Quote:
Originally Posted by Saul Good
And that's perfectly reasonable. There is often more action in MMA than in boxing. However, the skill level in top level MMA is vastly inferior to the skill level in top level boxing. That doesn't mean it's not entertaining...I'm often more entertained by watching UFC than boxing. It just means that the sport still has a LONG way to go before it's fully matured.
It isn't just about the fighters, either. It's about the trainers. It's about the fans who grow up watching the sport and taking it up their entire lives. It's about the prize money being large enough to lure top level talent away from other sports.
I've mentioned before that Matt Mitrione was a friend of mine. He didn't take up the sport until after he had retired from the NFL, got bored of the corporate gig, and decided to take up fighting. Next thing you know, he's one of the top fighters in the sport. He's a great dude, and that's awesome for him, but let's be honest. If he had decided to box instead, he wouldn't be ready to line up against Klitchko any time soon.
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The skill level in MMA has improved massively in the men's non-heavyweight divisions in just the last few years. The new athletes in the UFC are almost all guys who almost exclusively trained MMA. He would not do well today. The top male non-heavyweight boxers would get taken down and thrashed by the wrestlers and jiu-jitsu submission grapplers if they tried to switch without a hell of a lot of training.