Why UFC Champions Are So Old
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.พ. 2024
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Hey TJ, I would actually be interested on how you get your data set with Python and Kaggle. I am a Excel pilgrim.
if basketball is your 2nd favourite sport, where is boxing?
Tj from the dmv! ? ❤
Dude F you 35 is old.
TJ what is the average age that ufc fighters begin their pro careers at
nba 19-20
nfl 21-22
nhl 18-19
mlb 17-18
soccer 15-19
boxing when ever a boxer decides to turn pro
30 is when you gain your grown man strength
Like can yall stop with the old. Old is 45 50 not 30 35.
@@johnnytay3612 it is towards the end for an MMA fighter. Nobody is saying 35 is old in general.
It depends for everyone is different, for some its 25.
I say It. In high Level Sports many men are done at 30 @@hercules_144
Except for Mike Tyson who got it at 12
Volk and Jon being the same age is insane to me
Jon Travolta?
jon's a year older
Jon Is a year and several months older than Volk though. The only current champ that's older than Jon Is Pereira who's only older by 12 days. Since they were both born In July, but Jon was born In July 19th and Pereira In July 7th.
Jones is 1 year older but its not insane because UFC is a USA company so USA fighter Jones didn't have the same difficulty that foreign fighters like Volk or Aspinall had, which is coming from another continent to fight in USA's UFC when MMA is not developed globally as well as boxing even today. Also the difficulty is even harder if they were from a foreign country thats language is not English, for example Khabib. He too struggle to get inside UFC at the beginning, people blame him for padded record when he was trying to sign with ufc at that time, there was no Dana White contender series etc to show himself at that time, even Fedor was never in UFC for a reason as well for other reasons, UFC favors their fighters at that time it was harder to sign with UFC, Khabib paved the way for Eastern European fighters first, then Volkanovski and Whittaker paved the way for Australian fighters later, even though its still easier for Australian or English fighters since they speak same language.
it's crazy that when Jon Jones became champ at 23, that's when Volk started training MMA
Alex is only a few weeks older than Jon, they are both born in 1987
Yea not even 2 weeks, like 12 days between them lol
Still Alex looks waaay younger
I think it's cause Jones put on weight
It’s cause Jones keeps pumping tren and steroids are proved to age you a lot faster
@@abhijaykansal_literally everyone is on roids
I remember khabib said that you’re physical prime is 26 and your mental prime meets your physical prime is 33 (something along those lines)
He also said its impossible to be 'elite' fighter at 37 years old when he was talking about Tony Ferguson about why Tony lost to Gaethje and Oliveira, said only Heavyweights at that age can be elite.
@@timurjack8773well impossible is incorrect
@@User-79916_uehe is not cejudo was 37 when he had an insanely close fight with aljo and tj was like 35 or 36 when he fought cory frankie was high ranked until like 39-40 when he started a huge loss streak. Frankie was like 36 when he beat yair and even older beating pedro munhoz
Khabib is incorrect about lots of things.
@timurjack8773 arent jon and alex elite athletes?
At 25 I thought I was in my "prime" , but at 35 I am stronger and faster than I have ever been.
Hell yeah 💯
Not gone lie I'm with you at 25 I thought I hit my prime Bec my sex drive was insanely great and idk I was more with the shits didn't care to fight or start or finish anything and was about as reckless as you could get said what I want and did what I want felt like the man.. now I'll be 29 this yr September 5th and I can whole heartedly say I feel stronger than ever like everything changed but my physical strength is way more and better than it's ever been and it's strange Bec usually they say your prime is mid to late 20s here I am getting stronger as I gotten older instead of weaker like I thought I should and I'm almost 30 so...🤷😅
I think depending on your genes 33 is usually mens prime
Sweet that makes me optimistic for my future
it’s women who hit there prime in there mid 20s men dont usually hit there prime till they’re 30s
That's why Leon Edwards has the most aesthetic physique
wouldn't be surprised if you're under Cucker Tarlson's Putin interview saying the same thing, I've literally seen you everywhere and I like to think this is actually Kim
That's because
Leon Edwards has the most aesthetic physique of all time ⏲️
Belal physique better
Bro is spitting facts like an AK spits bullets
The eye poker
NOTE: Jon Jones and Alex Pereira are the same age, Alex is not a year older. I think I accidentally typed 35 in the script and kept talking
shitty journalism
Alex is 12 days older so you were kinda close 🤷♂️
What a lie. You say "does it freak you out that he is a year older than Jones?". Bizarre thing to lie about. What a horrible video.
