Why is Bruce Lee considered such an incredible mixed martial artist?

[Do The Evolution]

I don't know about him being considered as an "incredible MMA fighter" but he's actually credited more for inspiring love of martial arts among those in the West, which of course includes generations of would - be MMA fighters.

 

[kuroro]

god what a shit movie

 

[Frankie Baby!]

You guys would not believe the amount of conversations I've had about why Bruce Lee would get his head stomped in against actual fighters.

 

[Halifax]

Influential, i'd say he is huge.

As for his actual skills? incredibly overrated. That's what happens when movies and unchecked "reports" just get accepted at face value.
He was probably very good. but not some unbeatable invincible warrior. Christ we had people on this very forum legit arguing that the nokia Bruce lee nunchuck ping pong commercial was real and proves how amazing he was. Even though a million sources including the commercial creators admit is was CGI

You could easily make a Poll of "Bruce Lee vs Haku" and people who know of Haku/Meng/Tonga and his legend will start citing all the "legends" verified by interviews about how invincible he was. The stories and respect the guy gets kinda prove he was a badass. but I doubt the stories of him ripping eyes and teeth out with 2 fingers is true.

Haku was one step above a jobber in the wrestling world, but everyone was fucking terrified of him. From hulk Hogan to anyone who ever worked with Haku.

I was sold on his legend from the moment Scott Steiner shut the fuck up. Scott Steiner is a legit badass in real life and a roid raging scary dude who could beat most people up badly in real life. He always talks about how he could beat anyone except maybe his brother when they were younger. During the interview they popped the question about "you could even beat haku?" and Scott Steiner got quiet and humble for like the first time in his life and conceded Haku is the one guy he would never fuck with. His brother Rick Steiner, who was not quite as much of a badass, but was known for being way crazier than Scott backstage was also asked this question. Rick just chuckled and said ".......You don't mess with that guy. Scott and I thought we were tough guys until we met Haku"

 

[Y2Khaos]

No good at MMA ya say? Well explain THIS!!!!

In my opinion, if Bruce Lee had been an actor first and then done MMA in the UFC he would be at best Cung Le at worst CM Punk. He would have won a few fights but nothing spectacular.

It's easy to look good if it is on film and the person is working with you and you can redo it 100 times till it looks perfect. It's totally different when you have to do it for real. The last time a thread like this came up I went back and watched all of his most popular movies. There is no footage of him in a "real" fight so that's all I had to compare it too. The fight scenes look ridiculous compared to now. It's hard to compare the things available in the 1960s to the advancements they have made in the past 60 years. It's like comparing UFC 1 to UFC 254. They are both MMA but they aren't the same.

​

 

[pulling guard]

Cause he made some bad ass movies and wrote martial art/philosophy books.

 

[morrisondafalln]

This thread is a gold mine for dumb quotes. Like beyond belief dumb quotes.
Keep them coming!

Yawns .... one term

 

[Haj01]

Plenty of the top martial artists of the time said he was legit.

 

[Fossor]

you do realize that was a movie and completely made up and bruce lee's daughter and ex wife have gone on record and said that bruce was nothing like depicted in that movie.

No shit! His wife and daughter?! I am convinced now - he is the greatest fighter to ever walk the Earth!

 

[TheScorpionDude]

This thread is a gold mine for dumb quotes. Like beyond belief dumb quotes.
Keep them coming!

It's also a magnet for cultist behavior.

Did I insult your special yoga/meditation pastime ?

 

[jonathan274]

Obviously, he never really fought. So, you can't claim it's his fighting skills. But then many people say his thinking skills and his philosophy were above parr. Like he was the first person to think of mixing martial arts. That doesn't take a genius! Back then, there were people not just thinking of mixing them -- but actually doing it, and competing in it: sambo, for one example, among many. Where does Bruce Lee fit into the martial arts aside from movies and acting?

 

[FIghtxIQ]

Bruce Lee is legit. Anyone that really understands fighting and martial arts would understand that. Grapplers like Gracie's don't like Bruce Lee because they want to be known for being the founders of mma while other's think Bruce Lee's philosophy attributed to that. Even though early mma with Gracie's wasn't really mixing martial arts into a style, they were just using their BJJ vs other martial arts styles. What Bruce Lee was doing was taking in everything from all styles, he was working grappling as well, just not to the level of BJJ yet. If he would've stayed alive he would've trained more grappling because even back then he understood how effective it was, that was evident because he was already training it and including submission holds in his movies.

There is a reason why a lot of actual fighters look up to Bruce Lee and consider him a legend. Watch his movements, listen to his philosophy, listen to interviews from legit fighters that trained with him, it's obvious he was legit. His whole style was to be effective in a real fight situation, he was against katas and forms in the traditional sense of martial arts because he saw it as ineffective in a real fight. Jon Jones/Conor McGregor uses his oblique kick, a number of other fighters use sidekicks. Those are 2 techniques that Bruce Lee made popular that is being used today by elite and world Champion fighters. He was also doing wheel kicks but less fighters actually attempt that move in a real fight setting, but that was another technique that Bruce Lee worked on.

He was focused on all forms of fighting, not just sport fighting. A lot of fighters now have a hard time with that distinction because they only learned or practiced sport fighting. When people think about a fight now they automatically think of sports and overlook the true definition of a fight in it's purest form. Bruce Lee focused on fighting, not just sport. No one was mixing it up like he was back then, and even now with the fluidity he had in his stand up style - the majority still can't replicate his style from back then. That's how far ahead he was in the game.

 

[Respect]

 

[bigconan]

No shit! His wife and daughter?! I am convinced now - he is the greatest fighter to ever walk the Earth!

Not saying that...but bruce was made to look like a baffoon in the movie. which he most definitely wasn't. and he didn't go around starting fights with people.

 

[Fossor]

Not saying that...but bruce was made to look like a baffoon in the movie. which he most definitely wasn't. and he didn't go around starting fights with people.

Of course he didn't, he'd get his ass kicked

 

[Marko Polo]

He is as good real life fighter as a Stevan Seagal

Put him into cage with UFC fighters of his size and he gets destroyed real quick.

I remember when Conor was in his prime and people would claim that Bruce Lee would have beaten him. I was trying to convey that Bruce Lee has never actually experienced competition

 

[champbless2]

I remember when Conor was in his prime and people would claim that Bruce Lee would have beaten him. I was trying to convey that Bruce Lee has never actually experienced competition

Man thats nothing
Years ago I had friends that were convincing me in a agreessive way wihout facts that Bruce Lee would kill Mike Tyson
Safe to say they are no longer my friends

 

[315MMAFighter]

Much as I love Lee Jun Fan we never saw 1 legit mma style fight between him and anyone on film. So its hard to say why people worship him besides the films he's made.

 

[Chosen]

Bruce lee may not have been a real fighter but his philosophy on a lot of things is used today in mma/combat sports.

“To reach me you must move to me, your attack offers me an opportunity to intercept you. In this case I’m using my longest weapon, my side kick against the nearest target your knee cap. This can compared to your left Jab in boxing expect its much more damaging”.

 

[Ancient Warrior]

Bruce had plenty of street fights, but the Generation Z dorks discount anything that’s not documented on the internet.