What explains why MMA fighters prime is far older than in A-level sports?

[BrockLesnarsTurtleBack]

In A-level sports it's quite common that players are past their best after they turn 25. Natural quickness and reactions start to slow down by then. And because there's a huge mass of young A-level athletes constantly competing for spots and pushing each other, the older guys get swept aside pretty soon unless they're all-time greats.

For example nobody considers a 30-year-old NFL or NHL player besides a few non-athletic positions to be in their prime. It's commonly accepted that athletic performance is at it's peak in the early 20s. Usain Bolt peaked at 22. Phelps peaked at 23.

Is the reason why MMA is so different that the talent pool is just so shallow and nobody trains MMA as a teenager? If MMA was a big sport would it be entirely dominated by early 20s guys?

 

[HockeyBjj]

knowledge and vision are more important in a fight that raw athleticism. Guys get better with more experience for longer

Hockey the peak for NHL players is later too, and guys play later into their career at a still professional level. Same thing, where vision and understanding of what's happening on the ice is more important than being able to skate 1% faster.

Article I saw not long ago said forwards peak at 28 and defensemen peak at 29.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/when-nhl-players-peak-hockey-metrics-1.2646054

So if hockey player peaked at 30, or if his prime batch of years was 27-32, that would be align with what we often see from MMA. For things like NFL or Olympics, the experience of what the opponent is doing in so many varied situations and how to react to it isn't as much, so it's just the pure athleticism that carries them

 

[mirko>anyone]

Not sure i agree with the premise entirely.

 

[eiyuu]

George Foreman was nearly 50 when he last boxed.

Maybe it's for all combat sports that you can keep going into your later years.

 

[Sonny Qc]

depend on the fighting style a lot tbh.

 

[snugglecakes]

Because mma has a massive paywall to train it. Kids can learn football baseball soccer etc for free through the public school system but if you wanna learn mma… pay up bitch

 

[Candy Routure]

There are no “non-athletic positions” in the NHL, and their primes are not in their early 20’s.

 

[mirko>anyone]

knowledge and vision are more important in a fight that raw athleticism. Guys get better with more experience for longer

Hockey the peak for NHL players is later too, and guys play later into their career at a still professional level

Article I saw not long ago said forwards peak at 28 and defensemen peak at 29.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/when-nhl-players-peak-hockey-metrics-1.2646054

So if hockey player peaked at 30, or if his prime batch of years was 27-32, that would be align with what we often see from MMA. For things like NFL or Olympics, the experience of what the opponent is doing in so many varied situations and how to react to it isn't as much, so it's just the pure athleticism that carries them

It’s also easy to conflate overall peak performance and physical prime. they don’t aways align. I agree that MMA falls in line with most other sports in regards to prime years.

 

[HockeyBjj]

It’s also easy to conflate overall peak performance and physical prime. they don’t aways align. I agree that MMA falls in line with most other sports in regards to prime years.

Exactly and that's what I'm getting at. For sports like NHL and MMA, I think a person can often be half a step slower than they were at 24, but still be better at their sport than they were at the more athletic age.

What was that line from the Norton Hulk movie? "You take what I know now and put it in the body I had 10 years ago? I wouldn't want to fight that person"

 

[LEWIS540]

Not sure about US sports, but most sports I follow, the prime years for men are normally say 23-33......seems similar in MMA.

Is it true that after 25, NFL players go down hill? Seems way off.

Obviously there are many outliers.

 

[G10]

Another important consideration is the weight-class. You'll notice that as you go up in weight, fighters can typically remain competitive in their later years. I'm sure there a bunch of reasons for that, but there are very few high-level guys in the lower weight classes in their mid-late thirties.

 

[HockeyBjj]

Is it true that after 25, NFL players go down hill? Seems way off.

Depends on position, but for an NFL runningback a 26 year old player is seen as having maybe 1 or 2 good years left if they're lucky. And those years won't be close to as good as their 24/25 year old seasons

 

[panamaican]

The prime of most athletes is in their late 20s to early 30s. That's when their knowledge of the sport and their athletic ability best align. In their early 20s, they don't know enough, in their mid 30s they've lost too much athleticism.

