The A level athlete vs the best mma fighter theory.

[cmw43]

Idk man, some pretty basic athletes have made it to the top in MMA. Just look at Forrest Griffin. Hell, when Chael almost beat Anderson Silva, it made me wonder how my dad would do in the UFC. You just dont see the dad bod in the NFL or pro soccer.

Fight IQ, gameplanning and technical skill are as important as athleticism in MMA.

 

[elwani]

The solution is simple, get rid of all other sports so that the only thing anyone with any athletic ability can compete in is MMA.

 

[grimballer]

A level athletes will not automatically be beat fighters, just like they are not always best bball or football players

however they have a big advantage over someone who’s average or slightly above average athlete (typical ufc fighter)

they are p4p pound stronger, quicker, faster, have better reflexes, better coordination, more explosive...

They also have better spatial awareness

here’s one of the best athletes n bball players of all time:

You gotta be on another level all together to pull off moves like this vs other elite athletes

n on top of that the man was crazy competitive

Now keep in mind here he has to pull off all those moves while still drilling a basketball

in fighting (like mma) you don’t need to perfect a certain skill like controlling a puck, dribble a basketball or swing a golf club

you’re just using your own arms n legs

a level athletes have big advantage just using their arms n legs

that plus the fact that mma is not a single fighting discipline but a combination of many put together where we often see elites in one single discipline losing in their element in a mma fight n it’s easy to see why elite a level athletes will have easy time transitioning in mma

 

[ImNotMirsadBektic]

Ngannou is an example of how far 5-8 years training can get you in HW MMA as a tall, strong and explosive black guy. If someone like Lebron James would train boxing and wrestling from age 6 and then later on cross train MT and BJJ as well he would be the heavyweight champ for sure. EVEN if he would have subpar fight IQ and chin.

Best fighter = explosiveness + skill + fight IQ + chin. You can only compensate for so much for lacking in one aspect.

It’s true that A level athletes with no to little MMA training have no chance against top MMA HW’s or big LHW’s, but not because athleticism/explosiveness is not that important. It’s extremely important for being a complete fighter, but because there’s little money/reward in MMA you won’t see a lot of great athletes in MMA. That might change in the future though.

 

[grimballer]

Pretty sure u wont bet against cain if these two fought tommorow

this is Caín not too long ago vs homeless man from France

Give Howard minimal training n I’ll pick him no doubt

there’s levels to this

 

[ermac88]

lol no

No what?
There are 300lbs guys in the ufc who can run a 4-40?
There are 200lb guys?

Yeah that's why they option to fight for a few grand as opposed to millions

 

[ermac88]

this is Caín not too long ago vs homeless man from France

Give Howard minimal training n I’ll pick him no doubt

there’s levels to this

Whats crazy Cain is no slouch athlete himself

 

[Ares Black]

No what?
There are 300lbs guys in the ufc who can run a 4-40?
There are 200lb guys?

Yeah that's why they option to fight for a few grand as opposed to millions

No, the 350lb O Linemen in the NFL are not faster and more agile than anyone in the UFC. They are required to exert themselves for a few seconds at a time.

If you think that the average fat Offensive Lineman is a better athlete than anyone in the UFC, you are nuts.

 

[AdamantiumPimmel]

What is an A-level athlete and how are athletes allocated a level?

 

[kflo]

Idk man, some pretty basic athletes have made it to the top in MMA. Just look at Forrest Griffin. Hell, when Chael almost beat Anderson Silva, it made me wonder how my dad would do in the UFC. You just dont see the dad bod in the NFL or pro soccer.

Chael had a better build than a lot of nfl players back then.

 

[kflo]

Yeah, some mma fans just dont want to believe their beloved fighters can be beaten by more physically gifted men if they had similar training. Greg Hardy is an example of never training in any martial arts, to beating up other pro fighters. He simply has the power, speed and explosiveness which is a big advantage in fighting

Well that and the fact that he’s been training mma for years now.

It’s the mma fans that think other athletes would win in a fight against top mma fighters that is crazy.

Stop fantasizing about other athletes. Golf, tennis, baseball, boxing, none of them are yearning for “nfl” athletes to come to them. Top mma fighters are the best fighters. Appreciate that.

 

[Jpenwell14]

giant

an NFL washout who started mma in his 30s beat the shit out of Fedor who has literally fought game show hosts, bus drivers and tire repair men.

imagine if Mitrione had started mma in his 20s or teens

Now imagine elite calibre athletes who dont pursue million dollar careers, following suit

And then he lost to a journeyman 205 lbs fighter who used a high fight i.q. and complete cluelessness on mitriones part to easily beat him. The same guy who got picked up and slammed by kimbo slice....

And trust me even i thought mitrione had evolved in all his time in mma. But it turns out the old adage is true: people suck at fighting, and most heavyweights really suck at fighting.

 

[ermac88]

And then he lost to a journeyman 205 lbs fighter who used a high fight i.q. and complete cluelessness on mitriones part to easily beat him. The same guy who got picked up and slammed by kimbo slice....

