Why do most MMA fighters look so average??

[Da Realist]

I've done football and a little of the martial arts and I can say that football will get you in shape. Yeah, there is the need for explosiveness, but depending on how you train in football you can stay explosive with little rest. Imagine running 20 hundred yard sprints close to full speed with little rest in between. Most flurries in mma last about long as a sprint, so give a guy who's used to running a lot of them a short time to rest and you've got trouble. Then there is the powerlifting involved in which a player will have to move a large amount of weight relatively quickly, so throwing full force punches and kicks as well as lifting over a period of time isn't going to be much of an issue. So believe me: a fit football player shouldn't have too much trouble doing MMA. I think the real reason MMA fighters are so small is because of more focus on bodyweight exercises than powerlifting. If they mixed both like football did when I played, there would be more guys Brock Lesner's size.

 

[Connor99]

I've done football and a little of the martial arts and I can say that football will get you in shape. Yeah, there is the need for explosiveness, but depending on how you train in football you can stay explosive with little rest. Imagine running 20 hundred yard sprints close to full speed with little rest in between. Most flurries in mma last about long as a sprint, so give a guy who's used to running a lot of them a short time to rest and you've got trouble. Then there is the powerlifting involved in which a player will have to move a large amount of weight relatively quickly, so throwing full force punches and kicks as well as lifting over a period of time isn't going to be much of an issue. So believe me: a fit football player shouldn't have too much trouble doing MMA. I think the real reason MMA fighters are so small is because of more focus on bodyweight exercises than powerlifting. If they mixed both like football did when I played, there would be more guys Brock Lesner's size.

You guys don't get it LOL

NFL players don't train for endurance....they need power for short spurts...MMA fighters do the exact opposite

When you watch NFL games after a player runs for 20 yds he's over at the sidelines sitting beside the oxygen tank lol they don't train to handle that kind of stuff..they train for power and speed over short spurts

Any MMA fighter would get destroyed if he trained for power over a short spurt since they need to have a ton of endurance over a long stretch

And when getting drilled in the face and in a all out fight 2 minutes is a LONG time...it's not like a running back who hits the hole hard..bursts for 4-5 yards and goes to the sidelines for water, oxygen and sits out the next play

Because MMA fighters do FAR MORE CARDIO some dont have the ultra impressive bodies like most NFL Running backs and linebackers do

It would be a waste of time for a NFL player to worry about having endurance over a long stretch when they could simply be getting faster and stronger over a short spurt

They can gather themselves during the game.....MMA fighters are pretty much all-in

 

[speakeasy]

Cheik Congo probably has the best physique in all of MMA.

http://images.cbssports.com/images/mmaboxing/cheick_kongo_prev.jpg

But then a lot of African dudes just seem to be naturally cut anyway, even the ones that don't work out.

 

[mrRuckus]

When you watch NFL games after a player runs for 20 yds he's over at the sidelines sitting beside the oxygen tank lol

Weird because except for linemen i'd guess most of them run for over 20 yards on a play quite often.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Cheik Congo probably has the best physique in all of MMA.

I think he has me beat.

This is me...losing :

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x252/dotheopposite/JohnW39.jpg

The fight was at 165, but the other guy probably had about ten pounds on me by the time of the fight. This pic is after going three full rounds.

 

[speakeasy]

I think he has me beat.

This is me...losing :

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x252/dotheopposite/JohnW39.jpg

The fight was at 165, but the other guy probably had about ten pounds on me by the time of the fight. This pic is after going three full rounds.

Neither of you has even a scratch, was this fight entirely on the ground or something?

 

[Bible_Belt]

Yes, it was mostly on the ground.

Looks can be deceiving, though. I had a concussion and was backstage puking afterward. He had some nice bruises himself:
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x252/dotheopposite/JohnW11.jpg

Here is the youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4NJ_JIkTuY&feature=channel_page

The ref deducted a point because my mouthpiece kept falling out, which is retarded, but I think it kept falling out because I was too loopy to hold onto it due to the concussion. My cardio stunk, too, I had a broken foot and could not do sprints, spent the week before drinking on the beach in Florida. It was a good fight, though, I am not too worried about a judges' decision.

