The Doggy Bag: The Doubtful Edition

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I know this sounds terrible, but when I think about the history of MMA, I see such a difference between the greatest fighters and the sport’s “legends.” I know Babe Ruth couldn’t compete against today’s top pitchers and all of that, but I constantly find myself questioning whether or not even a fighter like Matt Hughes could be a contender in today’s UFC or whether Randy Couture could win any UFC titles at all against today’s fighters, even if he started fighting at a younger age. What am I missing? -- Henry from Fort Worth

Brian Knapp, associate editor: Plenty of fans fall into this trap, and, in my opinion, their line of thinking misses the mark. The legends of yesteryear were never meant to be so rigidly compared to their modern counterparts. Too many variables exist to make such assessments, so, to be fair, we should always try to examine professional athletes inside the bubble in which they competed.

Take Ruth, for instance. No one can be certain how he would have performed against a Justin Verlander or Clayton Kershaw. Is it a stretch to think he could have developed into an even more devastating hitter if he had enjoyed access to state-of-the-art training, video analysis, scouting reports and all the other luxuries the players of today enjoy? While it makes for interesting water cooler fodder, whether or not the masses believe athletes like Ruth, Jim Brown, Wilt Chamberlain and others would have been as exceptional in the current era as they were in their own does nothing to diminish their greatness or accomplishments.

No one gets to choose when they are born, and those men played the hands they were dealt. Try telling fans from their generation that Ruth, Brown and Chamberlain could not hang with the players of today. You’re likely to walk away with a tongue lashing, if not worse. Over time, a similar dynamic will develop in MMA. Fighters like Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock and Kazushi Sakuraba will become more and more romanticized over the next quarter to half a century, and they will need people like you and others familiar with the history of MMA to keep their memories vibrant and alive.

Hughes and Couture were two of the great fighters of their generation. The game passed them by, just as it does with athletes in every other sport. Willie Mays hit .238 over his final four seasons in the majors. Does anyone remember that Mays?

Someday, as crazy as it sounds now, a group of mixed martial artists will come along and make the exploits of Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre and Jon Jones look primitive by comparison. Training will improve, coaches will become more finely tuned, new techniques will develop, and the fighters will benefit. Will that knock some of the shine off of the stars of today? Not for me, and it shouldn’t for anyone else, either.

I think it is fine to debate how fighters from different eras compare with one another, but at some point such arguments cross the line of fairness and do a real disservice to the sport itself and the pioneers who once carried it upon their shoulders. We would all be wise to try and keep everything in its proper context.

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