@@timhall5382 You're joking, right? 😂
@@ArthurB26 yea I'm joking that he is freaked out that Alex is a year older than Jones. He said it, not me.
Another factor that I think must play a role is that if you are around long enough in the UFC, someone will figure out your style, even if you don't decline in skill or athleticism. I'd hypothesize that when someone has a style that other people don't have an answer for, there must be some kind of timeframe for how long it takes until the "meta" of the sport comes up with an answer.
Yes!
Roberto Duran still the GOAT for beating Iran Barkley at 38 at 5 weightclasses above his natural weight
One of the best to ever do it
Legitimately one of my favorite boxers
Based, love Duran. One of the most underrated legends p4p imo.
P4p is a take I’ve never heard before! I can understand why, I just don’t see how he is better than Robinson or hagler. (Around the same weight but both more dominant fighters.)
@@hulkwithagun9749he literally fought 12 hard rounds with Hagler at 160 when he’s a 135er he’s just better 🤷🏿♂️
Bradley Martin isn't an athlete tho. People need to understand that body builders aren't necessarily athletic by default. If anything, they typically overgrow certain muscles for aesthetics that would actually hinder their performance in a sport setting. And just because those muscles are bigger doesn't mean that they're stronger than muscles that were built for strength.
I agree. Bodybuilding is fundamentally a beauty contest. That being said although not optimized for strength they still lift everyday on every pill you can imagine so still are strong af
He really is an athlete tho
It’s also a joke because he always asks people if they think they could take him due to his height and weight
Exactly. Guaranteed most body builders would get completely gassed by the 1st round.
One thing that wasn't *quite* mentioned in the video: A championship opportunity is almost never given unless you have the record to prove it (unless you are Brock Lesnar). It's always possible that a 20-something making their UFC debut could dominate a champion, but the matchmakers would have no reason to think that until they rack up a bunch of wins. Pretty much all other sports have newbies going head to head in the same game/match/etc with the greats in their organization from Day 1.
people forget Alex just looked super quick and sharp less than a year ago against Yair, wasn't it like 6 months ago? he's not gonna be washed suddenly
Getting knocked out so brutally by Machachev, especially at Volk’s age, will have significantly reduced the strength of his chin. It’s why Tony got so washed after that head kick and caused his losing streak. That’s why I’m backing Topuria at UFC 298, although Volk still has a pretty good chance
@@fayazalam6919 Tony was washed before that head kick lmao, it's the Justin fight where he refused to get knocked out that damaged him so badly.
@@fayazalam6919That’s literally the first time he’s ever been knocked out, at 11 days notice, in a weight class above him. Don’t act like he didn’t have every disadvantage. Peraira got brutally knocked out by Izzy, but his chin was fine afterwards. Volks gonna be fine.
@@FirstnameLastname-do1px Was it fine? Pereira does not and has never had an amazing chin. His chin is average in the ufc. Typically when someone who has never been knocked out, gets knocked out, or takes a massive amount of damage (tony), their chin is never the same afterwards. Its similar to a knee injury, a fighter is never the same after either.
The only reason Pereira has rarely been knocked out is not because of his chin, its because of his godlike kickboxing.
it was before taking shin to the head
I think Sean O'Malley is kinda our first taste of a kid who started out 'doing MMA' from the very beginning, and I think that's part of why he's so good, so young. More and more teens are getting into MMA as the sport ages, and I think we'll start to see the average age of fighters and champs going down in the next 'generations' of fighters.
