Yun - Yea but for most of em, their athleticism goes out the window as soon as hard punch to the face or kick to the head
Newsflash: not every MMA fighter was able to sit in the pocket when they first got into the game but they were conditioned to be comfortable there. I think more than a handful of NBA guys could get there as well (though not Carmelo, he's a notorious bitch slap and run guy)
Yea but they still had the base as a combat sport like wrestling and grappling. Name one person who was successful that crossed over from something irrelevant to MMa. Name one.
What about Schaub (throw him out since he was just mentioned above)? Started in football then casually got into BJJ and eventually MMA. Unless you're trying to find examples of folks who went straight from one into the other with no training?
TheKidAintMine - There's a lot more to being a fighter than just being a great athlete or being big and strong. How are these guys going to react when another similarly sized trained dude kicks them in the head? Or knees them in the face in the midst of a scramble?
It's not always about the money - some people just don't being punched in the face for a living. And in the case of MMA, being punched in the face, or having some trained dude attempt to violently dislocate your shoulder.
GSP seemed to have quite a good career being a guy who didn't like getting hit.
MMApurist - Meh most likely they would just get KO'd more athletically. I mean B Schaub smokes Werdums athleticism but as a fighter oh hell no. Lebron James gets destroyed by a guy like Rob Lawler. But cool story Forest.
lebron james is the level of athlete where he could be the best guy on the planet within a year or 2 with ease.
The difference in athleticism between SChaub and Bronbron is like the difference between schaub and a kid in a wheelchair.
You think Jon Jones is a next level athlete? He is the lesser athlete of 3 brothers and they are decent NFL players. He dominates MMA and did so quickly.
Lebron is the most talented athlete on the planet.
With actual training and interest I'm sure Forrest would be right. The problem is that the lowest paid NBA athlete is likely in the top 1% of mma fighter's income.
Thus far the only pro athletes from non-combat sports that have competed with any significance have been the has-beens and dropouts at that sport they really want to be involved in.
No doubt Mitrione and Schaub would rather be playing in the real Superbowl as opposed to the "Superbowl of MMA."
FortyKoatz - Those guys sure have the right build too. That lanky, long reach athletic body type works very well for mma. ie jon jones.
Jones can't dunk bruh.
Yes he can you moron. Just because Jones says he can't dunk, doesn't mean it's the truth. Jones also said that the UFC doesn't have to worry about him getting a DUI or something like that when they became his clothing sponsor. Look how that turned out.
Jones is 6'4 and has the longest reach in the UFC, he can probably almost touch the rim standing underneath it, he can absolutely dunk.
He's been around white people his entire life and he is incredibly perceptive. He knows that no matter how much they tell themselves they aren't racist almost all whites would just subconsciously look at his athletic gifts and deem him to be somewhere between a primate and a human. Jones is no idiot, everything he says has does has a purpose.
Brock Lesnar didn't have the mentality to handle getting punched in the face well at all. He also, while clearly being gifted, wasn't so gifted that he could make it in a big money sport.
He won a UFC belt in his fourth ever fight and mounted two successful defenses of his title.
A lot of "legends" of MMA failed to make it to a second defense let alone a third, like Brock did. And Brock was almost 30 before he even debuted in this sport. Other guys who were fringe football talent like Schaub and Mitrione were able to transition to fighting and have winning records in the UFC. Meathead was even past his 30th birthday before he had his first fight, and now he's 9-4 in the top MMA org on the planet.
MMApurist - Meh most likely they would just get KO'd more athletically. I mean B Schaub smokes Werdums athleticism but as a fighter oh hell no. Lebron James gets destroyed by a guy like Rob Lawler. But cool story Forest.
lebron james is the level of athlete where he could be the best guy on the planet within a year or 2 with ease.
The difference in athleticism between SChaub and Bronbron is like the difference between schaub and a kid in a wheelchair.
You think Jon Jones is a next level athlete? He is the lesser athlete of 3 brothers and they are decent NFL players. He dominates MMA and did so quickly.
Lebron is the most talented athlete on the planet.
MMApurist - Meh most likely they would just get KO'd more athletically. I mean B Schaub smokes Werdums athleticism but as a fighter oh hell no. Lebron James gets destroyed by a guy like Rob Lawler. But cool story Forest.
lebron james is the level of athlete where he could be the best guy on the planet within a year or 2 with ease.
The difference in athleticism between SChaub and Bronbron is like the difference between schaub and a kid in a wheelchair.
You think Jon Jones is a next level athlete? He is the lesser athlete of 3 brothers and they are decent NFL players. He dominates MMA and did so quickly.
Lebron is the most talented athlete on the planet.
MMApurist - Meh most likely they would just get KO'd more athletically. I mean B Schaub smokes Werdums athleticism but as a fighter oh hell no. Lebron James gets destroyed by a guy like Rob Lawler. But cool story Forest.
lebron james is the level of athlete where he could be the best guy on the planet within a year or 2 with ease.
