Was having this discussion with my brother. The example was Urijah Faber vs. Lebron James (or Ray Lewis) My instinct is that Faber would win but its tough to imagine a 145 lb. guy beating down huge, strong, very athletic pro athletes. I'm very curious what everyone thinks about this.
You think Faber can beat up ray Lewis? Um, no.
There is no way in hell Lebron or Ray Lewis would lose to a guy that weighs 145.
I said he could take Lebron James. I admit Ray Lewis is a big stretch. However, its silly to think that size and strength are everything. How big would an MMA fighter have to be to beat Ray Lewis?
I don't think you can pin down a specific size at which an mma fighter could beat another athlete. For instance, I think Anderson Silva could KO basically any NFL player. He typically fights at 185 but could fight at 220 easily. One of the fighters that got me interested in mma was Vitor Belfort. In his first UFC event, he TKOd a kickboxer named Scott Ferrozzo in 43 seconds. Ferrozzo was well over 300 lbs. (and a martial artist) while Belfort was 19 and weighed in at 199 lbs.
While size may may play a role at a certain point, skill is far more important. Ray Lewis would not fair well in an mma fight against a skilled opponent even if they were much smaller.
Lots of variables come into play. Years ago we had the 'goodwill games' in Seattle. One of the visiting athletes was a world class fighter (either boxer or karate, can't remember which). While in Seattle he got into an altercation with a local street punk. The result--street punk 1, fighter 0.
Another example was Seahawk football player Ken Hamlin who got into a bar fight with a local gang banger. It almost ended his career. He had a fractured skull among other things.
If it's a street fight or bar fight, whichever guy had the most street fight experience would have the edge. If it's a ring fight, then probably the ring fighter.
The argument can't be simply: "those guys are too big and strong to lose."
If Lebron took a couple hard leg kicks from Jose Aldo, he would already be in serious trouble. Any of these big pro athletes would have a difficult time laying a hand on a fast lightweights. Even if it went to the ground, that's just a submission waiting to happen.
How would Ray Lewis FINISH the fight? he's not just going to land a knockout punch if they're standing up. If he tries to tackle the lightweight and do some ground and pound (which is his best chance), he's really leaving himself open to the fighters far-superior ju jitsu ability.
He wouldn't beat Ray Lewis. Lewis was a 2x Florida state champ at 189lb.
Damn that's cool. Moot point though. Ray Lewis is just supposed to be an example of a big pro athlete WITHOUT substantial fighting/wrestling experience.
Huh? Ray Lewis will easily takedown Faber. From there he would simply ground and pound based on the size difference alone (I would imagine he can throw a punch). He out weighs him by 105 lbs. Ray Lewis would be considered a larger heavyweight within MMA.
Lewis's weight:
Im saying that Ray Lewis' wrestling experience makes him a bad example for this discussion.
Oops, I reread the thread. I thought the argument was Faber COULD beat these guys. On a side note...I think that it would be hard for Faber to beat any NFL athlete. Most NFLers weight at least 190lb. When you give up 45lbs. it will be hard to win unless you get lucky with a strike or the guy has NO clue on the ground.
155 lb. UFC washout, Roger Huerta, knocked out a former starting linebacker for the Longhorns in a street fight not too long ago.
Seriously?? Faber would wreck every receiver in the NFL. That 45 lbs. isn't going to matter that much. He's a professional fighter. I do agree that once we're talking about someone who's 250+ lbs., it gets a little less clear.
NFL guys aren't trained to get hit. That's why I said if Jose Aldo landed a few hard leg kicks, Lebron (or some other big athlete) would be seriously hurt and almost immediately have trouble walking. Size and athleticism alone are not going to win a fight.
And most UFC lightweights would win a fight against bigger pro athletes, but like someone said, Ray Lewis has a decent wrestling background and he also trains with Rashad Evans. Ray Lewis would easily beat up Urijah Faber.
I bet BJ Penn would beat Ray Lewis and he splits his time between lightweight and welterweight. His quickness, excellent BJJ and striking would just be superior. And he's quite strong for a person his size.
Fighting is stupid. Why MMA is dumb, the best fighters lose a lot of times. Lucky shot, slip on the mat.
I bet BJ Penn would beat Ray Lewis and he splits his time between lightweight and welterweight. His quickness, excellent BJJ and striking would just be superior. And he's quite strong for a person his size.
Right, that is why John Fitch (who walks around at 190lb. and cuts to 170lb.) destoyed him.
If anything what we have learned from MMA is that if you have some wrestling or take down knowledge and know how to keep the fight there you can just about negate any and almost all offense (i.e. Fitch, Evans, Sonnen, Edgar, Maynard...)
Take down wrote:
Oops, I reread the thread. I thought the argument was Faber COULD beat these guys. On a side note...I think that it would be hard for Faber to beat any NFL athlete. Most NFLers weight at least 190lb. When you give up 45lbs. it will be hard to win unless you get lucky with a strike or the guy has NO clue on the ground.
What makes you think NFL athletes have any clue what they are doing on the ground?