Jon is the blueprint actually .
@@dennisthemenace855 Not really. Jon was the first elite athlete that the sport had, but he did not start out 'doing MMA'. He probably would've been able to be a professional in multiple different sports. We will soon start to see elite athletes who are training MMA from a very young age.
I’m 48. I’m physically declining now. I don’t heal or feel like I used to. 33 was my prime. I was still physically near my peak and has accumulated experience. Now I’m more experienced and a tricky opponent. I don’t overpower people anymore. I’m treacherous now.
some wwe wrestlers ur age still looking good at 48 like rey mysterio Randy Orton and even Bobby Lashley
Ur a crafty vet with skills but ur attributes have gone down - Lucas Tracy
@@gmartines8511 R Truth is a big one. he can still flip around the ring like a 25 year old gymnist.
@@gmartines8511
That's only because of what they take it's no secret WWE has a history with PEDs and steroids
Time to hit that secret juice 🧃, I know I’m going to when Im older.
I think a big part is that most of the top guys have already had almost a full career in another sport (like Alex Pereira in Kickboxing or Daniel Cormier in wrestling) before transitioning into MMA. So they’ve competed in their original sport in college/olympics/promotions for that sport, and are in their mid-20s (if not older) by the time they make the switch. Obviously some guys train for MMA directly, but it seems clear that having expertise in one aspect of MMA, and then “rounding out” your skillset in other disciplines seems to create the most champions.
Edit: damn shoulda watched to the end
karate tkd boxing wrestling
As someone who turns 18 in a couple weeks with no training rn I have some hope
Bro what do you mean? You've got PLENTY of time to become very good. Get started, you're at a great age. Don't let anyone tell you it's late cause you didn't start at 10. You're still a kid man. Get to work
Appreciate that man, i take inspiration from guys like Poatan who started at 21, Glover who became champ at 42
You’re a child bro. Enjoy it, you’ll be 28 before you know it.
@NoSc0pe78yearsago I started training at 20. Focused heavy on wrestling & bjj grappling, had 2 muay thai fights & 2-0 in mma currently looking to do more. Not too late bro. One guy at my gym started at 20 & is currently undefeated in mma. You can do it.
@@13bfc
your comment inspires me, i though i was a late starter because i started boxing at 15 and switched to mma at 18 (6 months ago).
This isn't the case for endurance sports, and is moreso with sports that involves needing more power. For instance most marathon runners peak around 35-40. The best example of this is that the top marathon runner in the world currently ,Eliud Kipchoge, is 39.
I get you but Kelvin Kiptum was only 24 (R.I.P). However Kipchoge ran other distances before marathons so maybe its a similar story as with MMA fighters just starting late. I don't know how many marathon runners start out in shorter distances
This is a phenomenal analysis, TJ.
One other point I’ve been thinking about is the effect of fighter pay in the UFC (and MMA generally) vs. other major sports leagues. In the UFC, the pay disparity creates this massive difference between resources for top fighters (often older) and the newer fighters (often younger). UFC Champions (and others near the top) have nutritionists monitoring their weight cuts, sport psychologists, full-time gym access, and elite coaching. And then there’s these newer/younger guys literally rushing out of their day jobs to squeeze in training, counting macros themselves before fights. The most flagrant example of this was Alexandre Pantoja driving UBER just TWO years before he got the title from Moreno. He wasn’t even middle-of -the-pack. He was near the top of the promotion driving UBER just to get by. Imagine ANYONE in the NBA,-ANYONE-doing Uber on the side. No rookie would ever have to, and the idea that someone at the top of the NBA will EVER have to drive Uber, is laughable. And all NBA players have elite coaching, facilities, nutritionists, sports psych., etc.
