Bruce Lee vs. UFC lightweight division

[Frogman]

How do you guys think Bruce Lee would've done in the UFC against the likes of Pulver, Uno, Hallman, Iha or any other of the top lightweights. I think if he was alive today and in his prime he'd be fighting in the lightweight div.

[jobber-d]

bruce lee, in proportion to his power, should have been 6"5 and 270 pounds. The guy was POWERFUL. Not to mention the fastest most people have ever seen. Not only would he dominate the lightweight division, but i think he'd fare pretty well against some of the heavier divisions. but lets face it, bruce lee was a small man, and i doubt he could take much abuse from the bigger guys.

[Angel_of_Pain]

I really dont know what to say, I have only seen him in movie never saw a real challenge match involving him. Let's face it yeah he was quick and powerful but who know's how he would have adapted to wrestling and Jiu Jitsu I'm sure he would have learn it but I dont know if would have been good. A other thing people are like WOW! when they see bruce lee movie he must be strong but its the same thing whit VanDam he seem really quick and powerful in his movie but in real life he would have trouble whit any fighter whit experience. I dont say VanDame and lee are the same but bruce was know for his quickess and they way he would fight in MOVIE!
But the real question he's how would lee do in k-1 because he was a stand up fighter

[sidder]

Bruce Lee was a kung fun movie guy! He sparred with his students, but he never fought fought against other skilled guys. He was very tought, but if he fought against one of those guys, he'd get his ass handed o him.

[jobber-d]

i wasn't referring to how he was in movies, i was referring to real life. Many of his friends and family stated that, like Dan Insonito or Chuck Norris. just because he wasn't in any competitions doesn't mean that he never fought. As for him not coping with the new fighting styles, they aren't really that new. Besides, Bruce Lee was all about flexibility and adaptability. If the style he was using wasn't effective against a ju-jitsu opponent, he'd analyze it and figure out a way to beat it and most likely incorporate the useful things he saw into his own style. i mean, thats what he had been doing for most of his martial arts career.

[Frogman]

Bruce Lee did incorporate some grappling in his JKD although obviously not to the same degree as BJJ guys but he did realize back then that grappling was important. There were also lots of stories about him streetfighting anyone who challenged him, and he would regularly whoop the opponent's ass.

Jens Pulver who loves to strike should be a good fight against Bruce Lee. I think Bruce would eat Jens' lunch.

[sidder]

Hey I like Bruce Lee movies as much as the next guy. And the stuff he said about abandoning what's useless in traditional martial arts and keeping an open mind was great. But if you took Bruce at his peak and put him up against a similarly weighted guy from Vos Gym in Holland or from the tournament circuit in Chang Mai, Thailand, Bruce'd simply get massacred. There's no shame in that. There's nothing wrong, I guess, with idolizing the guy, as long as you face up to the reality that he never ACTUALLY proved himself to be the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the universe. Truth is, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of totally unfamous guys in Holland, Japan, Thailand, etc... who're damned talented and train 24-7 and, though they'll never be movie stars, would most likely beat the crap outta Brucey.

[JaredExtreme]

I really don't understand the fascination with Bruce Lee. I have always only seen him in one way: an actor. A highly intelligent and skilled actor definetly, but an actor nonetheless. Most people get their admiration for him through his films and interviews. This is all fine and good, but to quote Tom Po from the movie kickboxer........ 'Bricks no hit back'.

[mild7]

Bruce is without a doubt, the most mythified and overrated martial artist in history next to Morihei Ueshiba and Toshitsugu Takamatsu.

He certainly was a pioneer in the sense that he was against traditionalism from the start. He was talented and devoted to martial arts. He was a great innovator and theorist. But asides from this, so what? There are thousands of ppl like Bruce today that start up their own theories, come up with their own philosohpies and are worshipped by their students the same.

Let's get the facts straight; Bruce never fought in competition.
It is one thing to beat up on your students like Ted Wong and company, who will kiss your butt at every oppurtunity. It is one thing to do demonstrations and show off your speed to champions like Chuck Norris or Joe Lewis, to spar with them fullcontact is an entirely different matter. And Bruce sure as hell did'nt.

