First thing to go when a fighter is starting to fade or past his prime

I think it's the reflexes that are first to go.

 

legs
handspeed
reflexes

 

To me its the ability to pull the trigger.

I've seen fighters make adjustments for diminished stamina by fighting smarter and more efficiently. I've seen fighters make up for loss of speed with superior tactics gained through experience.

But when I see a fighter that can't pull the trigger when opportunity presents itself that's when I know they're in real trouble.

 

aj415 said it - it's reflexes ( defensive/offensive) and speed of hand and feet but above all, explosiveness. There are very well conditioned old fighters out there and they can make it physically competitive as long as they don't have to step up the pace and keep it there... No, no, no, they get waisted as they try to dominate physically and athletically, mainly b'cause there is just a limited number of explosions they can produce and therefore, they can beat themselves doing it. An old fighter should keep it in a phone boot and use all his experience to burn time and win rounds on details ( opponent's mistakes caused by lack of experience and anxiety). Otherwise, everybody will say he's on the decline.

 

You are the one who has the inside of his mouth molded to the shape of the Golden Testicles.

 

Reflexes. Watch Jones-Tarver II.

 

stamina is the first and it results to the other factors..everything else will slowly decrease