So, older champion UFC fighters don’t just have an experience advantage over younger, more athletic fighters. They’re like blue-chip corporations facing penny-pinching mom-and-pop shops.
Another great break down👍
How did you watch the whole thing already it was uploaded 8 mins ago and the video is 10 min you made this comment 4 mins ago? 😂
As a man when you hit 30+ it activates the passive “Dad strength” until like 65 (unless you continue to work out)
So it is like the opposite of "father time" which obviously u don't actually have to be a dad but you get it
You lose your healing abilities from your 20s and trade it in for strength
Sixers mentioned in a positive way. Definitely subbing now
Early to mid thirties is when endurance and strength athletes peak. Mid twenties is when athletes that require speed peak.
As a jiujitsu competitor that has practiced MMA and fought in Muay Thai, i believe everyone doesn’t understand how hard it is to master 1 art let alone combine them. That’s why it takes so long, a lot of the young guys are still putting it together. When you learn grappling EVERYTHING you learn about striking is OPPOSITE. And then what’s not talked about is a lot of great talent is being run thru by stupid gyms, coaches and life. It’s just not that simple to start early. The martial arts community behind the scenes is REALLY fucking weird.
Very good point that the total ‘games’ played is naturally so much lower in fighting sports than in say football where 20+ games are played in a season.
It will always take longer to peak when you have 1-2 games per year versus 20
I’ve been watching your videos for over a year now and I’ve never subscribe but now I’m subscribing because you’re at sixers fan
@tjloveafights Which is your favorite soccer club?
QUICK NOTE: Jon Jones Is currently 36, not 35, and he turns 37 this July In 5 months from now. And he's a year older than Volk, and Is only 12 days younger than Pereira who's also 36 (who was born In July 7th 1987, 12 days from when Jon was born on July 19th).
He said Pereiras a year older than Jones lol
FUCK, my bad. Jon Jones and Alex are the same age basically
That's CRAZYYY he's been champion for the last 13 years???
I love the vids bro just wish dark mode worked on it, feels like im stuck in a flashbang sometimes lol
You should look into boxing wrestling bjj and kickboxing to see if the trend holds true. I think professional fights really come down to the mental aspects because the guys at the top are all in incredible shape. MMA also is likely one of the most technical sports to master. I think boxers are peaking around their 30’s too tbh
Love your channel, would love to see you to cover NBA as well
I watched the MMA on point video you were referencing. If I’m being honest, your data presentation was so much more digestible for the average viewer than t-toehold’s was.
that olympic chart also indicated that there was a trend towards older people becoming champions, i think as a very long term trend we will see many people peak a little later in life due to increasing health and longevity. also peds prolly allow for an increase in the length of peoples fighting careers but its probably somewhat prevalent in most sports.
MMA is not only a one sport it is a lot of martial arts combined. And to be a champion in the UFC you need to be great in all of the martial arts. It takes a lot time to be great.
If 33 is prime age then how can you explain Tony Ferguson entering his prime past 40?
Interesting video 👍
The same holds true for boxing, fighting is a technical sport. You need experience to suceed and it takes time gaining that experience
I feel it’s more about how these younger guys are going about getting to the belt. No one wants to lose so they either fight cans until they make a name and then lose against top competition or they rush competition and lose momentum. These “older guys” (ik 30+ is old for fighting but outside of that it’s not really that old to me) have been around(win or losing) and got the experience and cage time over these younger guys. Just make sense that the guys with the most experience are at the top right now.
I believe Ilia Topuria is paving the way for this theory to become a reality
There’s also the aspect that you have to win a ton of fights to get a title shot usually
also important to mention that to get a title shot in the ufc you need to have been in the game for a long time
i feel like champs are so old cuz the level of experience needed imagine being 18-25 fighting a guy who’s been fighting literally longer than you’ve been alive
It makes sense: they have so much stuff to master that it's only normal for them to take many years of training before reaching their peak
Your starting to see it already, more young fighters.
