Bruce Lee is the man and would murder him
Conner McGregor would smash him
fight could go on forever without a win....
As a child I adored Bruce Lee, I had the iconic Enter the Dragon Poster on my wall, I watched all the movies 10 times over and I trained in Shotokan Karate managing to get a black belt by 18 years of age, sadly I cant remember a thing from it, and on a side note have been thinking of taking it up again for fitness purposes.
Recently some footage has surfaced of 'Only Real Fight Ever Recorded' of Bruce, fighting one of his top students, Ted Wong. Watching it reminded me of how fast this guy was, and got me thinking,
if the man was alive today, how would he do against someone like Conner McGregor within MMA rules, I still think he would crush him, his ability to anticipate attack and disable that attack and strike to me is legendary,
what do we think? if you had £100 to bet an a win with McGregor or Lee, who would you go for? or if you can think of another fighter that could beat him, let us know, so we can debate it.
the video,
Last edited by soundood; 13th June 2017 at 09:57.
I was a massive Bruce Lee fan back in the day and I think his speed, power and awareness would defeat someone like Connor in a MMA-type battle. Don't forget, although his main thing was Kung-Fu, he utilised things from many different styles and amalgamated it into something of his own - so MMA in essence.
I'd put my money on Bruce, his fighting style was just seemed to bamboozle any of opponents, and his reaction speed was almost super-human.
I did TKD for about 15 years and had a Korean instructor who was around the same size and build as Bruce and to watch him in action was like watching a speeded up film.
That being said, leading with your hand out might prove a little risky for an MMA fight.
... and see how he changes position, turning himself from a lefthanded fighter into a righthanded! That will dazzle any opponent.
Menno
Bruce. Notice how he is never the one who strikes first. JKD, which he founded, teaches the idea of using your opponent's momentum and exposures to your advantage. Connor, not unlike most other fighters today, is simply too emotionally invested in his fights. You see it at press conferences, its quite easy to get one another riled up days before the fight.
I think Bruce was heard saying he wouldn't even go up against Muhammad Ali . That if Ali landed a blow it would finish him .
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There are other fights of Bruce's on YouTube of him blindfolded taking on a karate opponent
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z9f1-KuD49M
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He was an inspiration , I think just Connor mcgregor wouldn't win based on how much of bad chav he is.
Lee had an ego but mcgregors ego is just embarrassing jumping on car bonnets and dancing like a pleb in noncy clubs. As seperate as an issue as that is he's not as formidable as Lee
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Bruce Lee from 1972 or one born 40+ years later so that he could take advantage of modern training methods and facilities etc?
I suspect that may result in two different answers.
It would certainly be an interesting fight though.
Impressive as that is, sticky hands is a lot less reliant on sight and more on feeling what your opponent is doing.Originally Posted by bond
Good question. Bruce I think on balance. His 'sleightness' and speed would give him the advantage. Connor is damn impressive though
Look at the weight difference though, most reports have Bruce walking around at 135lb, Conor half kills himself to get to 145. That would put Bruce into Bantam or Fly where the fighters are a lot quicker.
I think the MMA fighter wins, fighting has evolved a lot since Bruce was around, and to be fair Karate on its own is pretty useless in a real fight. Hence why no UFC fighter uses solely karate, in fact it's a tiny part of a couple of fighter's styles.
I grew up idolising BL also, a true martial arts legend and his cinematic contribution has perhaps been more impressive engendering an entire genre.
Incredible speed, skills, almost superhuman fitness and an open minded approach to style incorporating whatever worked, he was absolutely amazing.
However I don't know if he could take a punch And^OR whether he could consistently evade or mix it up with a really strong, determined and skilled grappler.
As other posters have said it would be fascinating to see.
BTW I can heartily recommend "The Tao of Bruce Lee" a sort've biography by Davis Miller if anyone is interested in learning more of the man behind the legend.
Last edited by Passenger; 13th June 2017 at 13:37.
The comparison is an interesting one.
It's not so much who would win that interests me but the way each man acts inside and outside the ring.
One is a charismatic icon who defined an approach to life. The other hides his extreme dedication beneath a brash exterior.
Possibly both fighters reflect their time.
I don't think it's a reflection of their time - Anthony Joshua is of the same era as McGregor but both have a different approach outside the ring. CM seems to be a decent bloke who's just playing the part of a nobby showman to help his brand and sport grow.
I know who Bruce Lee is, I though Conner McGregor was in Carry On Films.
Doesn't say a thing about who would in a fight (My money's still on a Badger!), but it does a bit about which one is an icon and which is a bloke who punches other people for a living...
M.
K1 was started as a contest between all kind of fighters (so: jiu jitsu, karate, savate, kick/thai boxing) but in the end the thai boxers always win. MMA is combination of thai boxing and wrestling so I assume Bruce Lee would not stand up more than a minute against McG
Like others, Bruce Lee was an icon when I was a youngster. I know nothing about MMA but what amazes me about this video is how relaxed he looks and how quick and seemingly effortless his engagement looks.
This ^
If you were thinking of a martial art for a child to learn now that would be most useful in later life, which would you choose?
I think Chuck Norris would wipe the floor with them all...
I think MMA is a deadly a sport as any, I think though with all the combined skill of jeet June Do, tai chi and Chinese boxing Lee is able to ascertain the best course of defense and offence. Remember the art of "fighting without fighting"
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Boxing and jiu-jitsi
Agreed fwiw.
I have only studied judo to brown belt but it's been very useful a couple of times outside the dojo.
Krav Maga or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Average street fight lasts about 30 seconds and always quickly goes to the ground. There are also no rules in fights unlike most martial arts. Krav Maga is the best to prepare for that, it also incorporates defence against things like bats and knives.
Not much good for cardio though, Thai boxing is the best for that. So some combination of the above, a good few years doing that and you'll be a weapon :-)
In a fight without additional time for preparation, then maybe Connor would win, but my heart would say Bruce would win if adequate time to study the skills required were allowed.
Personally having spent a little time doing Judo, Karate, Ju Jitsu, and Aikido, I would chose Aikido. It works better as a discipline and self protection technique in my mind, and less emphasis on striking and violence to me. I found it very effective when I worked doors, and rarely had to do more than hold someone effectively.
Brazilian Ju Jitsu, or grappling might be a worth while skill if it came down to it, and I enjoyed Ju Jitsu - but I'd probably have been on the wrong side of the law if I had used many of the techniques much working on doors.
One night a few of us who worked doors were in the gym training and demonstrating taking a bottle (or same technique for a knife) from an assailant who was attempting to strike with it, using an Aikido technique I blocked the assailants downwards blow with one arm and took their wrist with the other and moved them backwards and onto the floor, removing the bottle from them and held them down restrained. Whereas my colleague a well trained Ju Jitsu instructor simply struck them between the bicep and tricep and they dropped the bottle, and he was ready to strike them again - the poor guy with the bottle couldnt move his arm properly for around 5-10 minutes. One doesn't sit quite as well with me as the other.
My preference could be from the enthusiasm I experienced from my Aikido instructor, Alan Ruddock, who studied directly with its founder, Morehei Ueshiba
Last edited by Omegamanic; 13th June 2017 at 21:54.
It's just a matter of time...
I have been a massive Bruce Lee fan since I was a kid visiting his, and Brandon's, graves in Seattle when I had the the opportunity. The title of the video is misleading as the 'real' fight was him demonstrating his art with his student Taky Kimura at a karate tournament as a guest. Taky is also the guy in the second sticky hands clip. It is neither new but granted it has been enhanced.
BL vs CM? Bruce was the pioneer of taking what was useful from other styles (Wing Chun, boxing, savate.....) into his own JKD. Pick up any martial arts magazine today and his name is still prevalent 44 years on. With Conor, and other MMAs, they benefitted from what Bruce started in terms of training, nutrition, body mechanics etc. A lot of them started martial arts because of him. But he perfected his art through philosophy and training whereas Conor has honed his in the ring. So my head would say Conor.
I would agree. Level playing field and Lee would be extraordinary.
That said, it's an easy trap for people to fall into - especially as they get older - to cling to the past and give modern athletes less credit than they perhaps deserve.
That said, a Bruce Lee with modern diet, training and a chance to bring his technique up to be effective against the modern multi-discipline fighters - with their emphasis on going to ground - would be a great specimen.
I'm certainly not downplaying the skill of Bruce Lee but he'd really struggle if he was lifted from his time and placed in a mma ring against a current opponent.
