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

Tall boxers like the Klitschkos, Valuev, Tyson Fury, Helenius etc should not be mentioned when it comes to ideal fighter size. Boxing isn't fighting. The rules heavily favor these slow oafs. Throw a 1-2 & hug until the ref separates you, 1-2-hug-separate, 1-2-hug-separate. The rules make it very difficult for smaller boxers to fight on the inside & dirty boxing(which favors the shorter fighter) is illegal.

The ideal height for MMA fighters is 5'11-6'4

JDS: 6'3
Cain: 6'1
Reem: 6'4
Werdum: 6'4
Cormier: 5'11
Mir: 6'2
Nelson: 5'11
Fedor: 5'11
Nog: 6'2
Crocop: 6'1

You even see this in wrestling, bjj etc. ADD absolute weight champions-

Roger Gracie:6'4
Drysdale:6'3
Estima: 6'3
Galvao: 5'10

Even in Olympic wrestling, the greatest super heavyweights fit this range.

Alexandar Karelin: 6'3
Artur Taymazov: 6'3
Aleksandr Medved: 6'3

By the looks of it, the ideal height for fighting(MMA, wrestling, bjj) is very close to 190cm or 6'3.

To me there is no reason to compare MMA and boxing. They are two different things, and boxing is not fighting. Every sport will have its own rules that make it more advantageous to a certain body type. Sumo guys are like 500 lbs. Marathoners are maybe 145 (dunno). But top MMAers we've seen tens to be 6'1"-6'4", 230-245.

But to me, this does NOT mean that this is the optimum body type. Keep in mind that for every guy who is 6'8", there are probably 50 guys who are 6'2". So it may be more advantageous to be 6'8", but there are so few guys who grow to be that tall. Furthermore, they tend to get snatched up by other sports.
 
jones seems to have a frame that works very well.
 
I'd say that someone like Nick Diaz is too small and weak. Results don't agree however. Would he beat Dos Santos? No way, therefore we will go larger.

Bob Sapp, too big and oafish maybe? History shows he was very beatable. Carwin-Lesnar seemed to do fine untill the new breed came in.

I would go with Kongo size myself, athletic and powerful.
 
To me there is no reason to compare MMA and boxing. They are two different things, and boxing is not fighting. Every sport will have its own rules that make it more advantageous to a certain body type. Sumo guys are like 500 lbs. Marathoners are maybe 145 (dunno). But top MMAers we've seen tens to be 6'1"-6'4", 230-245.

But to me, this does NOT mean that this is the optimum body type. Keep in mind that for every guy who is 6'8", there are probably 50 guys who are 6'2". So it may be more advantageous to be 6'8", but there are so few guys who grow to be that tall. Furthermore, they tend to get snatched up by other sports.

you have definitely a point here.

good post sir.
 
Impossible to say. Everyone is different and people make things work to their advantage with what they've got.
 
That fighter would get smashed by any top ten HW.

Lanky/Stocky/Normal. Lanky and stocky fighters gain a physical advantage that amplifies their main skill when up against the right opponent. Normal build is the one that never suffers an extreme disadvantage. Jones' ability to wrestle with a lanky build is extraordinary and beyond uncommon. What Anderson has been able to do with his lanky build makes his accomplishments even more impressive, not less.

I think the majority agrees that Fedor is a starting point. I think you can go a little taller and a little heavier. Normal build, 6'1'' to 6'4'' max and 235-250 lbs.

I must have missed the part in the OP where it said we were doing HW's only.
 
you have definitely a point here.

good post sir.

Thank you sir :)

I'm still not sure that the UFC has ever gotten a true freak like a Karelin in there yet. I have no reason to believe somebody like him, but trained for MMA, wouldn't do some real damage. But every time they true to shove this 'new breed of HWs' nonsense down our throats, the dude gets KTFO by some 240er. Somebody at ~240 who has good durability and good cardio will likely cause problems to the 290 lbs beasts.
 
Baddest dude ever was about 6 feet and 230 pounds. So maybe around that.
 
The distance that MMA fighters fight at, as opposed to boxing, for instance, is huge. Athleticism is the most important factor in any fight. Look at Diaz v. Bendo. Diaz was bigger, a much better boxer and so on. But Bendo wrecked him because he could control distance and get takedowns and land punches-- all because he was a much better athlete.
 
Would these men have been able to dominate with very little training? Nikolai Valuev won 2 heavyweight titles at 7-feet tall and 300 pounds (though I haven't seen much boxing).

Sorry but the idea that basketball or football players could easily cross over and 'dominate' is some of the biggest bullshit being repeated on these forums. Being a fighter requires so much more than pure athletic ability.

For one, fighting isn't a sprinter's sport; speed and explosiveness are good to have but they have to be managed carefully. A fight is generally a painful grind - there is no coasting, no real breaks in action. A fighter who relies too much on pure speed and explosiveness, who is only really effective in the first round will not be successful.

Ring smarts, the ability to take damage, to stay technical and persevere while taking damage, under the constant threat of getting KOed... these are all pretty special attributes that a high level athlete from a non-fighting background will likely not have and will have no interest in developing - yes: simply having the will to get punched in the face for a living is a special attribute in itself.

The only exception might be the heavyweight division, simply because the skill level there, in general, is so low.
 
140 lb flyweight with jds punching power
 
It's funny how you put Brock Lesnar and the greatest wrestler of all time Alexander Karelin in the same cathegory. Karelin was MUCH stronger than Brock ever was. If you should compare Karelin to anybody, it should be to Mijain Lopez, the 6'5 cuban 285 lbs cuban. Karelin was walking around heavier than 286, he was over 300 lbs while not competing.
 
I think your body TYPE has a lot to do with it. Bones and Anderson are at a big advantage by having long limbs to strike with. I think a lanky body type helps in most sports in general. Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, Randy Moss, and Megatron are names that pop up in my head with that lanky body type.

speed, footwork, timing.... AS and JJ would have the ideal sizes
 
Its funny it seems like the big offensive lineman get hurt less at least on camera, they seem to always make it through the game.
 
There are no "ideal size" in MMA, since a fighters ideal size will depend on his fighting style.
 
It's funny how you put Brock Lesnar and the greatest wrestler of all time Alexander Karelin in the same cathegory. Karelin was MUCH stronger than Brock ever was. If you should compare Karelin to anybody, it should be to Mijain Lopez, the 6'5 cuban 285 lbs cuban. Karelin was walking around heavier than 286, he was over 300 lbs while not competing.

Dude was one of a kind.

"I train every day of my life, as they have never trained in a single day of theirs."
 
If you look at the best fighters arguably of all time they Range between 5'10 and let's say 6'4 SO about a six inch gap. You have tyson, DC on one end and ali and bones on the other end. Their also seems to be some really powerful people at 5'6 and 5'7 that fight heavyweight. I think Joe rogan said the ideal weight for fighting is 240. Which makes sense because you can probably be any man at any weight if your a good 240 pound martial artist.
 

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