Are there any stats on the STRENGTH of top UFC and/or MMA fighters?

Question

Things like what they can bench, military press, curl, tricep press down, dead-lift etc. I am absolutely convinced that strength is VERY important with winning a fight. Technique and style/knowledge is ALMOST equally important and falls short when fighters are of a similar calibre. Take GSP for example. I think he MUST be VERY strong. He totally overpowered Hughes in the last two fights and it doesn't seem anyone can take him down. STRENGTH? or TECHNIQUE?

Answer 1

Sory, Im not quite conversant with this.

Answer 2

I have seen gsp bench 110lb dumbells one in each hand for five reps, there is a vid somewhere as well as him doing weighted pull ups.

Also there is a video of aleksander emelianenko clean and pressing 135 with one arm.

Answer 3

Jiu Jitsu competitions have absolute divisions for each belt so that anyone at any weight can compete in the same class. Many times smaller guys beat bigger guys at the same belt. Skill is a much bigger part of fighting than strength. GSP isn't close to as strong as Hughes and they are both black belts in BJJ but GSP just rules because hes more skilled. Go try doing jiu jitsu and you'll understand that GSP didn't overpower Hughes at all, he out smarted him. Hughes said that years ago his max bench was 310, squat 375, deadlift 425. I also saw Matt lifting a 120lb dumbbell over his head with one hand on a bet.

Answer 4

I've never seen stats like you are asking about, but there is a lot of evidence that strength is not the most important thing in a fight.

Take Houston Alexander - he can press almost 500 lbs.  But he's not in anyone's top 10.  BJ Penn on the other hand is not incredibly strong, but he's beaten all the top guys in his weight class - technique!

If you look at GSP/Hughes, Hughes is supposedly stronger, but GSP is more explosive.  It's the explosiveness and technique that made the difference in that fight, as well as wrestling/opponent control - not just strength.

I definitely believe the smarter, better trained fighter has the advantage over the guy who relys on strength alone.

Answer 5

the guys are very strong but keep in mind strength doe snot always caryy over to other things such as GSP as you said is very strong but his weight in the dead lift for example may not be as high as you think since he probably does not work on that body builders mma fighters power lifters are all stroung but they work different muscles

and strength is important in a fight ofcourse  which is why there are weigth classes but technigue is the factor tim sylvia is stronger then randy coutrue but could not beat him brock lesner is far stronger then frank mir bur mir beat him with a technique lesner did not prepare for

Answer 6

There are just so many athletes that would be willing to prove you wrong as far as believing strength overpowers technique (myself included).  I'm a featherweight submitting guys 100lbs heavier than I am because I take the time to perfect the technique.  I don't rely on one-punch knockout power; instead I focus on movement, speed, and counterstriking.  Thinking strength overpowers all actually makes you WEAK...mentally.  You become stubborn, trying to land that one punch or pinning your opponent down and doing nothing but boring the crowd.  BJ Penn is a great example of how strength means nothing if you have such great skill and technique as he does...just look at what he did to much bigger opponents (Hughes, GSP, Sherk).  He's not very big, but he'll pound any guy they throw at him.  Also keep in mind, big muscles slow you down and tire you faster if not properly conditioned.  It's not likely you'll find the stats you're looking for because every successful MMA fighter knows it's ridiculous to build such stats when it's quite unnecessary.  Also keep in mind a nicely executed counter punch can have as much power as any haymaker.  And I completely agree with the fact GSP beat Hughes due to that explosiveness that just comes out of nowhere...d**n he's quick...his striking, reaction, takedowns...they're all so quick with excellent technique.

Answer 7

I had a wiry wrestling coach in high school who used to throw all of us around. I doubt he could bench press much more than his weight. Using one's center of gravity is important.

Answer 8

If you are absolutely convinced that strength is VERY important in winning a fight that I can only conclude than you actually don't know anything about fighting. Moreover, those weight lifter exercises you are listing are not even a good gauge of true, functional stregnth. Stength can be a valuable tool, but it is just one tool, and it is certainly not the most important one. I'd bet any amount of money that Sean Sherk lifts far more weight than BJ Penn.

GSP didn't beat up Matt Hughes because he was stronger. He beat him up because he was quicker and more explosive.