Ive been watching mma since day one and i've always paid attention to the age of average fighters and champions, it's one of many stats i nerd out on when it comes to mma. A fighter is in his prime from 30-35, that isn't going to change. Most fighters start young, when they make it to the UFC really makes no difference because in most cases they still need that experience. A man's physical prime will always be 30-35.
Yes it does cuz it makes it longer to be a ufc champ if i come in to at 30 i wont be champ till like 34-35
At 30 you are old enough to have experience and young enough to still be at peak athletic performance. It makes sense that champions are in their early 30's.
Damn I’m turning 21 this year, and I’m getting into training this year. I’ve had this exact conversation with myself. If we’re being realistic about it I could make it within couple years if I stay on it. Let’s see what happens
there is going to be more ilia topuria types in the ufc soon enough. it is getting mad popular and kids are starting to train mma exclusively. these next couple of years are going to be really good for the ufc and mma as a whole.
3:39 Lol I thought the same thing when he was complaining about it taking forever to clean his data using Excel.
here after Topuria won the belt at 27
35 is not old for modern standards but it is when decay often starts. there are also other factors that can weight more in the athletes decay, for example with fatherhood you automatically lose 30% of testosterone. That makes you lose lean muscle mass. Plus habits lose of interest etc.
1:01 Jimmy just did a video recently on mvp vs best player. While the MVP is the player which brings the most value to the team, it isn’t necessarily the best player in the league. So maybe the best player age is skewed a little there?
s/o to that dope samurai champloo remix playing in the back
Its not just mma seems like all sports now have guys in their mid to late 30s performing at a high level when back in the 2000s that was extremely rare
Great Work TJ, I’d agree MMA is a later blooming sport, although all combat sports that involve striking are that way. BJ Penn & Jon Jones types are supremely rare, being ready straight away fighting for championships. We usually see Darren Till & Charles Oliveira types, that needed the long route success (Till got fast tracked and ruined; Charles’ story is well documented.)
My only argument would be that you compared regular season MVPs to current UFC champs, you would be better contrasting Finals MVP with a belt-holder.
Winning MVP is like p4p, you can fly up the ranks at the drop of a dime. To substantiate a p4p claim, the best thing is a belt; similarly MVPs are expected to win championships to assert their claim as the best.
Responses are welcomed 🍻
One thing I want to add about experience in football, soccer, basketball is that in those sports they play at least 50 games per year, compared to Mma fighters that fight 1 or 2 times per year.
So a soccer player like Mbappe at 25 has played close to 400 professional games while a Mma fighter has around 15 fights.
So you cap your experience much faster in other sports than in mma
3 times per year for mma, boxing 2 to 4 times per year
there's a sweet spot where you have the most experience but your body is still healthy
My goodness jone jones is literally the goat of ufc remember he came from the old era where mightymouse, aldo,edgar,gsp,silva,velasques is the champ and all of those champ is now retired in ufc and now in modern era of new ufc champions where lots of new champions is far more smart and technical yet Jones is still in the top still a champion but not as lhw but a heavyweight champion say all you want about jones but its hard to deny how great he is,the only champion who never get dethroned and the only champion who had a lot of title defence that never got surpasses by those who replace him
I think the sport coming closest to this is Football (Soccer).
While world class players are usually about 24-28 years old, the absolute top of the food chain (top 10ish Ballon D'Or) Have been about 29-31 with the exceptions of Messi, Benzema, Lewa and Ronaldo
I don't think it will change in a drastic way. Just look at boxing, kickboxing and Olympic level wrestling. Although peak is relative to the practitioner, normally most still reach their primes in the late 20's early 30's. Full body maturity needs to be taken into account, and most men reach theirs at or around these years.
Basketball players, soccer players, wrestlers, boxers often concentrate on 1 solo sport their entire life. I think MMA is different because so many MMA fighters start out dominant in a solo sport like Wrestling, BJJ, Striking and then when they turn to MMA they spend most of their 20's working on flaws that will set them back in a multi facet sport like MMA, thus peak is somewhere between 28-37.
