Who would you pick to win a barfight *against Sonny Liston*?

Ronda was a judo specialist, not a jujitsu specialist, but that is besides the point.

Which martial arts, have traditionally dominated MMA, and are dominating MMA right now?

When it first became a free for all, the jujitsu guys, just ran everybody else over.

It later came down to who could mix two different martial arts most effectively.

It still generally comes down to a good ground game though.

A ground game has a serious weakness in a street fight, because you can get kicked in the head, by one of Liston's friends.

However the OP states that it is one on one!

 

So, a one on one fight with no rules? I'm not picking a boxer, I'm picking a MMA guy. I take Ngannou.

 

How about Brock Lesnar?

 

If it has to be a pure boxer, there are a few guys like Dempsey and Lyle who have experience in bar/prison scuffles but I'd favor Liston over both.

Foreman has a significant chance, he could be just as mean and surly and might even be able to clam Liston down. Even odds there.

Someone mentioned Cobb, and the hilarious thing is that despite his lackluster record, you'd definitely want him on your side in a street fight. Concrete chin, knows some karate, experience in street fights, big guy with decent power. He's a safe bet, and he'd probably have something very funny to say win lose or draw to make the pain tolerable when you inevitably arrive at the urgent care to treat your wounds.

 

Ah, I also missed that it had to be a boxer.

Anyway, nothing wrong with Liston’s ground game.

Sonny hits you. You hit the ground. Game over.

Seriously though, if the selection was broadened, a highly proficient, maybe at least similarly sized grappler, would be among your best choices.

We don’t necessarily know Liston’s own abilities in the world of grappling- not to dispense with all important grappling technique but we know or assume that Liston was very strong - and by several accounts, he did put a cop in a trash bin.

Credit to @cross_trainer for another creative and clever hypothetical. It really sparks up discussion into a number of fresh areas.

I had not heard that story re Liston and the wee Scottish ex pug. Classic!

In mind’s eye, though he was Irish, I’ve cast the old actor Barry Fitzgerald in the role of said ex pug - impish and cheeky.

 

Chris Byrd - he'll make Liston miss every punch while frustrating him - eventually KO'ing a tired, fatigued Liston with 1000 death slaps from his "Rapid Fire" combinations.

 

Didn’t Cobb still want a piece of Norton after their fight - banging on Kenny’s motel room door - Ken admitted being scared, refused to come the “after party” and rang the cops? LOL.

 

Just rewatched her bouts with Holm and Nunes, and it seems she did indeed fall in love with her striking, after she knocked out Correria, and tried standing with Holm (undoubtedly because of her idiotic trainer convincing her she was a world class athlete) and most likely would've won had she stuck to her bread and butter, so I'll concede the point

I admittedly don't watch to much MMA, but I know in order to get it to the ground, you have to get in close, and likely eating punches on your way in. This would probably work against lighter punchers such as Young and Byrd, but not guys like Liston, who was also very accurate as well.

 

I admittedly don't watch to much MMA. but I will make two observations.

1. There are some dynamite punchers in MMA.

2. You have to be able to get past a puncher, to excel in MMA.

If it were otherwise, then MMA would be dominated by men like Sam Peter!

 

Not Floyd Patterson

 

How could we forget Marty Marshall?

He starts goofing off, wise cracks etc. -

Sonny can’t help but to begin laugh uncontrollably and then….POW!, Marty slugs opened mouthed Sonny a beaut and busts his jaw…….Liston then thinks, again, seriously? “Fool me once……..” <insert George W’s unique quoting of this famous saying for even more comedic effect>.

 

Quoting myself. (Has djanders finally totally lost it at 97? Ha!)

But, on second thought, maybe Joe Louis. Joe had a lot of influence over Sonny and could defuse this situation.