MMA, particularly in the heavyweight division, is still a fallback sport where failed athletes from other fields can take it up late on and become good pros relatively quickly. Just look at guys like Travis Browne and Brendan Schaub, they weren't good enough to cut it in their preferred sports, where not especially great athletes compared to what you see elsewhere, had zero combat sport experience prior to taking up MMA at late age, yet where top contenders in the UFC and beating guys who had been training all their lives within a couple of years of walking through the doors of an MMA gym. Greg Hardy is another similar example. So the idea that top draw athletes like Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury, who are natural fighters and already elite in the worlds most prestigious combat sport which is also a key area of MMA, would need many years of training to do well in the UFC heavyweight division is pretty laughable. Derrick Lewis is still ranked number 3 ffs
I agree with you pretty much, but just has to point out that just about every boxer that has made the transition to muy thai, kick boxing and MMA has been more or less washed up with no more prospects in boxing. Even so Botha actually has two best wins by a mile in K1 kick-boxing (even if one of them was down to an injury), but they were missing among your examples. And let's not forget almost 50-year old Mercer starching a former UFC champ within seconds. And boxers should have a much easier time defending punches with those small gloves than kick-boxers or muy thai guys, since boxing is much more about head movement. Some adaptions have to be made, of course,
Fury would have problems stoping takedowns though as that's where his height would play against him, same with Wilder and Joshua.
I know it's cool to talk **** about Derrick Lewis's skills but the guy is still more well rounded than pure boxers and the guy is freak strong, there's not many guys who are able to get away with just pure strength in the grappling department like him, he's also much more athletic than he looks. But like I said the heavyweight division is the easiest place for Pro boxers and other athletes from other sports to make it in MMA. Heavyweight boxers do have a better chance in MMA than lighter boxers.
Miller was a top contender in boxing despite being outstruck by a washed up grandpa Cro Cop in Kickboxing.
those videos don't prove anything unless you are a kickboxing or mma fan trying to hate on boxing. Three of those fights are old retired boxers against young kickboxers. In the Ignashov-Williams fight, Williams is literally 50 pounds lighter and 10 years older. That's a super heavyweight kickboxer against a cruiserweight.
Kimbo Slice was a glorious notorious street fighter, he got beat by a fat cop in a street fight. He used basic takedown techniques to bring professional boxer Ray Mercer to the ground in an MMA match despite not even being a qualified grappler. Both sports are different.
By your logic, The HW champs in Boxing are a man that lives in a caravan and one that was a drug dealer. Stipe, by his own admission, has that "immigrant mentality". He'd be doing the same if he got Boxing money. Fury isn't a freak athlete, He'd be terrible at any sport other than Boxing. Parker is a failed Rugby player, Whyte is a failed Kickboxer, Povetkin was a mediocre Kickboxer, Miller is a failed Kickboxer and Football player... the list goes on, buddy.
