The Prime age of an MMA fighter...changing?

Question

It seems to me that a lot of fighters in the MMA business are reaching their prime a lot later in their career. Could this be because of ring knowledge or experience, who knows , but I think the prime age has definitely changed.When Chuck Lidell was on his Crazy title defense knockout run he was 34 years old beating world ranked fighters.Also look at Anderson no one can tell me he isn't in his prime.But now you also see people coming into the fight game a lot older , like some of the new guys like Brock Lesnar ,Reese Andy,and a lot of the ultimate fighter cast has been late twenties early thirties.

Answer 1

Prime age according to Bas is 30-34. You are near your physical peak at that age.

Answer 2

Agreed prime begins in 30's

Answer 3

30-35ish is always the Prime age for fighters.

Reason being, from 18-24 there are still changes going on in your body, by your early 30s you have spend a good 5 or 6 years in your body and knowing it, also you generally have experience and maturity, your testerone levels are evening off (before they start dropping) and you are able to think clearer in a fight or flight situation, and your body is no longer having any changes in growth or hormones which cause little changes and cause small variations in your technique.

Not to mention the experience you have in an art of style at your 30's and usually a more mature approach to training.

30-35ish, you are at your peak, you can still recover from injuries decently (not as fast as early 20's, but in a reasonable amount of time) you are levelled off as far as hormones, growth, body mass, speed, and performance.

After 35 or so, your body starts to decline, you get slower, fatigue easier, your body isn't as efficient, your metabolism slows further, injuries take longer to heal..etc.

I am sure there is someone who could give a better breakdown then that, but yeah it is pretty common knowledge that the early 30s are the peak of most fighters body wise.