[yt]YkOCWqgMPus[/yt] this is really interesting, Ishe Smith former 154lbs champ when to high school with Gray Maynard and then ended up meeting Dana White in the mid 90's before the UFC. Crazy how all their paths intersected together when you think of it. What are the chances these guys would all know each other like that?
These guys gotta stick to one thing. Only in Boxing and MMA do you have all these guys wanting to switch. We never hear a basketball player want to go into the NFL do we? Or an MLB player wanting to try Hockey. We saw Jordan try MLB and he was worse than 2 fat kids playing wiffle ball. Stick to 1 sport!
I don't see the question. Boxing and MMA are cousin sports....gloves, weight classes, same commission and many times same judges, inside a measured enclosure and trying for knockouts with strikes. MMA guys have boxing as a base for their repotoire. (By the way Jordan never made it to MLB he was a minor leaguer. The greatest two sport (or more) athletes were Bo Jackson, Jim Brown, Wilt Chamberlain, Deion Sanders and Jim Thorpe)
If he learns takedown defense he could be straight. Even a rugged Ishe would still have better striking than most glass jaw mma fighters. He would just need to be aware of kicks and other video game antics that occur within a typical mma match.
I get where your coming from, but its simply not true. There've been many many Muay Thai fighters who have switched between MT, Kickboxing and Boxing and have mixed it successfully at elite level and in many cases become world champions. Samart Payakaroon, Troy Dorey, Robbie Kamen, Damson DutchBoy Gym, Khaosai and Khaokor Galaxy, Seansesk Muangsurin, Pongsaklek Wongjakam, Gerorgio Petrosyn, Buakaw Benchamek, Igor Vovovchsnchin, Jomthong Chuwattana, Earnasto Hoost Vitali Klitchko etc etc etc the list is endless......
Yeah MMA and Boxing are related but why do all these guys have to try both? Now we have Dos Santos once again saying he wants Klitschko,we have that kickboxer Sprong saying he's gonna box now.
Most athletes can play multiple sports in general but to participate on the highest level is very difficult even if they look very similar i.e. Rugby and American Football.
