Of course when everyone starts talking about athletes. They start talking about NFL, Basketball, and Baseball, and if you are from Europe, its soccer. Where would you rank the top MMA athletes amongst your most athletic sports figure? Ten years ago this would have not even been mentioned, but now that MMA is taking over the fighting world it has to be considered a main stream sport.
Do baseball players generally have good cardio?
Until you define 'athletic' then you're not going to answer this question.
There's a lot of sports with athletes that require little cardio. But in MMA it's crucial. How do you compare them?
For instace:
Olympic sprinter
Olympic marathon runner
Olympic Javelin(ist?)
Winter Olympic Cross Country Skiier
Winter Olympic Snowboard / Half Pipe competitor
Olympic Gymnast
Many different skills but all are incredible athletes.
In the coming years it will be in the top. Personally I think Functionally and practically, MMA is in the top 5.
Top level MMA fighters are probably the #1 athletes in the world, IMO.
^^^^ Agreed 
The athletes with the best natural athletic ability are in football and basketball. MMA athletes however, under the conditions they train themselves are in the best shape of any sport. What I'm trying to say is, a Andre Johnson type that has trained muay thai, wrestling, and bjj all his life would be a scary fucking fighter.
Define "athletic."
Is Olympic Usain Bolt atheletic? How would he compare in athleticism to marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie? Does the Ethiopian beat Lance Armstrong in athleticism?
"The athletes with the best natural athletic ability are in football and basketball"
They are certainly the most competitive sports in America, but they also have their whole athletic lives mapped out for them with the school/college system. Even taking into account the amount of competition(in america that is, the rest of the world does not play american football) I think this makes it easier to succeed in football than for someone to succeed in something like boxing.
Also these NFL guys are not fighters and most would never be fighters. If they started when they were young, some would make it, most wouldn't. There is more to boxing or any combat sport than just athleticism. College athletes have never been boxers, and I really dislike the myth that if it wasn't for the money all these guys would be boxing or doing mma. Why didn't one of the greatest ever NFL athletes Jim Brown try boxing? He made peanuts playing american football, but could have made millions boxing if he was good enough.
The level of disrespect for the athleticism of mma fighters on here is astounding sometimes. Especially when you consider it is truly a global sport with a much bigger talent pool than the NFL. Then again I suppose I should not expect alot of sense from people who refer to superbowl winners as "world champions", and have a "world series" of baseball that only features one country.
King Baer - Top level MMA fighters are probably the #1 athletes in the world, IMO.
Size is a factor for sure-- most of the really athletic HW-size guys are going to football or basketball, but what of a guy like GSP, Anderson or Kid Yamamoto who's too small to play those sports?
Wouldn't be surprised to see MMA become a showcase for smaller, elite-level athletes, but as long as the $ is better in mainstream sports, the bigger guys will always go there.
Anybody who has never trained in mma/boxing/jits etc will simply and plainly not understand how much a top mma athlete trains throughout the year much less months before a fight. Fighting both ground and stand up takes two different types of cardio and athleticism that most couldn't obtain for more than two minutes.. You're talking about top athletes in the world here. These guys are p4p gym rat warriors.
pretty high...probably somewhere between figure skaters and bowlers
Well put it this way....
MMA has had quite a few Olympians join their ranks. And the olympics are supposed to be the best of the best.
Hell GSP was asked to join the canadian olympic wrestling team with NO formal wrestling background. Thats and athlete. Brock walked onto a pro NFL toofball team with no credentials as well.
I define athleticism as a combination of quite a few things. Pure power, explosive strength, short term cardio, and long term cardio all have components.
By this standard, marathon runners and lance armstrong and olympic weightlifters are not the most athletic.
Decathletes are. NFL players are, if they have some cardio.
In this ranking, MMA is above most sports. In fact, combat sports was the most important athletic endeavor throughout most of history.
The best MMAers, especially with wrestling background, are among the top.
TOA
to me, athletic ability is a combination of speed, coordination/hand-eye coordination, balance, agility,quickness,and power, with each individuals size factored into the equation . The most "athletic" people have a good balance and would be superior in all of these areas. That being said, one does not need to be superior in all of these areas to excel in any one sport, and the most "athletic" people are not always the best in sports competition.
People I think of as the best "athletes" would be guys like Michael Vick, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Julius Peppers, Rafael Nadal, GSP, etc...
I do think that mma will get more and more of the best athletes that are undersized for sports such as basketball and football.
just my 2cents in an area that is very subjective.
Most Athletic is too subjective.
We have seen former NFL players gas after 2 minutes in mma fights. There was one NFL guy who was knocked out by a comedian. Michael Jordan was a below average minor league baseball player.
molsonman - Most Athletic is too subjective.
We have seen former NFL players gas after 2 minutes in mma fights. There was one NFL guy who was knocked out by a comedian. Michael Jordan was a below average minor league baseball player.
Being a superior athlete does not mean you will excel at all sports at the highest level, especially those that you have not trained in all of your life.
So what would your definition of superior athlete be? The best at exercising or the best at a particular sport?
Really, really low