View Full Version : Best physiques in any MMA weight classes
Got any suggestions? Really get into watching UFC Unleased, Next UFC Fighter etc. Now & then Rogan etc. will comment on a fighter's bodybuilder physique; sometimes adding that's no guarantee of a win. Wondering if more and more some of these guys stay close to their fighting weight without needing long dates with the sauna.
Did see one match; not heavyweights, where both fighter's physiques looked like crap. It didn't make sense that that much MMA skills, that much conditioning and being good enough to get on TV the guys would have such lousy physiques.
Seems a MMA bodybuilder physique wouldn't be a bad goal to shoot for; even for starters.
This guy is one of the best HWs in the world:
http://www.yorkblog.com/mma/roy-nelson-belly-rub.jpg
I am trying hard to obtain this physique.
TigerAce01
09-04-10, 9:50 pm
That will tell you that athletics has very little to do with your physique.
-Ace
Vaze_06
09-05-10, 12:59 am
athletic!? guy admitted he used his..... huge belly to hold down and crush poor fighters! how kimbo lost *shakes head* but still a cool season
Girevik 69
09-05-10, 3:48 am
Got any suggestions? Really get into watching UFC Unleased, Next UFC Fighter etc. Now & then Rogan etc. will comment on a fighter's bodybuilder physique; sometimes adding that's no guarantee of a win. Wondering if more and more some of these guys stay close to their fighting weight without needing long dates with the sauna.
Did see one match; not heavyweights, where both fighter's physiques looked like crap. It didn't make sense that that much MMA skills, that much conditioning and being good enough to get on TV the guys would have such lousy physiques.
Seems a MMA bodybuilder physique wouldn't be a bad goal to shoot for; even for starters.
If there is a "Physical Ideal" amongst fighters, it's represented by those who are muscular, yet lean. This "look" has been common to fighters for thousands of years.
Examples:
Ancient Greek Boxer, 1st century B.C./B.C.E.:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/b/bb/20091216192419!Thermae_boxer_Massimo_Inv1055.jpg
Ancient Roman pankratiast:
http://www.karatebyjesse.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/roman-bronze-statue-0-200-ad.jpg
Sketch of the famous swordsman & pugilist James Figg (the first modern heavyweight boxing champion), by William Hogarth:
http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/hogarth/images/large/09417_1_200px.jpg
Boxer Jack Johnson, early 1900s:
http://www.fightcitynyc.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Jack-Johnson.jpg
Bas Rutten:
http://www.mmaweekly.com/blog/uploaded_images/04BasRuttenWFA4Weigh-703539.jpg
Randy Couture:
http://prommanow.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/couture-weigh-in.jpg
Andrei Arlovski:
http://www.cdn.sherdog.com/_images/news/2006_07/4981.jpg
Georges St. Pierre:
http://octagonlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/GSP-muscle.jpg
That being said, it's still worth noting that there have been great fighters who do not epitomize the "Physical Ideal"; the most obvious example, IMO, being Fedor Emelianenko. Nothing could be more graphic than this shot of Fedor and Arlovski:
http://mma-live.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/fedorarlovski.jpg
Arlovski displays a classic, shredded physique, whereas Fedor doesn't even look like a professional athlete. But looks can certainly be deceiving.
And there have been formidable fighters who do not fit into the "Physical Ideal", not by retaining extra bodyfat (like Fedor), but by being excessively lean, like boxer Robert Fitzsimmons:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Robert_Fitzsimmons.jpg/200px-Robert_Fitzsimmons.jpg
or downright skinny, like modern MMA competitor Nate Diaz:
http://fiveouncesofpain.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/nate-diaz.jpg
Diaz relies on solid Brazilian jiu-jitsu on the ground, as well as a deceptive boxing style on the feet, where he constantly peppers his opponent with comparatively light blows. Fitzsimmons, on the other hand, could hit really hard--he actually killed one of his opponents, in 1894.
ZombiePower
09-08-10, 11:23 pm
Rashad Evans-deadly dodging and ground tactics(physique im trying to attain):http://celeb-city.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/rashad-evans-7896.jpg
Mike "Quick" Swick-deadly speed and power for a skinny guy:http://ufcbars.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/mike-swick.jpg
Brock Lesnar-great heavyweight alive:http://www.sportsfanlive.com/roller/huerto/resource/BrockLesnar_UFC116.jpg
Frank shamrock has always had an impressive physique.
machineman
11-14-10, 10:30 am
Don't let the "look" of someone fool you. I was never shredded by any means. We would have guys come in that had very nice physiques and thought they could take anyone. Especially someone like me. They thought I was just overweight and didn't have a gas tank. They couldn't have been more wrong and were proven so. I don't fit the Physical Ideal, but that doesn't matter. I know how to use what I have and that is the essence of it all. Not everyone is like Brock and has to drop weight just to make the SHW weight class. Just have to know what you are about and how to best utilize the tools you have. Nothing made my day more than when class was over and these chisled guys would tell me they never would have guessed that I would be the one to work them over!!! It was always alot of fun.
Girevik 69
11-15-10, 10:08 am
Don't let the "look" of someone fool you. I was never shredded by any means. We would have guys come in that had very nice physiques and thought they could take anyone. Especially someone like me. They thought I was just overweight and didn't have a gas tank. They couldn't have been more wrong and were proven so. I don't fit the Physical Ideal, but that doesn't matter. I know how to use what I have and that is the essence of it all. Not everyone is like Brock and has to drop weight just to make the SHW weight class. Just have to know what you are about and how to best utilize the tools you have. Nothing made my day more than when class was over and these chisled guys would tell me they never would have guessed that I would be the one to work them over!!! It was always alot of fun.
Machineman, you make a totally pertinent point. What you posted above makes me think of the Indian wrestlers from 100 years ago--folks like the Great Gama, and his brother, Imam Bux--who dominated international wrestling competitions at that time. Indian wrestlers back then relied on a high-calorie diet that consisted of chicken, curd, almonds, ghee, and lots of bread. Their "look" was definitely not of the "shredded" variety, and yet these guys were total beasts in the dirt pit (back home) and the mat (when competing in Europe).
Take, for example, these photos of Gama:
http://www.rosstraining.com/images/gama.jpg
http://www.oldtimestrongman.com/images2/great_gama.gif
The pics reveal a guy who had a lot of muscle, but who also retained a good deal of bodyfat (though, interestingly, Gama looks leaner in the second pic, at which time he was actually 51 years old). He was 5'8", 250lbs, and had a 56" chest.
And here's a photo of Imam Bux:
http://ejmas.com/jalt/punjab/ImamBux.jpg
Again, not "shredded" by any means. Both Gama and Imam Bux were undefeated, during their long careers.
Ricky P
11-15-10, 12:07 pm
I think if there was one guy in the MMA I would want to look like, it's GSP. The guy has a freak physique, and he happens to be one of the best in the game.
I think if there was one guy in the MMA I would want to look like, it's GSP. The guy has a freak physique, and he happens to be one of the best in the game.
100% have to agree!!!! I have a book that has some of his w/o's in it all back to basics.