Speed and reflexes start slowing at 30. Mma is more about skill knowlege and strength. Both under the right conditions can be gained and kept for a very long time
IMO its because of grappling and the diversity of skill set. If youre a phenomenal striker like Periera or Sugar Sean or izzy youre so far ahead of the other fighters even if you decline youre relatively safe for a while.
If youre a grappler imo grappling is less dependent on fast reflexes and speed and more about skill and experience. Youre also getting your jaw tested less.
Consider how long it takes to develop the multiple skills MMA takes to master.
The other major sports are extremely dependent on athletic ability more than skill. Itll never drop to 28. Boxers usually peak in thier early 30s as well.
I think isometric strength plays a big roll too, graeco roman wrestling has champions into their 40s and its because even though speed and explosive power falls off as you age, strength and endurance last way longer, which attributes that arent super valuable in most sports, but not mma
i feel like in mma, older folks have an edge because they just know more about the game and have more experience that it nullifies any physical advantages bestowed by youth. like a 20 year old heavyweight can be athletic asf but if they're a beginner they get folded by someone like jones who has been in the game for a decade despite him being older.
81 games vs 3 fights max a year. Of course more damage is being done during a fight but this’s definitely helps older guys. To be an NBA mvp u gotta be going off every game all season
Man when I heard TommyToeHold of MMAOP did all that dataset cleaning and analytics in excel, I genuinely felt bad for the guy LOL
Ive literally been saying this for like 2 years, peak in mma is like early 30s.
Let's go I finally made TJ video 4:20
Your thesis is off because the same phenomenon exists in powerlifting. The peak for them is much older than other sports, which they say is due to 'old man strength'. When strength is a prime factor in the sport it takes more years of training for the muscle fibers to naturally tear and recover increasing durability as well.
You should have done this with Muay Thai where guys start very young and fight a lot. Would be relevant
I genuinely think it’s more than genetics but also skill level. It takes YEARS for fighters to get to professional level and it takes even more dedication to be championship material. Most fighters who become champions usually are in their 30s because by the time, they’re already 30 years old they’ve at least had a whole decade of combat experience before reaching the pinnacle but by the time they’ve reached it mentally and have their technique down, they’re body just can’t age as well and yea there are rare fighters who make it to a professional level in a very young age like Jon Jones or Rodtang who are pretty much prodigies.
Experice and you’ll be in flow state with your attacks timing speed Precision
You kinda dropped the ball by not mentioning boxing more. Most of the major champions in boxing started as kids, grew up in the sport, and boxed well into their mid 30s. Shit most boxing analyst also view early 30s for a boxer as their true prime years. Also in sports like football, 30 is old for a running back, but for QB, that’s when their prime years start. There’s definitely something to skill vs athleticism in terms of what makes a prime in certain sports or positions.
It’s also important to mention boxing has had a good of amount of late bloomers have success.
I still feel like in your early 20s if your explosiveness and strength aint you strong point you will still get muscled around
I think all modern sports are gonna hit a singularity point in skill level and we're gonna have to make new sports in order see any form of competition.
Bro I pray for u being a wizards fan dealing with Poole must suck lol
To segue from this video, you can also make the same video about boxing. There are 8 30+ year olds in the p4p list
I think it’s the wrestling it takes a long time to not just get a win streak but get good grappling and submission attack/defense the average bjj black belt is 5-6 years and most theses guys focus on sticking till they run into a brick wall and lose and learn and then they go on to win
I think this is the case of experience, more than anything else. Overtime u tend to get smarter with anything in life.
I believe ufc champs will get younger as time goes due to more people starting with mma itself rather focusing on one martial art then branching out to a mma organisation which means they have to start training for mma matches.
