[Garrett E.]

So, i've thought about this a long time. Theres obviously pro-MMA athletes that are lacking in the striking department. I hear the argument all the time that if they where put in the ring with a world class striker they would get absoluetly destroyed.

I have a hard time disagreeing with this. We have also seen the oposite with strikers transitionng from all striking to MMA. Some fail, some are great sucesses.

My point, after training both disiplines (traditional boxing and MMA) i have come to the conclusion its like comparing apples and oranges. The fact that a good BJJ can take down a world class striker and beat him up is a moot point. Lets forget the ground game for a second and look at the facts. The rules are different, time durations are different, end goals are different, strategies are different, and there are many other things that make MMA different from boxing.

So whats my point?

An analogy. A guy that kicks fieldgoals for the Patriots is a better kicker than somone on the argentinian soccer team. You'd have a hard time verifying/proving this to be true. While its true that the soccer guys main thing is to kick, the NFL guy has to kick too, with a certain amount of percision and skill.

It's the same thing in MMA and boxing. Most of the rudements in striking are the same across the board, good footwork, movement, use of the hip. But a lot of things are drastically different. While boxers can stay into the pocket and bang away at the body and head, MMA strikers must be more tenative. Some styles wouldnt translate well to mma, and it doesnt mean the person is a worse striker, it just means his style does not transition well into another sport.

There was another thread on here how machida is mma's mayweather. Its a perfect example, if an mma guy tried to slip punches like mayweather does he'd get killed. Slickness, avoidance, offense and defense are different in MMA.

What i'm trying to say is that it is hard to look on the subject objectivly because of personal prefernce, and what disiplines you've trained in/the target of that training.

[King Kabuki]

It's all about the Fighter, then it's about what he does. Like for instance your statement here:

Its a perfect example, if an mma guy tried to slip punches like mayweather does he'd get killed.

The thing is Randy beat Tim with that exact layout. Lots of head-movement, slipping, rolling, and an over-hand right. Mayweather specifically used a very similar approach against a tall opponent in Diego Corrales.

It's one of the things I love about Combat Sports, you never know what you're going to get, or what one guy is going to be capable of or not. We saw GSP dismantle Matt Hughes with basically a jab and some low kicks, and we saw him completely come apart against Serra whose striking is mediocre despite being strong.

People like to feel secure in thinking they understand all the elements of fighting. But the biggest element is the question mark of every contest.