Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has been setting MMA social media circles ablaze over the last week. First, it came out that he may or may not be dating UFC strawweight (and Dancing with the Stars contestant) Paige VanZant, bringing tears to the eyes of lonely fans around the world. Then, more importantly, he teased that he “might have caught the Octagon bug” after training at Jay Glazer’s Unbreakable Performance Center.
Appreciate y’all letting me use the gym while I’m in LA, @Unbreakable. Might have caught the octagon bug.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) April 12, 2016
Naturally, this brought some of MMA’s oldest questions back to life. How would a rough, tough, supremely athletic footballer do in the cage? How would he do with some training? How would he do if he stepped into the cage?
As Fox Sports‘ Damon Martin spells out, there’s no way Watt—currently locked into a six-year, $100 million deal—is going to actually compete in the UFC, where a top-10 fighter makes a paltry $63,500 per year.
There’s no reason not to dream about what might be, though, and Bleacher Report’s dreamiest writers, Steven Rondina and Nathan McCarter, are here to talk about where he would, and where he could, stack up against the UFC’s heavyweight division.
Steven: Here we are, Nathan, tackling one of MMA’s most enduring questions. How, oh how, would a footballer hold up in a cagefighting contest? Not just any footballer, mind you. The baddest man on the defensive end of the ball: J.J. Watt.
I’m going to just come right out and say this, and probably ruffle some feathers in the process. If Watt hung up his pads and strapped on some gloves, he is a fringe top-10 heavyweight in MMA today, without even training.
While MMA fans don’t like hearing it, there’s an undeniable, almost complete lack of athleticism when it comes to the modern crop of talent at 185 pounds and above. There are very, very few fighters in MMA history who could have matched the size, strength and speed of today’s average NFL player, and time is not on their side, either, with the average age of a top-10 heavyweight today being 35.5.
Watt is 6’5” tall and weighs 283 pounds (but would likely be able to lean down close to 265 pounds), and he is 27 years old. Is there any reason to believe he wouldn’t be able to just walk into the Octagon today and destroy somebody like Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, Roy Nelson or Frank Mir?
Nathan: I struggle with these enduring questions because MMA is so vastly different than your average sport. Is Watt dynamic? Yes. Is he a better athlete than most heavyweights? Sure. But there is no guarantee he can take a punch or develop the skills necessary to be successful.
Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time and a great athlete. But he couldn’t transition to baseball. Being a good athlete doesn’t mean it translates from sport to sport. That is a very rare quality. Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson are just two that stand out and they stand out for a reason. Dave Winfield may be one of the best athletes in history (Winfield was drafted in three different sports).
Would J.J. Watt be able to transcend into MMA? Maybe. But there’s no guarantee, and that’s why I hesitate to anoint him as a top-anything.
Steven: There are two key differences between MMA and the mainstream sporting world that work against that argument.
First, the adult participation rate in football, basketball and the like is exponentially higher than MMA, or even combat sports as a whole. J.J. Watt wouldn’t be able to put on skates and join the NHL, but I imagine there are plenty of lacrosse teams that would be happy to have him aboard.
Second, athleticism is pretty much a vanishing cream in MMA. Few sports allow you to cover up technical or psychological flaws with sheer speed, strength and stamina the way MMA does.
I’ll point to this past Sunday as an example. Gabriel Gonzaga is a more technical, more experienced fighter than Derrick Lewis, and that showed during their fight at UFC Fight Night 86. There was one sequence where Gonzaga took Lewis down, landed in side control, moved to back mount and sunk in both hooks. That’s the most dangerous position a fighter can be in…and what did Lewis do? He just stood up, peeled Gonzaga off him and punched him until he was declared the winner.
Now, obviously that’s an extreme example, but you get my point. In MMA, being the bigger, stronger man (or woman) counts for a whole lot, and there are very few people who are bigger and stronger than Watt. The only way that gets negated is if he handles punishment like Eric Cartman from South Park.
Nathan: Except that my argument is not that being a top-tier athlete does not mean anything, but rather being a top-tier athlete doesn’t guarantee success in another sport. Especially one such as MMA. Especially coming in completely raw.
Remember when Randy Couture just hit a simple outside single on James Toney? Just about any UFC heavyweight could do the same thing to J.J. Watt if he just up and came to the UFC tomorrow. Let’s not fool ourselves and be completely delusional to think that he could just waltz in and be successful based off pure athleticism.
The example of Lewis-Gonzaga is a bit misleading. Did that happen? Yes, and I was one to point out how it was more about Gonzaga’s lapse in technique than Lewis’ grappling progression. However, Lewis still has multiple years of training under his belt and knows when and where to take his chances in getting up. It wasn’t a random happenstance.
If I am forced to guess how Watt would do in MMA, I would definitely bet he becomes a top-10 or top-five heavyweight. The raw abilities are there. If he dedicated himself to training, there is a distinct possibility that he picks up the necessary tools quickly enough to mask his deficiencies.
Yes, Brock Lesnar was an NCAA heavyweight champion, but he didn’t like getting hit and didn’t have amazing technical abilities across the board. Watt could, with small training, do well enough to mask similar holes by sticking to the basics.
Alas, this is all just an exercise in futility. The financial aspect just does not work for Watt to make a realistic transition.
Steven: Delusional? Ouch! I stand by what I said, though. He could just waltz in and be successful based on his pure athleticism. Would he be a champion? No, but there are plenty of fighters out there he could beat.
The comparison between Toney and Watt doesn’t really hold up. A not-supremely-athletic Toney set foot into the cage at 42 years old, overweight and with next to no motivation. He fought a crafty wrestler in Randy Couture, quit as soon as things hit the ground, took home a $500,000 check for his troubles and went right back to boxing. That doesn’t apply to a hungry, 27 year-old Watt.
If he stepped into the cage today, with Josh Barnett, would Watt get tripped and kneebarred with little incident? Almost certainly. Would he get knocked out in short order by Alistair Overeem? Again, almost certainly.
But let me reiterate, I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about the Lewises, the Nelsons and the Silvas. These aren’t pound-for-pound-level fighters. These are one-dimensional fighters that are pushing 40 years old with limited cardio.
I’m not saying a Watt vs. Bigfoot matchup would be a slam dunk, but I’ll go out on a limb and say his athleticism would allow him to hustle and muscle his way to a win. If Watt decided he hates money and dedicated himself to MMA, though, I don’t think it would be especially bold to say he is the UFC heavyweight champion by the end of 2017.
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