Fighting is very hard skill to achieve at highest level it takes experience fighting best of the best to get better
for reals
Y'all remember the first time you felt man strength in a fight? It's a whole different game. My step dad is 6'2 225lbs and was fresh out of Iraq. I flew like a plastic back in the wind!
who would of thought that in a sport where being more skilled means more experience equates to win record
Stats are such a weird thing. I personally think we can't use stats of previous eras guide us. MMA is evolving and we really could start seeing new things in this sport we never used to. Stats don't give us the full story, ever.
If you were to look at super muay thai fighters that never changed their fighting style, the biggest champions are
Superlek
Haggerty
Rodtang
all young guys in their late 20's
But I would say that MMA is way more complex than muay thai alone for it to be mastered in such young age, specialy when you need to deal with the top tier of another martial arts using your own. It is necessary that you learn all arts deeply enough
Haven’t watched the video yet, but I imagine it has something to do with other sports being very popular amongst children, even playing them in school from a very young age. Whereas mma is something that most people don’t go into until they’re noticeably older. The only people we really see doing some version on mma at a young age is high level wrestlers, but even then it is leaving out a massive part of the sport. This is part of the reason guys like Khabib and Islam were as good as they were/are at young ages. Sambo is the closest thing to mma that had been trained since a young age like basketball or football.
It’s wear and tear. You keep forgetting how institutionalized these other sports are. You start young, you end young. MMA fighters start later.
Baki Hanma tv series says 50 years of age is the time fighters decline then need the use of tricks to win.
Another example of gaining experience at a young age are Charles and Max
But take a look at their careers one was champ at 25 and the other at 25 couldnt be in the top 5 or charles was unraked at LW till 30 years old
He had to speed run it, charles activity served him
At 30 years old
He beat Gordon, became #13
Then headlined a main event vs Lee, and became #7
At 31
Then he beat Ferguson and became #3 and then he won the belt
Did you realise the diffrence of skill devloping
He went from beating Jared gordon to Tony ferguson in a year
Strongmen peak later than other sports. I think that's worth noting. Speed is what we lose with age, not power. And perhaps reaction timing gets worse as apparently the brain is in its best health in one's 20s
You have to at least subtract half of the average duration of the title reign. Most champs aren't at their peak at any given time. They become the best in the world maybe get a little bit better then start to decline and are eventually passed by others
I think it has more to do with the fact that you won't get a title fight, even if you are undefeated, for around 10 fights. If you fight twice a year and debut in your mid-late 20's, you'll be somewhere between 30-34 years old by the time you can even be champ. If it were more similar to boxing where you can schedule your own fights without the UFC deciding for you, you would see younger champs. I'm not saying the current method is bad, but there is only 1 champ per weight class, unlike boxing, so you have to give title shots to people with longer and more proven careers. The only exception is someone like Pereira but he had an extremely long and storied kick boxing career so it's a moot point.
Please do a vid on Dmitry bivol and Beterbiev
I agree with you, it's because people also don't start young at MMA. The new wave is gonna get younger fighters most likely.
They also fight less per year than some boxers. Mike Tyson was doing 5,6 fights at only one year when he was young.
not true. Oliveira Poirier Hollloway they all have been in the UFC since they were 20 but they still entered their prime in their early 20s and so many UFC fighters start at 8-13 years old
I think people underestimate how important IQ and Experience is. Like they say, fighting is like a chess game
This is not just in MMA, but in every other sport too. If you look at football, you could see players past 35 still going strong like they're 25🤔🤔
You start pro at 18 hypothetically. You dont start on top, takes years to get those early fights under your belt. All of your 20s till your finally tuned with the rep and experience. ( boxing is my sport, but may apply with this )
TJ so are you forgetting that Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Steph Curry, Paul George, Lebron James, Rudy Gobert, Damian Lillard, Jimmy Butler, Demar Derozan, Kyrie Irving etc are top 20-25 players who are all in their 30s? With Giannis, Jokic, Embiid all pushing 30 aswell.
Mayweather fought delahoya when he was 30 and seemed to just get better and better from there on out 👑🥊