"The overall ability has dropped in MMA" - Jon Fitch

[Bend NvR Break]

Humans have been fighting hand to hand combat forever. I don't think we will see anything novel happen. There are only so many ways the body moves.

This is how I feel. The perfect punch in 1970 wasn't any different than the perfect punch in 1990 nor 2010 nor 2020. Same with double legs.

The fighting itself isn't going to change much. Just the fighters change.

 

[gevoudane]

If "older submissions" are less effective in MMA while "older submissions" are still highly effective between submission grapplers with vastly more skill level this shows, without a shadow of a doubt, that MMA grappling has diminished greatly. Your argument has zero legs to stand on when you look at what the best submissions grapplers in the world are doing.

Your mixing to different thing up. Fitch was talking about MMA. So was I, you are not. Flying spinning kicks work great in TKD.

 

[HHJ]

Man this cheating borefest aught to shut the fuck up tho

 

[Taric]

Flying spinning kicks work great in TKD.

Because pure kickboxers and TKD specialists are better strikers than MMA fighters... lol

 

[gevoudane]

Because pure kickboxers and TKD specialists are better strikers than MMA fighters... lol

Exactly

 

[Titan1980]

This is how I feel. The perfect punch in 1970 wasn't any different than the perfect punch in 1990 nor 2010 nor 2020. Same with double legs.

The fighting itself isn't going to change much. Just the fighters change.

Exactly. Different guys have different tools and use them differently. Every now and then one guy comes along and uses them better than everyone else.

 

[Taric]

Exactly

You: Skill level is at an all-time high in MMA because fighters aren't capable of performing submissions and finishes on each other
Me: The best submission grapplers in the world are still submitting each other at a very high rate and the best boxers/kickboxers/etc are still knocking each other out at a very high rate
You: Exactly
Me:

I'm out. This dude is high as fuck lol

 

[Fesaine]

Technical grappling ability has without question diminished. I'd argue athleticism has increased however

Lol no, grappling and bjj have evolved exponentially in the last 10 years. Go watch khabib fights, the techniques he's using like the Dagestani handcuff are getting more and more attraction in MMA. That's the definition of evolution.

In fact bjj, as a martial art, have grown and evolved exponentially in the last 10 years.

 

[Voodoo Dahl]

training is so much more advanced at all levels now

people understand cage fighting much better now... gyms teach better use of cage, standing up instead of just trying to reverse, etc.

it's different now. yes, when you were closer to the age of people combining pure traditional martial arts, the singular techniques were better, but systematically, overall, worse mma.

there was no one like mighty mouse 12 years ago, gtfo

 

[ColbyCovChamp]

Maybe, the fact a conssumate wall & staller is the current dominant champion proves him right though.

Usman is much more of a wall&staller than Fitch was btw, and has more limited ground skills.

Colby and Usman are both far better strikers, physical specimens, and overall grapplers than Fitch could ever dream of being

 

[gevoudane]

You: Skill level is at an all-time high in MMA because fighters aren't capable of performing submissions and finishes on each other
Me: The best submission grapplers in the world are still submitting each other at a very high rate and the best boxers/kickboxers/etc are still knocking each other out at a very high rate
You: Exactly
Me:

I'm out. This dude is high as fuck lol

Wow misquoting and no comprehension. You sir are an idiot.

 

[oyyak]

He's mistaken. The talent level is way higher now. Prospects are a murderer's row at pretty well every weight class.
Take the Sodiq Yusuf vs Mike Davis fight for instance. You didn't see anywhere near that level of standup in prospects 10 years ago, let alone at the top.
There's a logjam of extremely talented and dangerous guys at pretty well every weight who are all stuck fighting each other and because of this it's harder to break out.
They take damage too because they're all fast, powerful, and skilled and it's easier IMO for an elite striker to hit another elite striker than to avoid being hit by one.

 

[Voodoo Dahl]

the sport is much more refined now, people are really learning how to game it.

gyms are much more savvy now, that's one factor to why a lot of older camps aren't having the same success, and new camps rise.

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

Sounds like a bitter retiree "it was better in my day"

 

[finalboss]

Introducing the Jon Fitch weighted blanket

 

[Rampage_Jackson]

I said this in a thread I made a few months ago about how the evolution of mma is a myth.

It's stagnant.

I think the overall skill level is the same. What we see now is instead of having super high level guys in certain areas I feel like we have a bunch of guys who are 8/10 in most categories and its led to an era of boring fights, evenly matched guys and a lack of finishes.

Especially defensively, everyone is trained well to nullify one another. zzzzzz.

 

[CinemaKingdom]

Fitch wouldn’t be a top 20 fighter now

He just had a draw with Rory Macdonald a little over a year ago, so that is a pretty stupid statement.

 

[YourOnlyMan]

cope

 

[Point Fight Devil]

Why, I once watched “Gentleman” Jim Corbett fight an Eskimo fellow bare-knuckled for a hundred and thirteen rounds! Of course, back then, if a fight lasted less than fifty rounds, we demanded our nickel back!

Gotta love nostalgia

 

[Shamrockfan903]

Totally disagree