http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f2/boxing-mma-912347/
This was posted on Sherdog...I wanted to see your answers
Hi guys
I dont know if this is the right forum, but I have a question that some of you might be able to answer.
What is the most straining and most cardio demanding, boxing or mma? Ive done quite a bit of boxing, but i've never wrestled or done any grapling/rolling, so I have no idea about how demanding it is.
As an example -
(And yes i know UFC isnt = MMA but im just using this in my example)
UFC - Title fight - 5 rounds x 5 mins = 25 minutes fighting 3 breaks = 3 minutes - Which means that the ratio for a full fight is 88 % fighting and 12% break
Boxing title fight - 12 rounds x 3 mins = 36 mins 11 breaks = 11 minutes - which means that the ratio for a full fight is 69.5% fighting and 30.5% break
From those numbers it would seem that boxing is harder since it demands more breaks, and for a ignoramus like myself it seems that when you take it to the mat in MMA you can conserve more energy then when you are in a 100% standup match.
Enlighten me please.
The article is about which sport is most difficult not tougher. Baseball is a much more skilled sport than rugby. Hitting a baseball at 95 mph is considered one of the hardest thing to do in all of sport.
my bad my bad i thought it was tougher
that article also says baseball is tougher then rugby
I was wrong to type out toughest, it was meant to be the most difficult sport in the world, hitting a baseball is very difficult to do and it was the only survey I could find. I can't really answer the question from a personal standpoint because I never did MMA.
According to ESPN, boxing is the toughest sport in the world.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sportSkills
that article also says baseball is tougher then rugby
your asking this question in a boxing forum so your answer is boxing.
But with an unbiased view i would say in a general sense MMA is more physically demanding, but really it just depends on the circumstances different trainers call for more work than others and some fight call for more work than others
The only variable is that boxers take a lot more punches than MMA fighters
The Answer is BOXER and theres 3 reasons why:
1.You gotta train for fighting for 36min in boxing and 25min in mma.
2.You u have to stand on your feet in boxing..In mma u can lie down on top of the other guy and take breathers..FOR GOD SAKES U SEE IT IN VIRTUALLY EVERY FIGHT..
4.Gloves..A boxer gloves are ofcourse naturally bigger then mma gloves and it takes a boxer longer to end a fight with bigger padded gloves..
Dont give me that bullshit "well theres more styles u have in mma so its harder bla bla bla"..Ive been watchin since the early days and i'll be the first one to tell u that when a guy is twisting a man arm...hes twisting a mans arm!!!....And thats it!! he's not doin anything too special.. in mma they have 92 different names for a headlock for f*ck sakes..Yes i know that theres different styles etc etc but the fact remains that mma guys take CONSTANT breathers throughout the fight gets to lay on top of each other while a boxer has to stand up every second of the fight, and boxers get broken up by the ref literally in seconds whenever they do lean on another..
MMA loses this one!!! Boxing wins by fatality!!!!!
I don't buy the gloves excuse, the padding over the knuckles is nearly identical in both gloves, it simply comes down to MMA fighters not needing a chin to be successful. Boxers with bad chins get weeded out fairly quickly, and never make it too the top. That doesn't happen in MMA. The level of standup is so pathetic that guys with week chins can slide right on up to the top.
I've trained in both MMA & Boxing gyms. Two MMA gyms, 1 boxing gym. And the thing is, is this boxing gym I train at now isn't one of the elitist in my statre, wheras the MMA gyms I trained at were. I trained at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy here, so I've trained with both Sean Sherk, Brock Lesnar, and numerous successful MMA fighters. And I've come to notice that MMA really works less technique then it should, and less training. Half the people that trained there never heard of going running before. They stick & stay in the gym and don't do anything else to help themselves outside of it. Wheras a boxing gym is completely different. Jens Pulver, a former boxer now MMA fighter, has even stated nearly everything he trains is trained in a gym. I think this is the one big reason why some MMA fighters look unconditioned, flabby, and overall unskilled compared to boxers. I don't think it's the nature of the sport, it's just the nature of the fighters and how they were taught to train.