The difference in athleticism between SChaub and Bronbron is like the difference between schaub and a kid in a wheelchair.
You think Jon Jones is a next level athlete? He is the lesser athlete of 3 brothers and they are decent NFL players. He dominates MMA and did so quickly.
Lebron is the most talented athlete on the planet.
MMApurist - I'm saying athleticism is one piece of a giant jigsaw puzzle called mma.
It's nice they have that piece placed better than the rest but the puzzle is still empty as a whole as far as we are concerned.
Athleticism is a GIANT piece of that puzzle. Brock barely knew how to do anything other than wrestler and not only won the title but defended it. You give Lebron James two years of training and he's top 10 easily.
We're talking 6'8, 250 lbs of lean muscle, great hand eye coordination, great feet, elite explosiveness, cardio like Cain, and a reach longer than Jon Jones. Not to mention he's smart, responsible, and hard working.
This is like if Travis Browne was on every steroid known to man, and some shit from the future.
MMApurist - Meh most likely they would just get KO'd more athletically. I mean B Schaub smokes Werdums athleticism but as a fighter oh hell no. Lebron James gets destroyed by a guy like Rob Lawler. But cool story Forest.
lebron james is the level of athlete where he could be the best guy on the planet within a year or 2 with ease.
The difference in athleticism between SChaub and Bronbron is like the difference between schaub and a kid in a wheelchair.
You think Jon Jones is a next level athlete? He is the lesser athlete of 3 brothers and they are decent NFL players. He dominates MMA and did so quickly.
Lebron is the most talented athlete on the planet.
According to your athleticism argument
Caitlin Jenner > every mma fighter ever
but it doesn't work like that does it.
The talent pool in decathlon is absolutely nothing.
Caitlin Jenner is also 40 years and a gender away from her prime as an athlete.
MMApurist - Meh most likely they would just get KO'd more athletically. I mean B Schaub smokes Werdums athleticism but as a fighter oh hell no. Lebron James gets destroyed by a guy like Rob Lawler. But cool story Forest.
lebron james is the level of athlete where he could be the best guy on the planet within a year or 2 with ease.
The difference in athleticism between SChaub and Bronbron is like the difference between schaub and a kid in a wheelchair.
You think Jon Jones is a next level athlete? He is the lesser athlete of 3 brothers and they are decent NFL players. He dominates MMA and did so quickly.
Lebron is the most talented athlete on the planet.
Lebron would do great if he had the toughness to be a fighter. Most people dont, athlete or not. As far as bones jones goes i think many people underestimate how good an athlete he is due to his appearance
TheKidAintMine - There's a lot more to being a fighter than just being a great athlete or being big and strong. How are these guys going to react when another similarly sized trained dude kicks them in the head? Or knees them in the face in the midst of a scramble?
It's not always about the money - some people just don't being punched in the face for a living. And in the case of MMA, being punched in the face, or having some trained dude attempt to violently dislocate your shoulder.
Not to mention there's nothing in it for these guys. Why get into a sport that's more dangerous, for less money?
Dude basketball is dangerous. I'm 26 and can't compete in MMA or Jiu-Jit-Su tournaments anymore because my ankles and knees got so fucked up from breaking, tweaking, and spraining them so many times, my shoulder as well is not in good shape either. I was the little guy with no fear and I got knocked to the floor hard about 5-10 times a game. I don't know what my life will be like when I'm 50. I'm genuinely scarred.
MMApurist - I'm saying athleticism is one piece of a giant jigsaw puzzle called mma.
It's nice they have that piece placed better than the rest but the puzzle is still empty as a whole as far as we are concerned.
Athleticism is a GIANT piece of that puzzle. Brock barely knew how to do anything other than wrestler and not only won the title but defended it. You give Lebron James two years of training and he's top 10 easily.
We're talking 6'8, 250 lbs of lean muscle, great hand eye coordination, great feet, elite explosiveness, cardio like Cain, and a reach longer than Jon Jones. Not to mention he's smart, responsible, and hard working.
This is like if Travis Browne was on every steroid known to man, and some shit from the future.
MMApurist - I'm saying athleticism is one piece of a giant jigsaw puzzle called mma.
It's nice they have that piece placed better than the rest but the puzzle is still empty as a whole as far as we are concerned.
Athleticism is a GIANT piece of that puzzle. Brock barely knew how to do anything other than wrestler and not only won the title but defended it. You give Lebron James two years of training and he's top 10 easily.
We're talking 6'8, 250 lbs of lean muscle, great hand eye coordination, great feet, elite explosiveness, cardio like Cain, and a reach longer than Jon Jones. Not to mention he's smart, responsible, and hard working.
This is like if Travis Browne was on every steroid known to man, and some shit from the future.
That's scary
"Barely how to do anything other than wrestle. "
Wrestling is the most important skill in mma and he was an ncaa national champion...