Heavyweight Champions--Who would be the best in MMA?

You would probably have to be gay, in order for MMA to look gay to you. I've never been turned on watching MMA, but it sounds as though some on here have. I don't think there is anything wrong with your feelings. If you are gay, then so be it. I won't make fun of you for it.

I also won't make fun of you for getting turned on when two guys are fighting. All of those rolling around, and little shorts comments, make some seem like MMA has a different type of effect on them.

It's time to stop hating people who like members of the same sex, and it's time for people that are gay to stop hating themselves for it.

 

This isn't a former heavyweight champion, but James Warring.

Warring fought in a mma contest, when it was still a tournament format, in the mid 90s. He made it to the finals. That is the best of any pro boxer I know of doing in mma.

I think the contest was called WCC. He lost rather quickly to Renzo Gracie. I have never looked to see if any footage is on youtube.

 

Please note that Waring fought in a special "strikers division" that limited the amount of time youcould spend on the ground before being reset on the feet by the referee. Renzo Gracie, his opponent in the finals, came out of the "grappler's division".

 

Boxing became a stand out art on its own; Figg was indeed an expert with a sword and cudgel, before putting bareknuckle exibitions into his traveling show.

Wrestling was allowed above the belt under Broughton and London prize rules, but since Queensberry Rules (1867) that has not been the case.

Pro wrestling like you have said will co-exist with boxing.

 

jeremy williams...excellent judo background.....

 

Then Jeremy Williams should do it. Judo guys don't do as well as bjj guys, but he would not have near as much to learn. There are a lot of similarities in the offense he know, it is the defense he would have to learn a bit in. Still, he has a jump on Mercer.

 

When I said "should do it," I meant career wise. His days of earning any kind of big money at heavyweight is over. If he can win in mma, then it makes sense for him to change to that career.

 

I'm 33 now, maybe if was 15 you could persuade me of its values, but I still watch it occasionally, the old Undertaker still going I noticed!

 

Boxing ****ed itself up good and proper. MMA will be bigger than boxing in 10 years, and still in 100 years.

 

Absolutely. And it is unlikely that anyone in the MMA will stand out for long. To wit: Liddell who was KOd with a right hook from an orthodox position of all things. Street fights are like that -there is too much to look out for and aggression is the single most important factor in it. In boxing, it is not aggression that usually tells the difference, it is skill.

Boxing is specialized... and therefore dominance can be established easier because you don't have to worry about feet and legs and knees and elbows.

MMA is more primal and Darwinian... but boxing combines that with skill specialization and science. I see chess in boxing -but not in MMA.

 

I'm not so sure I agree with you on this. MMA is specialized, except you have to be specialized in 3 different areas. I know this is slightly a contradiction but I mean that you need to have good skills in stand-up, clinch and groundwork in order to successful. There is undoubtedly chess in MMA. If you have 2 guys who are excellent on the ground you will see a lot of tactics involved in trying to get good position and get submissions. It's not just about throwing your opponent on the deck and battering the **** outa him, although sometimes that does work. MMA is no more primal nor Darwinian than boxing IMO.

As for MMA going the way of the Kickboxing craze I'm not so sure. MMA via the UFC in particular has the advantage of modern media and exposure, which just wasn't there back in the 70's or 80's. UFC shows are getting sold out here in the UK, possible because of the hype but also because there are fewer and fewer boxing shows being put on. Other than those shows in Europe, UFC is free over here and that is another factor for its increased take-up. Remember when boxing was free too and along came pay-per-view and changed the landscape forever. This will probably happen with syndicates like the UFC but in the meantime the momentum is growing.