You can't compare it to pure speed sports like swimming or sprinting because those sports are purely about peak physical output.

As for MMA fighters and their primes -- Strength is the one physical attribute that continues to improve as we age. MMA fighters are heavily reliant on strength, especially when it comes to the grappling component. Speed is important but no one is running around doing a Belfort blitz into their late 30s. So, a drop in speed can be offset by improved feinting and smarter set ups.

But all that aside -- who says that MMA athletes prime is older than the late 20s, early 30s?

 

[Lee_]

Because of the range of skills in MMA.

Werdum is a good example- he improved a lot late in his career by improving his striking.

In other sports, you play a position or compete alone with a single skillset. In MMA you need to learn skillsets from multiple sports, which takes a long time. If you have been a wrestler, BJJ fighter, or striker in those sports for a long time, you still have a lot to learn when you enter MMA regarding the other skills; those skills take a long time, but learning them is important enough that you can do it and improve in the sport even as you are losing some of your prime physical ability.

There are some similarities in other sports, although not quite as notable as MMA. For example, when Jordan started losing a step in his moves to the basket, he staved off being a lesser player for a while by compensating with an improved jump shot.

 

[rear naked ankle pick]

MMA fans on suicide watch

 

[Starman]

In A-level sports it's quite common that players are past their best after they turn 25. Natural quickness and reactions start to slow down by then. And because there's a huge mass of young A-level athletes constantly competing for spots and pushing each other, the older guys get swept aside pretty soon unless they're all-time greats.

For example nobody considers a 30-year-old NFL or NHL player besides a few non-athletic positions to be in their prime. It's commonly accepted that athletic performance is at it's peak in the early 20s. Usain Bolt peaked at 22. Phelps peaked at 23.

Is the reason why MMA is so different that the talent pool is just so shallow and nobody trains MMA as a teenager? If MMA was a big sport would it be entirely dominated by early 20s guys?

It’s not, and you don’t know what you’re talking about.

Fighters peak at different times. Those who rely purely on physical advantages, like Roy Jones Jr., can burn out quicker than those who use knowledge and experience to beat their opponents, like Bernard Hopkins.

In sports that rely almost entirely on athletic ability (like baseball, football, and basketball), the overwhelming majority of athletes are washed up by their mid-30s.

In sports where athletes don’t depend entirely on their natural athletic ability (car racing, fighting), it’s possible for athletes to continue competing at a high level for a longer period of time.

 

[Ozze]

Plus 20 few year old maybe faster or more reflexes but they are not at their strongest point in life.

 

[LEWIS540]

As for MMA fighters and their primes -- Strength is the one physical attribute that continues to improve as we age. MMA fighters are heavily reliant on strength, especially when it comes to the grappling component. Speed is important but no one is running around doing a Belfort blitz into their late 30s. So, a drop in speed can be offset by improved feinting and smarter set ups.

But all that aside -- who says that MMA athletes prime is older than the late 20s, early 30s?

I don't think that's true.

Maybe it doesn't deteriorate as fast as speed, reflexes, stamina etc, but most strength athletes still peak around 25-30, I believe.

Edit: according to my extensive google search, weightlifters peak at 26.

 

[Lee_]

The average NFL career lasts 4 years, and the average player age is 27. That means the majority lose it well before 30, since they enter the league at about 23. Prime would be about 23 to 30, which makes sense. Think about it- most players start to slowly descending after 30. There are examples all over the map, but these numbers don't lie.

BTW- ROFL at these posts that are saying that it is because MMA takes less athleticism than other sports, placing it with car racing and such. Like... what? Do these people actually watch the sport? Speed, strength, endurance, and skill are required just like football or basketball.

 

[campbecc]

In what sport do many who haven't been injured past their prime at 25? In basically any sport that requires skill people's prime is in their early to mid 30s.