What age do fighters usually 'lose their prime' at?

[MetaIIica]

I noticed that many fighters will be in their primes until mid 30s, but some people can even make it to mid 40's like Yoel Romero, Teixiera, Couture, DC.

It seems like the age for UFC fighters decline starts at 35

 

[Willek]

Whenever a Sherdogger decides that it will suit their argument.

 

[NewLockGuy]

Partially depends on the weight class, from what I've seen. Guys seem to peak earlier in the lighter weight classes while larger fighters seem to hold on longer.

 

[Safton]

35 is the answer you'll see get thrown around most often and it's one I generally agree with as a rule-of-thumb. Even NFL fans have told me the same thing about a lot of players over there.

Caveats exist insofar as:

-- I'd argue that pure peak athletic potential is much lower than 35, but 35 -- give or take -- tends to be the general consensus of where you are able to see most athletes experience a gradual (or rapid) fall-off off their athleticism.

-- The higher up in weight classes you go, the older you can generally get away with being.

-- Fighting styles, amount of accrued wear & tear, "fight mileage", etc. all matter a lot, too.

 

[punkoo]

it probably starts around 30 but it is not noticeable until you are 35-36. Henry Cejudo still doing fine but I feel he is slower than when he was in his 20s

 

[Chalky White]

There’s an exception on Sherdog for Fedor and Pride fighters. They were past their prime the instant they lost a fight.

 

[sonhow]

Some lose it before 30 (Joe Stevenson) Some lose it mid 30's (Chuck Liddel) and some lose it in their 40's (Glover Texeira)

Actually lot of success has more to do with overall momentum, lifestyle, mindset, injuries, millage, interest to keep going, stuff going on in private life than just age.

Because as a great man once said. Number is just an age.

 

[2004 account]

There’s an exception on Sherdog for Fedor and Pride fighters. They were past their prime the instant they lost a fight.

Fedor's trainer starting talking about fedors decline like in 2008 or vs arlovski so that one is justified, he would know.

 

[Paolo Delutis]

Different for everyone and is more of a mindset then anything else...except for when major injuries are considered...

Weve seen plenty of evidence that prime is more of a social construct or mentality then a real thing physically..

Best one i can think of is ..

" Not bad for an old man" - Randy Couture

After demolishing 6'8 Timmy ... For 5 rounds .. at 43

Spoiler

you readY ...YOU READY...LETS GET IT ON COME ON ... /SPOILER]

 

[Hima Hamrash]

Jon Jones just looked at the best as he'd ever look in his whole entire career at 35, OP, I mean, to tell you honestly, it depends on the athlete, also as we know, the maximum longevity for a fighter athlete is 13-15 years old, so if you are a fighter that fights at heavier division (cause the heavier divisions are the divisions where you can still be elite even you're old), and you started late, the longevity of your career can still be the same mostly, and it depends on if you work hard.

Like, Francis Ngannou is a fighter that can defy age, next year he will be 38 Years Old, he maybe old age wise in the sport but in his fighting years, he's still young cause 10 years is not really that old for him to really just pass his prime already as we know he started MMA at 27 years old, same with Gane who just started MMA at 28 years old, so don't expect him to pass his prime just early, maybe in the next 10 years, it just depends, Stipe started MMA professionally at 28 years old but the guy is an animal and looked good at 38 years old, same with DC who started at 30 years old, and looked really good at old age in fighting...etc, it just depends on the athlete tho.

 

[ClosetVitorFan]

If steroids are involved like with anderson silva he was still in his prime in his late 30s because of vitamin S. But CLEAN. 35 is the age you're most likely done.

 

[J-Pac]

Depends on the weight class and the damage they have taken. Certain losses can really knock a guys confidence and put him out of his prime as well. I don't think you can put a specific age on it, its an eyeball test that is specific to each guy. The only generalizations you can really make are that lighter weight classes seem to age the guys earlier, probably because they are more competitive and speed is more important.

 

[CleverNameEh]

I noticed that many fighters will be in their primes until mid 30s, but some people can even make it to mid 40's like Yoel Romero, Teixiera, Couture, DC.

It seems like the age for UFC fighters decline starts at 35

Generally starts around 35 or 36 for most, but the lucky few can keep it going until low 40s.

Nobody's prime really makes it past 44 or 45.

 

[JosephTessaro]

Athletic prime is between 28-34 from what "doctor's" say. Someone may peak before or maybe slightly thereafter.

I'd say a guy like Romero peaked a while ago, he's just a natural freak.

 

[Wreckless]

Milleage should be one of the top responses.

Age
Milleage
Weightclass

Those 3 factors together usually determine when a fighter starts to decline.

Guys who start young and have a lot of milleage will usually become past their prime younger. Look at Aldo.

Then you got guys who started their MMA career really late and look incredible at an older age. Romero.

 

[cookdaddy]

Heavyweight - 38-40
Light heavyweight - 36-38
All other weight classes - 34

 

[HHJ]

Jon Jones just looked at the best as he'd ever look in his whole entire career at 35, OP, I mean, to tell you honestly, it depends on the athlete, also as we know, the maximum longevity for a fighter athlete is 13-15 years old, so if you are a fighter that fights at heavier division (cause the heavier divisions are the divisions where you can still be elite even you're old), and you started late, the longevity of your career can still be the same mostly, and it depends on if you work hard.

Like, Francis Ngannou is a fighter that can defy age, next year he will be 38 Years Old, he maybe old age wise in the sport but in his fighting years, he's still young cause 10 years is not really that old for him to really just pass his prime already as we know he started MMA at 27 years old, same with Gane who just started MMA at 28 years old, so don't expect him to pass his prime just early, maybe in the next 10 years, it just depends, Stipe started MMA professionally at 28 years old but the guy is an animal and looked good at 38 years old, same with DC who started at 30 years old, and looked really good at old age in fighting...etc, it just depends on the athlete tho.

Jones hasn't looked that great in a while. Gane really just didn't give him anything to trouble him with

 

[Wreckless]

Biologically speaking, prime for human is probably somewhere between 25 and early 30s. But there's a lot of different factors that come into play when it comes to MMA.

Experience, technique etc.. a 35 year old fighter could easily beat the 27 year old version of himself despite being passed his peak physical potential he'd still be considered in his "prime".

 

[theleerygoose]

Depends when you start, how much damage you take, and your lifestyle out of fighting. If you get violently KOd multiple times in your late 20s your career will turn like Weidman and Rockholds did. Or take Chuck who was always out partying and started getting violently KOd in his mid 30s over and over. An end of a prime often begins with a bad KO. If you can avoid the damage in both training and in the cage you can fight well into your mid or even late 30s.

With that said there are few fighters in their prime before 25 or after 35. 90% of champions fall within that age range.

 

[NicholasJBasile]

Evidence suggests a couple things -- at lighter weights, fighters are at their prime at a younger age. At heavier weights, fighters are at their prime at an older age.

More significantly than age, however, is how long a fighter has been competing. You'll see some fighters that started competing at age 16 that retired before they were 30. You'll also see fighters that didn't start their careers until after 30 that became champions.