Not to hate but almost all mma fighters have a horrible physique, and i've never really seen a boxer with a bad physique.
plus mma fights usually end in the first round
Boxing is the most difficult sport in the world. Not only is a 12 round title fight one of the hardest things in sports the skill level is much higher in Boxing. It takes a decade of training and a load of natural talent to be an elite boxer.
The UFC HW champ is a 2 win 1 loss ex WWE roid head who has less skill then Muhammad Ali had in his pinky.
I agree with most of that. However, Brock Lesnar is not ENTIRELY untalented. Yes, its ridiculous that hes a champ with that record, but the guy was an All-American college wrestler. That's pretty respectable.
This is an obvious one, MMA.
With MMA you basically have two or three disciplines you have to work on. You have to work on your striking(Muay Thai or Boxing or both) and for the ground some MMArtists work on wrestling or BJJ or both. All those four disciplines work on various muscle groups, whereas boxing is limited.
A boxer does not have to worry about getting thrown on the ground and fighting his way out of being on the ground. A boxers legs doesn't get punished the same way a kickboxer does.
Spoken like someone who's never been through a boxing workout before.
I'm no pro MMA or Boxer but I've messed about in both camps, nothing serious or anything.
I would rather do 10 minutes of groundwork top or bottom than 3 minutes on a bag.
I feel the same way. I've done both MMA/Wrestling routines and boxing. I practiced 1-2-kick combinations and take-downs with this guy (who was about 30 lbs heavier than me) for about an hour straight with no rest.
Hitting a heavy bag for an hour straight would be EXHAUSTING! I've tried. In terms of workout and fitness I'd definitely say boxing (and if you look at fighters, most boxers go into a fight looking in TOP physical condition while i've seen a lot more MMA fighters go into a fight looking fat).
Now, who would win in a fight is a different story altogether.
You need more brute strength in MMA which limits your anaerobic capacity. You get tired much quicker with a lot of muscle bulk but you need it for MMA ground-work/wrestling etc etc. The same type of build in boxing would literally kill you. You would done within a few rounds.
They are completely different in their needs but MMA is less demanding overall in it's general aerobic and anaerobic capacities. More high level, intense periods of physical stress over a longer period of time compared to less high level/intense periods of activity over a shorter period of time.
It's not about what you work, because in both sports you really do work your entire body. They differ obviously but you also have different types of physicality needed and in boxing it requires a higher degree of both the above. Simple. It's got nothing to do with one being better, just about what you need to excel in one or the other.
well, it obviously depends a lot on the two fighters involved and the nature of the fight, doesnt it?
but generally speaking, I will say boxing, because it lasts much longer, the fighters involved take more real physical punishment, and the action is more constant, as opposed to the bursts you see in mma.
Boxing is the most difficult sport in the world. Not only is a 12 round title fight one of the hardest things in sports the skill level is much higher in Boxing. It takes a decade of training and a load of natural talent to be an elite boxer.
The UFC HW champ is a 2 win 1 loss ex WWE roid head who has less skill then Muhammad Ali had in his pinky.
Boxing is more anaerobically and aerobically demanding due to the nature of the sport. It is much less stop/start/rest with intense periods of activity so you have to build up your anaerobic capacity to a much greater level and you also have to have greater aerobic capacity due to the endurance needed to last those 36 minutes of sustained anaerobic periods.
This is an obvious one, MMA.
With MMA you basically have two or three disciplines you have to work on. You have to work on your striking(Muay Thai or Boxing or both) and for the ground some MMArtists work on wrestling or BJJ or both. All those four disciplines work on various muscle groups, whereas boxing is limited.
A boxer does not have to worry about getting thrown on the ground and fighting his way out of being on the ground. A boxers legs doesn't get punished the same way a kickboxer does.
I found MMa lot easier, in those MMa classes i look at the ground work as the break after the punching..
boxers take more overall damage to their brain
more cuts too
boxers are also fitter
boxing is more demanding because in mma if you get tired you can just lay on top of a guy and hump him for 5 mins to get a breather.
I'm no pro MMA or Boxer but I've messed about in both camps, nothing serious or anything.
I would rather do 10 minutes of groundwork top or bottom than 3 minutes on a bag.
17y ago
What is more physically demanding -Boxing or MMA title fight? | BoxingScene Community