I don't think there is any other individual in history besides Bruce that the most crap is talked about, oh, Bruce had the reach of a 6-footer, oh, Bruce was stronger than ten men, oh, Bruce could knock Tyson out. Absolute garbage.

How would he do in the LW division? At the stage he was back then, he'd get KO'd out. If he got better sparring partners, tested more of his theories to put things in perspective, increased the grappling training and developed the heart of a sportsman I think he'd do quite well though.

[jobber-d]

what i dont understand is why people think the man never fought against skilled opponents in sparring. just because he never fought in competitions doesn't mean he never fought againts anyone. What makes you think that he never sparred with Chuck Norris? Did he ever say that? why do so many professional martial artists in the world respect him so much? and im referring to the ones that knew him personally, not knew OF him.

mild7: do you know the strength that bruce lee posessed? it was extremely powerful for what his size was. Its no wonder myths came about saying that he had the strength of ten men. He had less body fat then almost anyone in the world. Just because his feats were exaggurated to the extreme doesn't mean that his original feats were impressive to begin with.

[sidder]

Wow Jobber. You must have been really close to Bruce to have all this first-hand knowledge of just how amazing he was. I personally know tons of badass muay thai guys who, in all honesty, Bruce wouldn't likely last 5 minutes with. As for Chuck Norris, he was a tae kwon do guy for Christ's sake. He wouldn't last either. I'm sure Bruce and Chuck were tough guys. But if they weren't movie stars nobody who's serious in the martial arts world would give 3 *****'s about them.

[jobber-d]

um, i dont know where you got the impression that i knew bruce lee firsthand. what you're saying is that the only way to measure how good someone is, is to know them firsthand? thats funny though, if thats true how would you know that your muay thai friends could beat him up? you seem to be basing your opinion on the fact that he is a moviestar, and therefore is no good. and the reason why they became movie stars was because of their martial arts skills, so anyone who was serious about martial arts WOULD know about them.

[Szczepankiewicz]

Now what does Christ have to do with this? I was under the impression that He did not exist? For who's sake did you really mean it for?

Mr. Norris isn't regarded as a Tae Kwon Do stylist, to the best of my knowledge. His art is Tang Soo Do.

Tang Soo Do (art of the knife hand; way of the Chinese hand) is relatively modern. Its basis, however, the Korean art of Soo Bahk Do dates back many centuries. Tang Soo Do is a composite style, being 60 percent Soo Bahk Do, 30 percent northern Chinese, and 10 percent southern Chinese. Kicking techniques are based on Soo Bahk which was first developed during the Silla Dynasty (A.D. 618-935).

Whereas:
Tae Kwon Do is "The Korean martial art of tae kwon do literally means “art of kicking and punching.” Modern tae kwon do is a combination of the hyung (patterns) of it’s ancestral combative arts, taekyon and subak, and the kata of the Okinawan Shuri and Naha schools of karate. "

If it's not ok to have an opinion unless you actually know them I guess I'm screwed. Cause nobody in Idaho knows anybody else.

Darn the unfarity of it all!

[sidder]

As a former tkd/tang soo do stylist, I can honestly say, "same ****, different pile." The techniques are the same. The roundhousr kicks are leg-foot, rather than body-shin (as in muay thai) and the punching techniques are abysmal and antiquated. I didn't know Bruce or Chuck. But I do know enough about the absurd claims that people make about Bruce and I think it's appropriate that a good many of those dogmatic deifiers are Christians. Because Bruce wasn't invincible and he didn't miraculously have the power of a heavyweight any more than Christ walked on water or joined his Father in the kingdom of heaven. I only wish that Bruce had stepped in the ring with a real muay thai fighter or one of the k-1 guys. Then this grandiose bubble would finally pop. Because all the dramatic high-pitched squeals in the world ain't gonna do nothing but annoy the real deals like Aerts, Hug, Hoost, LeBanner,...

[Frogman]

I sure wish that is was possible to see Bruce against a K1 fighter at the same weight level. There's only one way to know for sure and that's to have that fight take place. But you can't argue that Bruce was quick and exceptionally powerful for a guy his size. I'm not saying he has the power of a Mark Coleman, but for a man his size to pack that kinda power has to be a tough challenge even for K1 fighters his size.