Bodybuilders rarely make great fighters, although exceptions do exist. In general however, putting on too much muscle mass is detrimental for fighting. They might hit hard, but if there’s too much muscle on a fighter’s frame, those punches will seem like they are going through clay.
This is not to say that bodybuilders aren’t functionally strong however. If someone is stuck under a fallen tree a bodybuilder/power-lifter is going to be far more helpful than a 135lbs jiu-jitsu blackbelt. When it comes to fighting however, a bodybuilder is not someone to worry too much about.
Even if they have been trained in MMA, fighters with too much muscle can actually be less effective than fighters with not enough. Power means nothing if you aren’t quick enough to use it. That’s why stories of bodybuilders succeeding in MMA are so rare.
There are bodybuilders in this article who could be successful in MMA however. It takes a high-level athlete to go through what bodybuilders do. If a successful bodybuilder decided they wanted to go into MMA, they would already have the discipline required. All that would be left is reducing muscle and increasing speed. At least one bodybuilder on this list seems to be transitioning to MMA quite well.
In this article we are going to take a look at 5x bodybuilders tried to test their fighting skills against someone far more experienced in martial arts.
5. Ivan Shtyrkov
Russian heavyweight Ivan Shtyrkov is starting to turn some heads. The bodybuilder has been making a smooth transition into MMA, something accomplished by few over the years.
The 28 year old started fighting in June of 2015, and has yet to lose. He fights mainly for the Titov Boxing Promotion (his fights are MMA), and has never fought outside of his home country.
His fight promotion has brought in names for him to face however. He submitted former UFC heavyweight Jeff Monson in May of 2016, and earned a controversial decision victory over Big Foot Silva in November.
Shtyrkov is probably the biggest MMA prospect to have come from a bodybuilding background.
Check out his fight with Big Foot Silva in the video below:
