Smart fighter/natural fighter

l0ssrecord · 01-25-2008, 12:10 PM

I had a mini poll of the smartest mma fighter. Had gsp, Henderson, Couture, and Fedor. I forgot to put in Silva. Couture and Fedor got most of the votes(Couture winning by like 10 votes, i forget). I voted for Henderson but GSP got the least.

Some1 commented that GSP is a good fighter mainly because of natural talent. So that got me thinking. Among the top fighters, how much is natural talent and how much is from intelligence? What constitutes being smart or being a natural? Is it pretty much the same thing?

I think it's true gsp is a natural. Fedor, I believe is a natural fighter who's also pretty smart, but I don't think he's as 'intelligent' a fighter as Couture or Henderson. It comes down to Couture and Henderson for me. Couture is champ but he also got there beating questionable competition. He has been lhw and hw champ, but his record isn't as good as other top fighters. Randy and Hendy are at a high level even at their age. So naturally they won't be able to do some of the things some younger fighters like GSP or Fedor would be able to do. This means they would have to rely more on 'smart' fighting than others.

Henderson is my pick because he's done it in 2 weight classes and it seems like he always has a game plan. He has fought fighters from lhw, mw, and hw. This guy fought Nog twice when he was considered either #1 hw or top contender in the world. He lost but he did REALLY well. I'm really surprised how few votes he got. That's prob caz he's not too well known, coming from Pride.

K that's my random though for this Friday. FLAME ON

Dirty Third · 01-25-2008, 12:43 PM

How is Fedor not an intelligent fighter? Nothing against the other 3, but I think his dominance proves he is the most intelligent fighter in the world. When you watch him in the ring, you're seeing a genius at work.

I get a close feeling with Hendo and to a lesser extent, Randy.

Nothing against GSP because he's not doing anything wrong, but I think his athleticism and size for WW are the biggest reasons for success.

I feel Randy always wins because of his Greco and Dirty Boxing skills.

Henderson is one of my absolute favorites and one of the P4P best, but he wasn't always impressive at 183 in Pride. A lot of matches he should have won, or he should have dominated in.

Because of his undefeated record, his competition, his diverse methods of winning, and stellar gameplans, I would rank Fedor number one without question.

l0ssrecord · 01-25-2008, 01:40 PM

I didn't say he's not an intelligent fighter. I stated that both Couture and Henderson are smarter fighters. He's undoubtedly the top fighter in the world in my view. I'm talking about intelligence when it comes to fighting of which I rank him 3rd behind hendo and Randy.

Infinitycombo · 01-25-2008, 01:55 PM

sakuraba in his prime was the most intelligent fighter in mma

!SavageHenry · 01-25-2008, 01:58 PM

I think Fedor is the most intelligent fighter out there.

The guy is always thinking 3 steps ahead, never stalls, always knows what hes doing, never chokes, turns it on when needed.

No one in COMBAT SPORTS has the mental capacity Fedor does

davidb_ll · 01-25-2008, 02:00 PM

Machida is also very intellegent.

B J Penn is a natural fighter

Minatour MMA · 01-25-2008, 02:00 PM

Fedor is a genius, i think hendo is smarter than couture however. Jusy by the amount of times couture has been submitted or pounded on the ground shows you he's only really worked on his ground game extensively in the last 4/5 years

Jeff Clavelle · 01-25-2008, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by !SavageHenry

No one in COMBAT SPORTS has the mental capacity Fedor does

lots of people do, floyd mayweather does. That's just one of several.

As to the TS, henderson isnt the smartest by any means. He has horrible game plans and relys too much on his right. Randy, fedor, and bj get my votes.

QURich · 01-25-2008, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by !SavageHenry

I think Fedor is the most intelligent fighter out there.

The guy is always thinking 3 steps ahead, never stalls, always knows what hes doing, never chokes, turns it on when needed.

No one in COMBAT SPORTS has the mental capacity Fedor does

Yeah cause going for Take downs and subs against kickboxers is something no one ever thought of before him...

Furia_fighter · 01-25-2008, 02:05 PM

I think in order to be a great fighter, you need an even mix of both natural ability and intelligence.
Fedor is a prime example, as is GSP and Couture. Another person I can think of, although not a Mixed Martial Artist, but a fighter none the less, would be Helio Gracie.

These individuals have innovated and their legacies will stand the test of time.