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Khabib, on the other hand... but he is not American, so it doesn't count?
He is American enough, he trains at AMERICAN Kickboxing Academy FFS!!!!
Carry on...........
Khabib, on the other hand... but he is not American, so it doesn't count?
And get Aldo/Pettis out of there. Make it a clean UFC sweep of American collegiate wrestling dominance.
Judokas and European sympathists, go ahead and get pissed.
Most of them aren't athletic enough. Seriously, think about the best BJJ guys in MMA: Roger, Maia, Shields, etc. Only Jacare really has the level of athleticism that's equilvalent to a high level wrestler, and he takes people down all the time. Those other guys are slow and plodding. They've managed to make that work for them to a certain level, but they'll never be shooting doubles like GSP because they have neither the speed nor the reflexes. That's why BJJ guys tend to rely on the clinch for their TDs: it doesn't require nearly the level of explosiveness, it's more about dominating grips and catching the guy off balance ala Judo. One of the things I like best about BJJ (as a not terribly athletic guy) is that technique makes up for a lack of athleticism more than in most other sports. But that's also a detriment when high level BJJ guys enter MMA, most of their technique is useless, and they need to fall back on a raw athleticism they just don't possess. Why do you think Jacare's striking has gotten so good so fast while guys with comparable BJJ achievements like Roger and Maia still look terrible on the feet? It's because Jacare is twice the athlete those guys are and as such he can pick up and execute new parts of the game without a lifetime of training.
Yes. And I'll quickly call Zach of course. Now, any volunteers for now porn star Screech?
This is the second post you mention athletism as the underlying factor. I believe wrestling is more about hard work, dedication, and technique than it is about being a "great athlete".
I think it's because wrestlers learn from a very young age to work there asses off and to refuse to loose.
Is that Mario Lopez?
Wrestlers are by far the best athletes entering MMA. Just look at what a guy like Dillashaw could do in terms of picking up striking to the point where he looks like one of the best kickboxers in the UFC. He didn't wrestle Barao at all, but he was was a lot faster, stronger, and quicker and he made him look terrible. Jones is probably the best athlete in the UFC now that GSP is retired and he became champ after like 2.5 years of training. In general non-wrestlers just can't keep up with the D1 alums physically. Hell, look at how Cormier was able to just ragdoll people in both HW and LHW; that's a level of athleticism that non-wrestlers in MMA just don't have. BJJ and kickboxing are such niche sports that you don't necessarily have guys with elite athleticism rise to the top (simply because there aren't that many elite athletes who pick up those sports in the first place), so when they make the transition to MMA they've never dealt with guys as strong and fast as D1 all Americans and frankly can't handle it. To say nothing of how useful wrestling is as a skill set, or in building a winning mentality.
American wrestling was always just a huge pool of athletic talent that largely went wasted as there wasn't a professional route for wrestlers post college. MMA has changed that, I'm not at all surprised to see the success wrestlers have had.
well Pettis is fighting Gilbert Melendez next who was a college wrestler, I don't know who the #2 contender is, Thomson or Bendo I guess, both of who were college wrestlers
Jose Aldo has Mendes next, maybe Frankie Edgar after that if he beats BJ Penn, but BJ Penn technically wrestled in college himself (West Valley college), and he is American
No, man, that's A.C. Slater, star wrestler from Bayside High. He had offers from Iowa, Penn St., etc., but got Kelly Kapowski pregnant and had to give up wrestling. Heard he fought underground MMA for a while to help pay for diapers and stuff.
This is the second post you mention athletism as the underlying factor. I believe wrestling is more about hard work, dedication, and technique than it is about being a "great athlete".
I think it's because wrestlers learn from a very young age to work there asses off and to refuse to loose.
My team competed against Melendez' in college. Always kicked their ass and couldnt stand them because they would always bring half a squad. Guess I am gonna have to root for Melendez now to keep the "Wrestler Express" on the tracks to a UFC domination sweep.
True. But the point is, you still need good striking to be a champion.
So let's say all or even most wrestlers have that mentality. Which ones rise to the top, to win national championships, become all Americans, etc? The most athletic ones. Those are also the ones you see transitioning into MMA. Most fighters in the UFC have worked very, very hard for a very, very long time. Athleticism is a huge separating factor between 20-10th ranked guys and top 10 guys, and wrestlers who have made it through the grind of high school and college wrestling in the US have it in spades. You're starting with a very, very broad base of participation and only the most successful and athletic guys are going to stick with the sport all the way through college. The pyramid is much more narrow for BJJ, kickboxing, and (in the US) Judo, so the guys at the top have not had to overcome the same kind of opposition as elite wrestlers.
Most of them aren't athletic enough. Seriously, think about the best BJJ guys in MMA: Roger, Maia, Shields, etc. Only Jacare really has the level of athleticism that's equilvalent to a high level wrestler, and he takes people down all the time. Those other guys are slow and plodding. They've managed to make that work for them to a certain level, but they'll never be shooting doubles like GSP because they have neither the speed nor the reflexes. That's why BJJ guys tend to rely on the clinch for their TDs: it doesn't require nearly the level of explosiveness, it's more about dominating grips and catching the guy off balance ala Judo. One of the things I like best about BJJ (as a not terribly athletic guy) is that technique makes up for a lack of athleticism more than in most other sports. But that's also a detriment when high level BJJ guys enter MMA, most of their technique is useless, and they need to fall back on a raw athleticism they just don't possess. Why do you think Jacare's striking has gotten so good so fast while guys with comparable BJJ achievements like Roger and Maia still look terrible on the feet? It's because Jacare is twice the athlete those guys are and as such he can pick up and execute new parts of the game without a lifetime of training.
No, man, that's A.C. Slater, star wrestler from Bayside High. He had offers from Iowa, Penn St., etc., but got Kelly Kapowski pregnant and had to give up wrestling. Heard he fought underground MMA for a while to help pay for diapers and stuff.
Is anyone who wrestled automatically in the wrestler camp, even if they've trained other stuff a lot more and don't really use wrestling in their fights? Because Gil has spent at least as much time on boxing and BJJ as he has on wrestling, and typically his boxing wins his fights.
Is anyone who wrestled automatically in the wrestler camp, even if they've trained other stuff a lot more and don't really use wrestling in their fights? Because Gil has spent at least as much time on boxing and BJJ as he has on wrestling, and typically his boxing wins his fights.
Yes. And I'll quickly call Zach of course. Now, any volunteers for now porn star Screech?