Then and Now (How has the sport changed as the times have changed?)

[FilipEmoFights]

Do you guys remember a time when the UFC had a Two man booth with Rogan and Goldie
I remember a time when Fighters could wear whatever shorts they wanted
I remember a time when the UFC was only Lightweight-Heavyweight (and even before they had lightweight)
I remember being so stoked to watch BJ vs GSP II with that Countdown show essentially being super duper viral when compared to today (and BJ performing very well against GSP in the first fight)
But my main question is, how much has the sport changed since these times? Are fighters really more skilled? How much different of a viewing experience is the average UFC fight now then the times when say…Benson Henderson/Frankie/Pettis were in the middle of their title reign?
What do fighters do now that they didn’t do then? What are things they did do that they no longer do these days?
How well rounded were the fighters in the choose your own shorts days compared to the Reebok shorts era, and now to the Venum era?
Sometimes I watch some fights from that era and it really doesn’t look all that different other than a lot of guys no longer use a guard in MMA and focus mainly on getting back up if they are grappled?
Are the Champions of yesteryear capable of competing in today’s competition if they were in their prime? I’m talking TUF-WEC absorption Era, as I remember when everything started to come together and the UFC looked as if it were about to go mainstream, back when TUF was don’t miss tv.

Obviously the UFC is simply a different beast now then what it used to be especially since they now have their own dedicated buildings for not just training but to hold their own events in, and there are simply more fights to watch.

 

[FilipEmoFights]

Let me also add that these times had no female weight classes (can’t believe I didn’t put that in the main post) WMMA has deteriorated the quality of the professional MMA fighter in my opinion…but that might only effect the women in general

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Not much... and most of that era champions would be champs today.

 

[joy2day]

The differences are not overwhelming. The low to medium level fighters that the UFC uses to fill in the excessive amount of shows they are contracted to put on are more well-rounded. There is expanded WMMA and lighter weight classes in men's. As far as HW/LHW/MW, there aren't as many elite fighters.

 

[mmacrisis]

I would argue that the competitive fighters are more well rounded than the fighters from 20 years ago. Not saying we don't have people who are single disciplines crushing it but you can't be a 1 trick pony and remain at the top for long.

BJ Penn was amazing but compared to the 155ers over the last 5 years he would get destroyed.
Chuck/Randy amazing but Jones/Gus/DC/top 5 LHWs would have easily beat both of them
the list goes on and on.

 

[Gabe]

Not that much different. They don’t have any marketable star as champ and that’s about it. The Conor era from 2014-2016 was peak UFC anyone who watched during that time will admit that willingly or unwillingly

 

[Dr. Rose]

Calf kick would be a technique not seen in the times you were talking about. Elites then would still be elites today. The champs would be top 5, but not necessarily champs.

 

[Bend NvR Break]

I will say back in the day there were way more specialists. Nowadays everyone (most not all) is not rounded but not really great at anything particular.

Jack of all trades.
Ace of none.

 

[L0ki]

The last big skill evolution was Lyoto.

It seemed like if you had your BJJ, muay thai, wrestling, boxing base, then you add something like he did, then that would be the next best thing (you keep adding new skills and you'll be harder to figure out).

But it quietly died out and peeps are using the same base they've used forever.

There was the Conor era, in terms of personalities, but that seems to have subsided for a little while now and gone back to how it was.


UFC Noche Mexico was a stand-out.

I've never seen an event like that (not the Olympics, Cirque de Soleil, etc.).

 

[Hymen Crusher]

Mma is somewhat unique in the fact it was barely a sport 20 years ago. So unlike other sports some of the fighters are better. People forget guys like liddel or couture would be training in their primes the way these guys do. The cream from 10 years ago would still be great. The lower mid tiers were trash back then. Dudes like evan tanner who I loved would get hurt now. As time goes on though all these fighters will be training for mma and grew up doing that. Boxing is easy to compare post 75 on. You can look at boxers from the 80s and it's easy to compare to today. Mma will be the same. The champs now it will be easy to stack them up to the champs in 2040.