alizio

The sport is still in its infancy. There are no golden years yet.

The real golden years are pretty far away imo it will be the biggest sport in the world and kids will want to grow up and be MMA fighters, not boxers, not wrestlers etc etc they will train in all the various artforms from an early age and the talent level will be 10x what it is now because of it.

BobbyCooper

No alizio I don't think it's that far away anymore. We can call this time today definitely the beginning of the Golden Ara, with those outstanding fighters. How can the human body get much better then that?? I don't see so much more space for such an huge amount of improvment! Many of the top fighters today, already trained in a lot of different Martial Arts when they were young. Many did!

My example was Usain Bolt even in 100 or 200 years nobody will run much faster then this guy those already. It's just not possible otherwise we learn to fly sometime
MMA has still enough space for improvement thats right, but it's not that big either.

BrianRClover

It's an opinion poll so the obvious answer is personal preference. Lets face it, that is the only answer you can give to a question like that if it's giving as an option. So pretending that option isn't there, I think the golden years are still ahead of us. Lyoto, Penn, Anderson, and GSP... these guys are the blueprints of what is coming in the new young talent all over the world. Everywhere you look there are new MMA schools opening up, not just one discipline, but actual MMA training centers. Some people think I'm nuts but there will be a day when our current champs, even in their glory, will be outmatched.

Think of when Gracie came back and got dismanteled by Hughes, Old school VS. New School. That day will come for every member of the current UFC roster, with no exceptions. It's inevitable.

It's true in any sport. Example, do you think Babe Ruth would be a homerun champion against today's pitchers?... Doubtful.

Long story short, as far as MMA talent, glory and success of the sport goes... we haven't seen a damn thing yet.

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VolcomX311

Good thread I go with personal preference. In basketball, you could call the golden years as defined by the peak of Wilt, or Magic/Bird or Jordon, or in baseball with a numerous of iconic players, or boxing with Ali or Tyson or earlier like Dempsy. I think of the early reign of Royce Gracie as the golden years or the reign of Sakuraba as the Gracie hunter. If I had to pick, I suppose I'd have to go with the 90's. Currently, I think we can be defined as the gold standard era, where you have to be a true MMA'ist to be competitive (for the most part).

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Mr. White

I was hooked by UFC 1 and a slave to it ever since Those IMO were the "Glory days".

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Bobby Creek

Personal Preference. I am a boxing fan and when i saw the old ufc the fights were cool except they were long and sometimes stagnet. The new fights are action packed and related skill based like boxing.

_CaptainRon

Technology will continue drive the evolution of athletics in general, be it through improved training regimens, nutrition, or PED's. It maybe difficult to believe, but there is likely some kid that will grow up, here in the next decade, to beat Bolt's record. The improvements maybe gradual, but they will exist.

As far as MMA, the athleticism will noticibly improve. Fifteen years ago, all it took to get into the cage was a little confidence, courage, and toughness. That's obviously changed, a good part due to the fact that MMA today can be a viable carreer to more than just a handful of the top guys. For example, if MMA was where it is today, 10 years ago, Brock Lesnar may have never become a professional wrestler. The sport has been around long enough, and has garnered enough popularity, that you'll see a child groomed from birth to practice MMA, just as you do in football, baseball, basketball, hockey, and boxing. I understand that combat sports require a unique blend of physiological, mental, and emotional traits, but the bigger the pool you draw from, the more talent will present itself. And with the higher level of competition, the more progress we'll see.

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Toxic

Hate to break it to you but the old UFC was kinda boring, I know blasphemy but if I ever have to sit through Royce Gracie vs Ken Shamrock again I may have to off myself.

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machidaisgod

Agree...uuuhhhhhhhhh. But the 1 day tournament format was awesome in my opinion, It won't ever happen again and to me golden years means we will never see it again so I voted for the 90's...sorry

Servatose

Agreed. That fight made me want to cry. Wasn't there a similar fight with Severn and Shamrock as well? Some of those old fights were just awful. It may have been Severn and Royce. I think those types of fights were what started to push fans away from the sport. Not to mention the huge stigma violent sports had on them in the 90's, and old UFC certainly wasn't short on some vicious ends.