Yoel Romero, the only true A level athlete in the UFC

[chukutee]

Dude is certainly on some grade A shit.

 

[Orni]

What's with you Americans and your obsession with these combine numbers. There's more to being an athlete than running a couple of sprints and doing some vertical jumps.

Because americans are brainwashed by the fotball / basketball culture where a players talent-level seems to be based on some penis-like measurements like the speed at wich they run or how many inches they can jump instead of just watching the guy playing and realizing if he is good or not.

How do you put statistics in the technical marvel of a Lionel Messi. You can only put statistics on his goals / assist but that is still not comparable to these 60 yard dash sprints and other silly attributes wich don't mean much in most sports. I'm sure he runs pretty damn fast and jumps high and all but in the end what sets him apart from everyone else is his 25+ years of training and becoming a master at his craft combined with his intelligence on the field and general understanding of the game.

A guy like Frankie Edgar is the prime example of a fighters fighter who probably has average athletic statistics but has imeasurable heart, willpower and technical talent for martial arts wich permits him to beat opponents who are more athletic / bigger.

Basically fighting has so much to do with the mental game. Another good example of this is Uriah Hall, the guy seems super athletic yet he is very hot and cold because his head doesn't seem to be 100% in fighting all the time (i'm speculating here but i can't be the only one thinking this.) When you watch the guy spar he seems to be doing Anderson Silva esque moves yet when he fights in the UFC he sometimes looks like some average bottom UFC level fighter with a few moments of brilliance here and there.

 

[Zeppeling]

Who else is there? I'm talking A level insane combine numbers athlete. We already know Jones cant dunk and is the worst Athlete in his family. I put Jones at B- level. Combine numbers would be laughed at.

Judging by Uriah Halls speed, balance, explosiveness I'd consider him to be an A-level athlete. He's a rarity in MMA.

 

[Zeppeling]

Because americans are brainwashed by the fotball / basketball culture where a players talent-level seems to be based on some penis-like measurements like the speed at wich they run or how many inches they can jump instead of just watching the guy playing and realizing if he is good or not.

How do you put statistics in the technical marvel of a Lionel Messi. You can only put statistics on his goals / assist but that is still not comparable to these 60 yard dash sprints and other silly attributes wich don't mean much in most sports. I'm sure he runs pretty damn fast and jumps high and all but in the end what sets him apart from everyone else is his 25+ years of training and becoming a master at his craft combined with his intelligence on the field and general understanding of the game.

A guy like Frankie Edgar is the prime example of a fighters fighter who probably has average athletic statistics but has imeasurable heart, willpower and technical talent for martial arts wich permits him to beat opponents who are more athletic / bigger.

Basically fighting has so much to do with the mental game. Another good example of this is Uriah Hall, the guy seems super athletic yet he is very hot and cold because his head doesn't seem to be 100% in fighting all the time (i'm speculating here but i can't be the only one thinking this.) When you watch the guy spar he seems to be doing Anderson Silva esque moves yet when he fights in the UFC he sometimes looks like some average bottom UFC level fighter with a few moments of brilliance here and there.

Save your drivel for a different thread. This is talking about athleticism, not fight skills. If you can't understand that then you're too dim for this simple conversation.

 

[Vespo]

His religious delusion is only logical. I remember before one of his fights he claimed to have been chosen by god.
Whether it was a divine power or the inevitable fluke result of random chance and natural selection, the guy IS blessed. He has physical gifts undreamt of.
He looks godlike, vat grown, like a fighting Uruk Hai. How could he explain this to himself? What makes him so special, so gifted, so chosen?

You can tell yourself "the gods don't favour him" all you want, as something fucking does, and those gifts will destroy you, regardless of the identity of their giver.

Haha fair enough... still, I don't know how many of you can speak spanish, but the things he says and the way he says them both go way beyond a healthy dose of faith.

 

[kflo]

Do you have an actual point?

Didn't think so.

Karelin = A/A+ level. Romero couldn't hold a candle to Karelin as a wrestler, therefore he is nowhere near A level.

Problem?

lol. so there's one A level wrestler who ever lived?

karelin was a shw greco wrestler. how are you benchmarking his "athleticism"? lol

 

[kflo]

Bench press isn't really a thing people look at for strength in Europe since their favoriate sports (soccer, cycling, tennis), don't really have anything to do with that upper body pushing power. In my experience, when a Euro dude wants to peackock how strong he is he'll do power cleans. Probably a better measure of strength than bench press, in fact.

it's all about the jerk

 

[LordFarthing]

Tony Mandarich had the most impressive combine ever, but couldn't play in the NFL.

Football isn't a competition of speed and strength, its a sport. Yoel isn't even a champion yet and barely beat Tim Kennedy, and you could argue he cheated his way to a win.

 

[kflo]

Save your drivel for a different thread. This is talking about athleticism, not fight skills. If you can't understand that then you're too dim for this simple conversation.

how do you define "athleticism"? how good an "athlete" was roy jones? on a development league basketball court he looked average. charlie ward was an average athlete on a basketball court.

 

[BeardotheWeirdo]

For the sake of argument, Randleman could jump really high

Also Herschel Walker.

Athleticism is not necessarily the key to success in MMA though.

 

[InsideLegKick]

 

[Ed Casey]

Bench press isn't really a thing people look at for strength in Europe since their favoriate sports (soccer, cycling, tennis), don't really have anything to do with that upper body pushing power. In my experience, when a Euro dude wants to peackock how strong he is he'll do power cleans. Probably a better measure of strength than bench press, in fact.

wasn't serious, the bench press is probably the least useful measure they use at the NFL combine

 

[MuyThaiElbows]

Your crazy if you don't think Yoel is athletic. He's right up there with Frankie, Aldo, Bendo, Urijah, and Lombard.

 

[DizzelDel]

There are currently several former Olympians in the UFC dawggg.

 

[MuyThaiElbows]

There are currently several former Olympians in the UFC dawggg.

I'm sure most would argue that DC isn't athletic.

 

[Sano]

Point being? A dude running fast and a smaller dude changing directions, so what?

 

[King Cobra]

According to ESPN, hockey requires more athleticism than football & basketball. Sherdoggers are obsessed with "explosiveness" & "athleticism" for some reason, & keep insisting NFL & NBA guys only need a month of training to become UFC HW champ

This is something a Caucasian guy would say.

 

[King Cobra]

Romero is an absolute freak of an athlete, no doubt about it.

I don't think he's the only one though. I'd say Brock, GSP, Jones, Cormier, and maybe even Lawler are up there too. I mean, with Lawler, he isn't the most technical guy in any area but he is still the king of maybe the most competitive division in the UFC. That's pure natural ability right there. Punching power, explosiveness, endurance, and toughness. He is a freak of nature no doubt. If he dedicated himself entirely to boxing or wrestling from a young age I'd say he would have the potential to be a world champion.

Lawler is not as explosive as Mike Tyson. Solid athlete but don't know about A level.

 

[El Fernas]

Any olympic medalist must be for sure an A-level athlete, as it is the ultimate competition for almost any sport, how those atributes translate to another sport is a different thing.

 

[King Cobra]

Karelin exists, that's the definition of an A-level athlete: e.g. top guy in a B-level sport. Prime Romero would get tossed around like a child by prime Karelin, calling him B-level is giving him more than enough credit.

Different weight classes genius.

If they were the same weight Romero would give Karelin slid competition.