Could Bruce Lee Win a Fight against a UFC OR MMA pro?

a reply to: awareness10

The ONLY way Mr. Lee loses if He fought a MMA/UCF Champ would be that Mr. Lee would be 75 years old.

The Chinatown section of Oakland still has folks who remember Mr. Lee. I went to college right near there in 1982 and a lot of the folks were still training..

Awesome Bruce Lee documentary! Please watch!

a reply to: JimNasium

I'm not even sure he'd be out of the game at 75 to be honest. Ip Man his teacher was pretty Amazing at that age.

Here's another Video

a reply to: awareness10

David used a ranged weapon against Goliath, he had no choice. Goliath was too damn large, and would have easily crushed him if it went melee. That same goes for Bruce Lee.

The Top 10 Reasons Bruce Lee May Have Been Superhuman

a reply to: AmericanRealist

yes and we will forever agree to disagree with the Topic

But that's ok

a reply to: awareness10

lol yea, its just for fun.

a reply to: Swills

Excellent Documentary. Love your Avatar

I think most highly trained MMA fighters of today would beat Bruce Lee.

That said, if Bruce Lee was alive today and trained as heavily in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu/grappling as he did in striking I think he would be a force to be reckoned with. There is no question he was extremely talented.

In my experience, most traditional martial artists (Tae Kwon Do, Kung Fu, Karate) are no match for even semi-skilled MMA fighters.

I see it all the time at my gym (American Top Team). Traditional martial artists (even black belts) who come in and want to spar get smashed relatively easily by lower BJJ belts (white, blue).

a reply to: awareness10

Same weight class? It would quickly be over.

Fast is right. It would be hard to condense all his choreographed fight scenes in his many films, one good bit thats shows how fast he was, the first thirty seconds into here. There is no CGI or fast motion, three kicks to Bob Walls hand and head are a blur at :25

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: awareness10

Same weight class? It would quickly be over.

Fast is right. It would be hard to condense all his choreographed fight scenes in his many films, one good bit thats shows how fast he was, the first thirty seconds into here. There is no CGI or fast motion, three kicks to Bob Walls hand and head are a blur at :25

Love those old movies!! I always liked the fact that in Reality, Bruce was a Defender of the weak, and he hated bullies and trouble makers.

Screen test for the 60's TV series, The Green Hornet. Greased lightning...Imo, best doc on him I've seen is How Bruce Lee Changed The World. Its two hours but includes interviews with his daughter, his many co stars and friends.

Evenly portrays him as the struggling Chinese actor in the film industry in Hollywood.

Would babe Ruth hit 60 home runs and bat 350 today? Probably not.
Lee would win some and lose some.

a reply to: Bone75
Tell me you're kidding? Based on what criterion?
He would OWN his weight class, let alone could challenge for any other.

Bruce Lee would kick Chuck Norris arse.

Let alone those pretenders :

He really was a prolific, fast and clever fighter, movie star or not.

www.youtube.com...

These kicks are legal in MMA ..... nobody is lasting beyond Lees 2nd headkick attempt because he never missed the first one and one would wish to be left to freefall rather than get pegged with a 2nd kick.

Bruce Lee wasn't known for his grappling. I think he'd do very well against modern MMA/UFC champions in any weight class, until they got him on the ground. If they never were sucessful in doing so, I think he'd prevail. Once on the ground he would be toast, imo.

I think really, that Sai Fon (what his family called him) would utilize his signature skip sidekick in the opening gambit and completely disable most opponents.

a reply to: awareness10

Bruce Lee wins before even stepping into the ring.

Bruce Lee wins even if he doesn't win.

Bruce Lee can't be compared to UFC fighters who will be forgotten before too long.

Bruce Lee created a legacy, and a memory that can't be trodden on.

a reply to: NarcolepticBuddha

nicely stated

a reply to: awareness10

Sure he could win. But only against low ranked fighters in small divisions or against professionals in small, regional MMA organizations. He'd get crushed against any good talent in the UFC.

Remember, Bruce Lee was small. I vaguely remember him being less than 160lbs, which means he'd either fight in the UFC's 135lb, 145lb, 155lb, or 170lb divisions (depending on if he cut weight). He'd be a fool to try to fight in any other division, and I still think he'd get wrecked easily by the top fighters in those divisions.

135lb Division. Cruz, Dillashaw, and the notorious "big fight" choker Faber would likely all dominate him (a Dodson-Bruce Lee fight would be entertaining but lopsided, too). Ironically, I think his best chance would be against Cruz (the champ) since Cruz is mostly a master of footwork, being elusive, and out "pointing" his opponents. In other words, Cruz is the least likely to actually hurt Lee in the fight, which would give Lee the full fight to try to touch him (though Cruz may be the most elusive fighter in the UFC so good luck with that).

145lb Division. LOL Aldo and Frankie kill him. Literally (unless Aldo's in the mood to beat him by decision). Conor probably loses because most of his attacks are smoke & mirrors to hide his left hand. On the other hand, Lee's taking a nap if that left connects. Mendes and Holloway beat him, too.

155lb Division. This is where it gets brutal. RDA, Alvarez, Ferguson, and Cowboy (and probably Barboza and Pettis) all beat him easily. Khabib would throw him around so much that Lee's corner would probably throw in the towel. In fact, Vannata might beat him if he takes the fight seriously (guard up, chin down, no showboating, etc). Lee's best chance is probably against Diaz, but that's only because the Diaz bros are weak to leg kicks. Then again, Nate has a tremendous reach advantage, a granite chin, world class cardio, and is a black belt in BJJ. If I had to bet, I'd bet on Diaz. In fact, I wouldn't bet on Lee against anyone in the top 10.

170lb Division. Cover your eyes unless you like massacres. Lawler would probably seriously kill or cripple him. Woodley & Rory would make it NSFW. Wonderboy would be exciting as an exhibition match, but Lee wouldn't even be able to reach him in a cage fight. Condit and Magny would make for good fights, though I'd have them both beating him late in the 2nd round. Gunnar and the "human backpack" Maia would dominate him on the ground.

180lb Division and higher. Every top guy and over the hill vet kills him. I wouldn't even watch... unless it's a playful exhibition match against Silva (Spider), Rockhold, or Machida. They have flashy standup skills so it'd be fun to watch them go back and forth w/Lee. But they'd kill him in real cage fights.

Him having any chance at all would depend on the rules for the fight. Don't forget, UFC fighters can also use far more techniques than what they're allowed to use in competition. But if he was fighting under UFC rules, pretty much all of his "legendary" techniques and weapons skills would be illegal. And frankly speaking, I'm not impressed with the "high level" bare knuckle Kung Fu fights of his time. Watch this and then tell me that either of these 2 masters could hold their own against any of the guys I mentioned above (fight starts around 4:40):

In all honesty, I think Holm, Shevchenko, Cyborg, and Joanna beat him too. And they're all women fighters. And if he can't survive the first 7 minutes against Nunes, she'd beat him too. ETA: In fact, Bec Rawlings, Zigano, War Rose, and Bethe probably beat him too.

I'm just not impressed with Lee when compared to actual cage fighters. A lot of those "high level" techniques are just for show and are only useful against untrained people. But most of the high level UFC fighters are black belts, masters of sport, former Olympic champions, former champions in their respective sports (like Muay Thai), etc. Plus, they're used to getting hit and hitting back for long fights. That "point fighting" flashy Hollywood crap is useless once you get kneed in the mouth or sternum from a Thai clinch.