"The lighter your weight class is the more well rounded, complete fighter you are." - True statement?

[Takes Two To Tango]

For the most part is that a true statement?

I know there are exceptions to certain fighters like Fedor, Jon Jones as examples.

But in general do you agree?

 

[Doctor Grudge]

Probably. At the very least, grappling seems to be more important when you're smaller, which usually means you need to know how to strike and grapple - larger weight classes you can get away with just hitting hard.

But I do think often we confuse coordination and speed with skill. Smaller people are going to look more skilled than larger because they just move a lot better.

We often see this when comparing 205ers to 265ers and some of it is just smaller guys look better.

 

[Bobby Boulders]

Generally and relatively. Not across the board, but you can see it in the skill sets of the heavier fighters, they're not well rounded.

 

[RichardHarrow]

Thanks for the post. For the lighter classes I would say the more well rounded you need to be.

it’s the same for any combat sport.

It’s why the HWs are on average older too.

 

[tritestill]

For the most part, very true.

 

[RockyLockridge]

Thanks for the post. For the lighter classes I would say the more well rounded you need to be.

it’s the same for any combat sport.

It’s why the HWs are on average older too.

I agree with this as a principle. You're not more well rounded simply because you're in a smaller weight class, Success at a smaller weight class Demands well-roundedness. there is no one shot knock out power to bail you out. As power becomes more of a factor, well roundedness becomes less of a factor

 

[Intermission]

For the most part is that a true statement?

I know there are exceptions to certain fighters like Fedor, Jon Jones as examples.

But in general do you agree?

No. There arent a lot of midgets waking around

 

[Paolo Delutis]

For the most part is that a true statement?

I know there are exceptions to certain fighters like Fedor, Jon Jones as examples.

But in general do you agree?

100%

But that's only because the athletics are higher too ..


In the bigger weight classes we haven't seen full on athletics mixed with skill sets yet...or rarely...the HW Division is severely lacking...


Also the lack power vs LHW or HW makes a difference...at HW you really only one need 1 shot and majority of the whales we see there are just trying to land one bomb while beaching themselves in the cardio department... At FLW the speed and movement is so high that you can rely on one shot really... They just need to be ready to go in any position...

But i think it's a fair statement to say ...lower classes are more well rounded but i think its also fair to say the more power you have the less well rounded you need to be too ...to an extent

 

[Frode Falch]

No the best fighters are right in the middle. 146-185.

While the biggest guys may lack movement, speed, and cardio, the smaller guys lack power. To the point that techniques that could be dangerous, wont work when you are that small and light

 

[Trabaho]

The lighter you are the less damage you take and the easier it is to fight

 

[ejazahmednit]

If you compare rank for rank you ll find a big majority of lighter weight classes outskill their heavier counterparts.
That's just the nature of the beast.
Sure there will be exceptions like GSP or Jones but its true for the most part

 

[Dana's Moonface]

No the best fighters are right in the middle. 146-185.

While the biggest guys may lack movement, speed, and cardio, the smaller guys lack power. To the point that techniques that could be dangerous, wont work when you are that small and light

Agreed
Not just mma, but boxing historically 147-160 were the best weight classes for reasons listed above

I also believe more men walk around close to these middle weights, so the pool of talent will be a lot deeper.

The average man likely is 5'8-511 and walks around at 160-185 in good shape

 

[Thy]

i dunno, pretty sure most heavy weights would beat most flyweights due to size advantage no matter how complete the flyweights get.

 

[ElLunico]

Yes, it's true in a lot of sports.

 

[Tito Tapped]

Mostly true.

The higher you go up in weight the more physical attributes matter. You can be a top 10 ranked HW just by having a gas tank that lasts longer than 1 round and you punch hard but at 125 they could all run marathons without breaking a sweat. That means your martial arts ability matters more.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Not counting Fedor , Jones

145 - Topuria
155 - Islam , Khabib
170 - GSP

These guys are as good as it gets

 

[khukurikoo]

I think it's physics applied to movement. Overall, smaller athletes move their bodies a lot faster and fluid since it's less mass to move and less force required for them to generate the movement. But there is an ideal weight range to maximize this potential based on build.

 

[BangBang]

Tom Aspinall says what the fook are you on about?

 

[deviake]

Mostly true, likely due to necessity more than anything though generally being more mobile contributes too I'm sure.

 

[Tayski]

When you cant rely on size and power you have to rely on technique. It's also slightly easier to execute more diverse techniques with speed when carrying less weight.

Lighter weight classes tend to be a lot more technical and fight at a higher pace in general. You wouldn't see someone with Mighty Mouse's technique at heavyweight.