Yes he'd have excellent speed and striking ability but how would he do from his back when someone who has wrestled for years in college and now holds a BJJ black belt gets on top of him. He'd be tapped out every time I'm afraid. Just look at the old UFC fights from the beginning of the sport, you had some amazing athletes with huge weight advantages who'd be tapped out by the BJJ expert every time it went to the ground.
If you had Bruce Lee with years of training in anticipation of a mma fight then it's a different story.
Having watched the footage a few times now, lm forming the opinion that Lee would have to pull his finger out and improve considerably to meet today's standards in a real competitive fight - certainly one without so much padding!
Choreographed moves aside, his speed in the OPs clip is easily matched and not infrequently bettered by modern mma athletes. The old footage in modern context is like watching treacle get poured.
And if he kept his arm outstretched like that against anyone decent he'd come a cropper very quickly.
For me, it would be Judo. I started at school when we had a judo club. I remember we did a school demonstration with the national Judo coach Geof Gleeson (7th Dan) He told us he had a very bad speech stammer before he learnt Judo and gradually as he went up the belts it cleared up as he gained confidence.
It has saved me on a few occasions, once when I was at the baths and slipped on some detergent, instinctively doing a 'break fall' and later in my career as a PC. (I did have a fight with him but I was sent crashing to the floor in seconds)
It's a great sport and should be made a compulsary at school..... kids would learn self respect discipline.
Maybe cornered in an octagon with mcgregor , Lee may struggle but with an open space and room to manoeuvre I think Bruce could take him. I think he is the faster more equipped fighter all round
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Imagine what Bruce's record would look like with the UFC feeding him geriatric kickboxers and people with toxoplasma.
While Bruce was creating his own martial art, Conor was playing with pool noodles.
Conor wants to be a martial arts action star, Bruce practically created the genre.
Bruce's workout metrics were at a higher level.
Conor showed great ability to end a fight in 13 seconds against Aldo, but rumor is that Bruce Lee only needed 3-4 seconds typically to end a confrontation.
Bruce.
KO.
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Here it is anyway lol
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FKTynayergE
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Actually that computer generated Bruce Lee is an insult to his actual speed
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Sorry dood but there wasn't an option to tick in your poll for "get a f***** grip, how old are you"
Great video OP!
I don't really follow UFC but after a quick look on YouTube I've got to say macgregor is unlikely to get near to Lee. His speed accuracy and reactions would win it for sure.
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Made me smile anyway. The cgi Lee certainly moved better than the one in the OPs video.
Though not nearly as well as Bruce at his choreographed best by any means.
Lee would win by a mile
He was a faster runner?
I'm a lover, not a fighter. The only thing I fight are bra clasps.
you are in the wrong thread matey, this thread is for young at heart people who enjoy reminiscing on life gone by, and enjoying talking to others who are like minded.Sorry dood but there wasn't an option to tick in your poll for "get a f***** grip, how old are you"
is there not a 'spec me a duffel coat' thread you can hang out in? ;-)
Most of us have only seen Lee's 'speed' in rehearsed hollywood sequences, which as we know are not shown in real-time. No doubt he is legend but not super-human.
I reckon the professional fighter could take down the professional actor.
another one here who idolised bruce when i was a youngster.
don't know who would win between bruce and conner,but would hope bruce would, to keep my perception of him alive
Sadly I'm inclined to see some sense in this statement. The clip at the start of this thread was, at the time, no doubt regarded as some kind of masterclass - nowadays it would be seen as an off day for both fighters.
Happy Birthday !!!!
I guess it's relative and also depending on a guy who is basically the founder of early MMA. If he had all the acquired knowledge and experience of the years of MMA I'm sure himself , Bruce would be the MMA world champion- even McGregor himself quoted saying that. As it stands as a 1970s early founder of a mixed style then no. So without Lee no mcGregor . It's kind of a paradox. It's like no Copernicus , no Kepler
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Agreed.
I went for the modern fighter, although I'd rather (form a romantic perspective) see Lee win
Modern training, speed and power of these athletes would overwhelm...
Quality.
^Thanks for all the interesting stories about which martial art to pick for children.
I did Judo when quite young and then a bit of boxing at college but that was quite some time ago now.
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