 

[Da Realist]

Conner, like I said, I've done both and sometimes ran from practice to go do muay thai or karate at night. I can tell you when I was in football shape, the other stuff came easy. I mean, I even did Judo and sure it it was tiring practicing all the break falls, but doing up-downs in full pads during 100 degree weather had it beat. And I understand the whole speed-power you're throwing out, but you can gain a lot of endurance by constantly exerting yourself at full speed over and over again. I mean, it's so effective that now interval training, which training for football requires, is making it's way into boxing and mma. When running for either one, the routine is that there are times were you may be walking and others were you're sprinting at full speed instead of just jogging the whole time. I mean there was a post by Bible Belt I think were one of his buddies went to the military, had the best cardio in the world, but it hurt him fighting because he wasn't used to being explosive. But, I've been on both sides so that's just my view. Whatever works for you though.

 

[SkillzthatKillz]

Dude id bet my life that Congo is on the juice.

There’s no way a guy of any race can be 6-4 250 pds of solid muscle and not be on something.

 

[speakeasy]

Dude id bet my life that Congo is on the juice.

There’s no way a guy of any race can be 6-4 250 pds of solid muscle and not be on something.

I don't think that's so unusual.

 

[Captain Harlock]

Anyone who weighs a ripped 250 pounds of muscle is on juice. Unless he's as huge as Hong-man Choi.

 

[bud_2005]

Anyone who weighs a ripped 250 pounds of muscle is on juice. Unless he's as huge as Hong-man Choi.

Just about every linebacker in the NFL

 

[alphamailman]

It's a sport of endurance, involving both anaerobic and aerobic bouts of energy. You lift to get big like Alle Gory's ego, then you slow yourself down considerably. You have to be able to run a mile without having a heart attack or catching heart disease like a retired 35-year-old Pittsburgh Steeler. Peace.

 

[mmavacations]

I got the best information and I am big fan of MMA. Here many says really good and I appreciate with you and its true that MMA fighters are fighters, not body builders and they want energy not body.

 

[foreverAFC]

james thompson vs aleksander emelianenko

dont matter how ripped you are if you know how to fight, you cant put muscles on your chin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82PWQqiEB6g

 

[Bible_Belt]

Are you not afraid of getting your face pummeled in?

I'm not averse to dangerous sports, coming from an extreme skateboarding background, but the thought of having a permanent scar or my nose broken doesn't sound appealing.

This is an old thread that got bumped by spam. The place I trained closed down. I don't train or fight any more, but I still do mma promoting.

To answer your question about getting pummeled, scars and big cuts tend to come from elbow strikes, which are typically not allowed for amateurs. And in three fights, I never got hit in the nose. If you keep your chin down on your chest, punches tend to land on your forehead, plus it protects your throat, which is also a really bad place to take a punch.

However, what does concern me is the long-term effects of multiple concussions. The one good shot I took (due to being blinded by the casino's giant lighting rig) that gave me the concussion was to the temple, and I still have a lump on my head there. For a few days afterward, when I walked in a straight line, it felt like I was walking on the side of a hill, like the V8 commercial where people walk slanted. Then almost a year later in my third fight, I walked into a weak jab in that same spot on my temple and I think got another mild concussion, only because after the fight I had an unexplained fit of rage. That is a well-documented side effect of concussions.

The more we learn about long-term head trauma, the bleaker the future looks for contact sports. The NFL players' lawsuit is leading the way regarding legal liability. It has already changed football. I'm hoping that we don't start seeing retired mma fighters getting the same problems that many former NFL players have had.

 

[BMX]

Yeah Bible_Belt I remember back when I started training and fighting in MMA right after you took it up. I no longer do it either, I only watch it every now and then and do some light bag work.

The whole getting hit in the face concept is something you will tenuate with after several sparring sessions and/or fights. As far as the NFL studies, the studies are also being tallied up from soldiers and marines in combat zones so a lot more information is being unearthed.

I had one fight myself down in the Carolinas but lost it, nearly had my right arm broken while caught in a submission. It's funny how I do this but I noticed when I was fighting my style was more geared to that of a sporting arena venue but when I had to do some combat-type training my stand-up style was 100% direct and in your face. The same was told to me when I was doing combat jiu-jitsu vs. a random NAGA match.

 

[XMinister]

MMA fighters do a lot of cario and "circuit" training. It's the old school method of building endurance. Strength training is the most effective way to increase strength AND endurance. The rest of our muscles aren't separate from the heart and lungs.

I do boxing and punches take a lot of time to get use to. It doesn't hurt. The pain part you'll get over right away. Your exaggerated reaction to a punch take a long time to get over. You need to get your flinch reflex in check. Turning around, blinking and moving your head back are all things you'll have to get rid of.