NFL Lineman: "I could be a UFC champ and beat Stipe"

Everything about this is wrong.

If Randy Couture was not an A-level athlete, then there is no such thing as an A-level athlete. Here's a guy who fought MMA into his late forties, who took up MMA when he was already in his mid-thirties, and he routinely participated and did well in athletic events that had nothing to do with fighting.

Just because a guy doesn't look like a freak or participate in a sport which makes him a multi-millionaire many times over doesn't mean he's not an A-level athlete.

When I think A-level athlete I think explosiveness combined with endurance. Randy Couture didn't *really* have that massive explosiveness. A-level athletes almost always have decent striking power, simply because of their genetics. Randy Couture's boxing was technically sound but his power was never a really huge threat.

Randy was just a professional in every sense -- he took care of his body and did the things he needed to to have a long career.
 
When I think A-level athlete I think explosiveness combined with endurance. Randy Couture didn't *really* have that massive explosiveness. A-level athletes almost always have decent striking power, simply because of their genetics. Randy Couture's boxing was technically sound but his power was never a really huge threat.

Randy was just a professional in every sense -- he took care of his body and did the things he needed to to have a long career.

Athleticism has at least four major components - speed (or quickness), strength, flexibility, and endurance.

No athlete - not even A-level athletes - are at the top in every category. Some sports don't even require all the major components in order to be successful in them. Do you really need flexibility, for example, to be a success in the NFL? Probably not. How about endurance if you're an everyday player in professional baseball? Again, not likely.

So was Randy explosive? Did he have that combo of speed and strength which make power? I would certainly agree he wasn't at the top of the food chain in that regard for MMA.

But he was at the top for endurance. He was close to the top for pure strength. And he was good enough in the other two categories not to hurt himself.

That's as good an athlete as you'll find anywhere.
 
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