And trust me even i thought mitrione had evolved in all his time in mma. But it turns out the old adage is true: people suck at fighting, and most heavyweights really suck at fighting.

Umm that doesn't repudiate the fact he knocked Fedor out after starting mma in his 30s

 

[Jpenwell14]

Umm that doesn't repudiate the fact he knocked Fedor out after starting mma in his 30s

I'll get some flack for this but uh fedor stopped using his fight i.q. and fell in love with his power a long time ago.

 

[ermac88]

No, the 350lb O Linemen in the NFL are not faster and more agile than anyone in the UFC. They are required to exert themselves for a few seconds at a time.

If you think that the average fat Offensive Lineman is a better athlete than anyone in the UFC, you are nuts.

Yeah I guess nuts
Thats why these freaks get svholarships and paid millions instead of getting the thousands ufc fighters can earn

 

[ifindgifsforjackslack]

@Bearknuckle
At the gym my bro and I co own, to this day the hardest matchup we each have faced was 40 lbs lighter than me, 50-60 lbs lighter than everyone else. He was also far less experienced, he had done some basic combatives training in the army before starting grappling.

He would take us right off our feet and plant us hard, on his first night. He was notoriously hard to catch with arm locks, I mean I had a picture perfect Americana applied and he just didn't succumb to the leverage, and I remember thinking "how can he just casually resist leverage like this?"

Now, over time we found that he had huge holes that could be exploited. One night I landed a guillotine (a choke I'm still pretty shitty at getting) and then another, and then a 3rd before we wrapped for the evening. I was lucky to last long enough to learn he had brainfarts past a certain minute, bc his initial storm was a problem. Real fucking problem. The kind of problem that can empty your tank due to your nerves panicking.

Now I know firsthand that well honed skills aren't the be all end all that we thought they were.

When I vs the big guys without much technique, I just hold on in safe positions until they gas. A lot of energy is expended when you are relying on pure athleticism.

 

[TrueFightFan]

So it is the consensus that mma fighters are not A level athletes. This is just not true. The skills of an all time great like Fedor or GSP cannot be compared to Football or Basketball. Perhaps there are some that can do well if they cross over, but the sports are plain old different. To be a top MMA fighter, you need years of training in all sorts of skills. (yeah Tyson could knock out most of the heavyweight division in a minute and I do not disagree). But heavyweight is MUCH different than all the other weight classes. What A level athlete is gonna beat Jones at 205? Not one. Not unless they are a very well trained MMA artist. The skill set to be a top mma guy right now is very hard to achieve. You can look at someone like Robbie and say, any tough brawler can do it, but Robbie has superb skills. He just liked to brawl. You really have to know all aspects of mma to get to the top. And that is a fuck ton of knowlege. And most people could never do it.

And most important. Top athletes need to have the mindset. And here is where I say MMA guys are above the others. You have to be ready to be beat up, choked, have your arm bent backwards, your knee popping, and a whole lot of other things. To be a great MMA fighter, you need to have a whole combination of skills, abilities, and an incredible mindset.

I say, who cares if you can run 50 metres in 5 seconds. Or bench 300 lb's 10 times. As human beings, some things ring true right down to the core of us.

Fuck A level athletes. THIS is what I am talking about.

Roy Nelson and Derrick Lewis would kill everyone from the LHW division and down. Not a lot of "athleticism" there .

I think, however, that MMA fighters are athletes in their own right. You have to be an "A level" athlete to make it to the big show just like in any other sport, including Ping-Pong.

 

[Regal Boy]

View attachment 674693
Here is a pic of one of the best ufc HWs ever, next to an A level athlete. Cain’s body couldnt even hold up. Thats not A level. Saquan Barkely had an ACL injury and rested 4 weeks and came back strong. Guys like cain take 2 years in between fights and their bodies can’t even hold up. What do you think a flying knee from dwight howard would feel like. He would be a real life Sagat.

Jon Jones is the worst athlete in his family. And he is arguably the GOAT.

If Lebron James was in the UFC he would be heavyweight champ. Sorry but average mma fighters are C+ level athletes at best. The best/champs are B level.

Mma fighters have heart though. But u guys are acting like some of the A level guys who come from rough backgrounds dont have heart are crazy. Imagine the intensity of a ray lewis, trained with skils. Hell, yoel romero is feared as a freak in the UFC, but he is at best a SMALL running back in the NFL, and would literally be the smallest guy on every single NBA team. Stephen Curry looks tiny on TV but he is 6’3 190 lol.

Dwight Howard could train for 5 years and he'd still get knocked the fuck out by Mark Hunt.

 

[Regal Boy]

No one is saying a freak can beat a trained fighter. Cain or stipe would beat up an untrained A level athlete. But 6-9 months of training and a few local cans and a dwight howard would ragdoll stipe. I bet a full on tackle from a guy like vontaz burfict would break cain in half.

Holy shit you're objectively a fucking retard.

 

[Karelinator]

Stop fantasizing about other athletes. Golf, tennis, baseball, boxing, none of them are yearning for “nfl” athletes to come to them. T

This, hahaha, iIt really is some weird masochistic streak.