There’s a lot of speculation on this board about Bo vs the Chimp. Three things have been established, but I want to open up the discussion a bit?
Despite what the Chimp Simps say Chimps aren’t as five times as strong as humans (a popular myth spread since the 1920s but are around 1.5 times as strong
(O’Neil et al 2017). However, reading O’Neil et al.'s (2017) study this is very much based on computer modelling of muscle fibre contractual properties. Just as we might say that lifting weights in the gym doesn’t equate to strength in MMA grappling so this study doesn’t really tell us how that strength will match up in actual combat. Also, 1.5 times as strong is ambiguous: is this 1.5 as strong as the average human or the strongest? What role does weight play in this – if a chimp is 130 pounds would it be as strong a 190 pound human? Are we talking pound for pound here?
Secondly, the
chimp vs man (chimp island video) gives an indication that chimps aren’t five times as strong as humans. The man is clearly able to pull back against the chimp and at times pull back with him. The chimp cannot simply rip-off his arm (this is a conflation with other stories – such as a chimp biting off a child’s arm at Port Lympne Zoo in 1996). However, it does give an indication of how an aggressive attack by a chimp would go. The chimp is going to bite the face and fingers (in lots of chimpanzee colonies you see members with missing fingers as this is used as a form of punishment during power disputes). At 1.01 in this video you also see one of the key moves the chimp typically uses which is to jump on its opponents back and slam down its arms.
All of this indicates that for Bo to KO a chimp is going to be extremely difficult. The chimp is much lower than Bo and if he gets close and reaches down he’s likely to get entangled in the spider guard of the chimp. We also don’t know how grappling positions like full mount, or back mount, or side control would work against the body dynamics of the chimp. It’s likely that the chimp is always going to be able to reach the human face with one of its four limbs regardless of the position, which will invariable lead to gouging. More research needs to be done to determine how MMA positions work against the four limbs of a chimp.
Finally, the circus chimp fights video in which a chained chimp takes on human opponents reveals two things. One is the incredible speed of the chimp and that it can possess an impressively powerful drop kick. This for me more than the strength is the biggest weapon of the chimp. Within the environment of the cage – the chimp will be able to propel itself at Bo from a variety of unpredictable angles. It would be like a super charged Anthony Pettis. Perhaps, the most important aspect of the video though is that in the unfamiliar environment of the circus arena – the chimp constantly backs down with only the chain preventing it from attempting to leave the conflict. Any match between Bo and a chimp would have to take place in a cage with a roof (again giving the chimp quite an incredible advantage over Bo) to prevent the chimp from escaping into the crowd.
This leads me to my conclusion that Bo would not KO a chimp not because of a chimp’s strength or aggression but because the chimp is more likely in a cage to seek to evade contact with Bo. Apart from the occasional fleeting attack. The match would most likely look like Sakuraba vs Royce going on for endless rounds with Bo eventually giving up because he would be unable to walk down or corner the chimp. On an island – let’s say the chimp island in the video in which the chimp feels more comfortable there is more chance of a lasting conflict. However, even though I could see Bo losing a couple of fingers in a fury mele, I ultimately see the chimp disengaging and retreating into the canopy.