What is the IDEAL SIZE for a fighter? (and the square cube law)

[Anonymous84]

bigger than a bread box, smaller than a sedan, with a trimmed beard.

 

[gojulew]

bigger than a bread box, smaller than a sedan, with a trimmed beard.

johnny hendricks is that you ?

 

[Anonymous84]

johnny hendricks is that you ?

Bingo!

 

[Scald85]

Brock Lesnar has the perfect fighter's body if he had gone into the sport early enough.

 

[99Silva]

Ideal size for a fighter to be within the limits of your weight class healthy and strong. Also you have to be mentally tough.

 

[Alexandergreat3]

CLIFFS: Given that humans get slower and have health problems as they get larger, what do you think is the IDEAL height and weight for a fighter? Evidence from any other sport is welcome.

This is what I have after taking the average of the top 3 HWs in boxing and MMA:

Boxing top 3 HW Average:

Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight: 251.8 lbs (114.5 kg)
Reach: 81 in (207.2 cm)


MMA top 3 HW Average:

Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight: 247.3 lbs (112.4 kg)
Reach: 78 in (198.5 cm)


Boxing + MMA top 3 HW Average:

Height: 6 ft 4.5 in (1.94 m)
Weight: 249.5 lbs (113.4 kg)
Reach: 79.5 in (201.9 cm)
​

BOXING and MMA Top 3 HWs

Spoiler

BOXING: Top 3 HWs


Lennox Lewis (41-2-1)

Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight: 256.5 lbs (116.4 kg)
Reach: 84 in (213 cm)


Wladimir Klitschko (59-3-0)
Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight: 242.5 lbs (110 kg)
Reach: 81 in (206 cm)


Vitali Klitschko (45-2-0)

Height: 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight: 256.5 lbs (116.4 kg)
Reach: 80 in (203 cm)


-------------------

MMA: Top 3 HWs (current)


Junior Dos Santos (15-1-0)

Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight: 239 lbs (108.4 kg)
Reach: 77 in (196 cm)


Alistair Overeem (14-1-0) as a HW
(36-11-0) including LHW record

Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight: 263 lbs (119 kg)
Reach: 80 in (203 cm)


Cain Velasquez (45-2-0)

Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight: 240 lbs (109 kg)
Reach: 77 in (196 cm)

 

[FarAway]

I think it is not fair to rule out the tallest fighters like Struve, Schilt, Valuev etc. Remember that there are very very few people in the world with their height, and even fewer with that height that goes for a career in fighting.

It is actually very impressive that they do as good as they do. If you look at Valuev he did very well and that is because of his gigantic size ! If you get a guy that is 6'8 265 pounds with very good striking and impressive takdown defence, I think he could easily be the next champ because of his reach and height ( if you have to strike upwards your punching power will decrease drastically ).

I will say that the perfect fighter size depends on their genetics.. How explosive, endurable and strong they can be at their height.

We have way to few giants to rule out the big guys like Struve, Schilt etc....

 

[Dirty Dik]

If Lebron James body trained full time for 1 year i'd say without hesitance it would win the Heavyweight championship. He's 6'8 250lbs.

 

[SerrabyTKO]

It's going to be tough to convince me that I'd rather have a 6'2 230 lb body than Dwight Howard's 7'0 275 lb body. And counter to OP, I don't think he'd necessarily be destined for any abnormal health problems due to his size, outside of those normally associated with his sport .. eventually worn down knees, etc.

Now as for brain, heart, etc, I'll be looking elsewhere. But pure body to take into battle? That's it.

Dwight is like 6'9.

/pedantic.

 

[Thorgrim]

Do you mean perfect size disregarding weight classes? I'd say someone around Rich Franklins size. Big enough to hang with some heavyweights but small enough to be fast and have great cardio.

 

[priderulez]

I do not know why but I like smaller HW's- less or around 240- like Fedor, Mirko, Cormier or in other sports- Tyson, Saki.

I do not like bigger guys cause they are rarely as athletic, fast or technical. Btw I gotta say I do not get whats with you Americans and your obsession of things being big or as Rogan likes to say "huuge"

That said I utterly despised and disliked Schilt as K-1 champ (purely from fighting style perspective as I do not know him as a person) and had a really fun times when Aerts exposed him 2 times

 

[n1xx0n]

Why is a bubble round?

 

[s1fys]

If it's open weight, there is no ideal size. Fighters would want to be as big as possible and as athletic as possible.

If there is a weight limit, probably someone that is long limbed and has a huge strong core muscle. Kind of like GSP, Aldo, or Silva.

 

[raak]

Spending 3000 + hours in a gym training hard for years is normally the key. For every successful fighter with whom you can find specific beneficial attributes, I'll show you a 1000 of the same who haven't succeeded.
These superficial threads dressed up as serious topics go nowhere. Fighting consists of more than the physicality of the fighter. It is clear that every successful fighter is CALM when fighting. This attribute is perhaps the most important. This is what separates fighters. It's psychological. Look at almost ALL of Silva's opponents. He doesn't beat them through constant physical violence. He dances around until they become frustrated and then he makes them miss and then makes them pay as they say.
I cannot say what percentage of fighting is mental, but it's enough to make any discussions of fighter's bodies void as relevant indicators of fighting prowess and skills.

 

[Bubblun]

I do not know why but I like smaller HW's- less or around 240- like Fedor, Mirko, Cormier or in other sports- Tyson, Saki.

I do not like bigger guys cause they are rarely as athletic, fast or technical. Btw I gotta say I do not get whats with you Americans and your obsession of things being big or as Rogan likes to say "huuge"

That said I utterly despised and disliked Schilt as K-1 champ (purely from fighting style perspective as I do not know him as a person) and had a really fun times when Aerts exposed him 2 times

lol, Aerts is a legend but he didn't exposed Schilt.
Schilt won 3 times the K1 GP, he is a beast.
he has also a good submission game, i would pay to see him in a high level mma match.

 

[OldManGrip]

i disagree.

i think the best body type in mma would be average height for the division while being semi stocky. with most of the extra weight being in the lower half of the body.

basically medium. not to tall and not to short. not too lanky and not too bulky.

gsp,bendo,aldo are 3 good examples

exactly if you look at previous champions for all divisions in all orgs, you will find that the average height of the roster will usually be the average of all previous champions, extremes are never good

 

[Blake900]

Jesus fucking Christ, so many posters lack basic reading comprehension. As for a guess, which is all it would be for any of us, I'd guess 6'5" 250#, but there couldn't be a less scientific answer.

The reasons I guess thusly are that at 250 you're big enough to knock down anyone, given technical proficiency, even people larger than 250. Also, you're small enough to have the speed to deliver it and at 6'5" you're most likely rangy enough to land outside without too many disadvantages in close.

 

[OldManGrip]

well for the ww division and below the average height of ex champions is actually lower than the division roster average height. Veing taller is not always better against wrestlers, it is for striking though

 

[Blake900]

Guys...forget weight classes. Perfect fighter size. GSP is not perfect fighter size.

 

[Saunamajuri]

Andersons size is the ideal for any fighter. Lanky body, long limbs and not too muscular means he wont exert too much energy just moving himself and gas himself out like the HWs do. Also, flexibility is necessary for the ideal fighter imo, since you need that to be effective on the bottom.

Long limbs sure might have some disadvantages in the ground but mostly they are a huge bonus when you can attack further and defend better.