the day when fighters were hinging more on one style than being more well rounded. At some point though... we started seeing MMA gyms popping up & people training MMA specifically, and the fights have gotten a lot closer, technical, & more competitive.

I remember the UFC was first advertised as a prooving grounds to see which style was best. Funny, MMA itself created its own style & became the best.

This. It's a skill based sport, at the end of the day. But a lot of what UFC level guys have is A-level endurance, ability to cope with misery. Glass cannons rarely make it to the top.