Susan wrote:aggerrard wrote:Mark O is crazy strong. From the same country, so know him very well (not personally), followed his career for the last ~10 years. When he transitioned from wrestling to mma, he was able to bring over the strength and elite wrestling, but i just think he is to old to really evolve into a threat to the top fighters in the UFC. His standup and submission game is something he needs to work on, his superior strength and wrestling can only take him this far.
I mean, it's not really age that hinders him, it's time spent in the sport. Like if he was 40 and had been fighting MMA for 20 years, he's probably not learning anything but if he's 40 and started at 37, that dude still can get better + still learn.
I mean like all elite athletes, age starts to wear on them. If Mark with his world class wrestling made the transition in his 20's and not his 30's, i'll think he'd had a much better chance at evolving an all-around game. I just think it's to late for him to catch up to the elite guys, who have 10+ years of experience in MMA on him. Mark will likely get better and better in his striking, his cardio and submission game - but at some point you naturally start to regress, and with him being 35, he doesn't have that many years in the sport to progress. He hasn't taken much damage, so i think he can go on and get better for another 3-3½ years, but i don't see him closing the gap to the elite in that span.
