Looking at who would win between an MMA fighter Vs a Chimp

Throughout the history of the internet, a commonly asked question has been asked countless times. That is, who would win in a fight between an MMA fighter vs a chimp. Obviously, this scenario is purely fantasy and probably won’t ever happen. However, for argument’s sake, we shall be answering this question. In doing this, hopefully we’ll dismiss a few myths that surround both MMA fighters and chimpanzees.

For reference, we’ll assume that the MMA fighter is a professional with a record of 10-0 who fights in the UFC. Not only this but they stand around 85KG. In other words, they’re a pretty good fighter who would annihilate the vast majority of the human population in combat. Technically in terms of martial arts, they’d be pretty skilled too.

As for the chimp, they’re typically smaller than humans and so it would weigh around 60KG. Both fighters would be male and the chimp would have a typical background in terms of chimpanzee fighting. In other words, they’re a pretty typical chimp with no outstanding feats of athleticism or strength in comparison to other chimps.

Lastly, let’s talk about the rules. Due to it being impossible to teach a chimp MMA rules, we’re assuming this fight would take place without rules. Here, there would be no weapons, no cage, and no referee. In other words, it would be a fight to the death. Hypothetically speaking, it wouldn’t be possible to teach a chimp MMA fighting as it’s not intelligent enough to avoid its natural instincts when attacked. With this said, it’s pointless trying to stick a chimp into an MMA environment which would never happen. So…who would win and why?

A chimp would destroy a professional MMA fighter

As mentioned, by human standards an MMA fighter is like a king. However, when put against a chimp they’re more like a lowly peasant. Firstly, chimps are naturally way more athletic than humans and have better stamina, jumping skills, and strength. In fact, studies show that chimps are roughly 1.5 times stronger than humans.

This may not sound like much, but this is a huge strength advantage. Generally, if you fight a bigger human, they may be 10% stronger than you or something which is a very noticeable difference. However, if they were 1.5 times stronger, then this would be insane. This would mean that the MMA fighter’s normal strength and athleticism advantage would be reduced to zero.

The MMA fighter may be more technical, but this would be irrelevant

In terms of human fighting measurements, the MMA fighter would know more stuff like submissions and foot movement. Having said this, the chimp would naturally have a lot of fluid movements hardwired into their brains anyway. Regardless, this wouldn’t phase the chimp. Even if the MMA fighter started on the back of the chimp with a locked-in rear naked choke, it wouldn’t be enough.

Here, the chimp could grab the hand or arm of the MMA fighter and easily open the grip. In doing so, they could also rip off or break fingers in this process. Yes, that’s correct – a chimp is designed to maim its opponents which includes ripping fingers off. Not only would this be painful for the MMA fighter, but it would mean stuff like punches and grappling would become much harder. On a similar note, even if the human fought a very strategic game, it would still be irrelevant due to the strength and intensity of the chimp.

Furthermore, the MMA fighter may be more technical in human terms, but not in the landscape of fighting within a chimp environment. This brings us to our next point…

Chimps naturally fight dirty and combined with their strength can easily kill

Whilst there are dirty martial arts around that teach eye gouges and groin strikes, this still happens against other humans. Naturally, due to similar strength levels, this makes these techniques very difficult to pull off. However, imagine being incredibly strong. Now, these techniques would become much easier. In short, freak strength makes doing any physical activity much easier.

One of the main ways in that chimps fight is by doing it dirty. For example, they are known to grab at things and literally rip them off. This means ripping off human hands, fingers, eyes, and entire faces. There are two ways in which this can be done. The first is by using their hands which are incredibly strong.

Unlike humans, chimps have much more complicated structures in the bones of their hands, which allows them to grip much harder items. The second way of ripping off digits, eyes, and groins is with their mouths. It’s more obvious, but chimps have very sharp teeth that are designed for combat. Therefore, they can either rip off limbs with their hands or bite them depending on what is easier. Compared to a human, this makes fighting much easier.

Could an MMA fighter ever beat a chimp?

In a fair fight, there’s very little chance for an MMA fighter to beat a chimp. However, there are a few ways for them to win. Firstly, they could win if there were a number of MMA fighters who could gang up on the chimp. This number is debatable, but there’s a chance that a few fighters would get hurt or killed during this brawl.

Secondly, the MMA fighter could win if they were armed with a knife. Again, there’s a very good chance the fighter would die or get seriously injured. However, if they managed to strike the neck and then defend with the knife, they could win. Of course, this is unfair and gives the fighter an unnatural advantage.

Lastly, the fighter could win if they fought a baby chimp. Again, this would mean a fully grown man against an underdeveloped chimp but it would be possible. Here, the chimp’s natural strength advantage would diminish massively which would lose their edge massively. Still, this is debatable as to how young the chimp would have to be. One thing is for sure though, the pro fighter would still be lucky to escape unscathed.

Takeaways from the man vs chimp debate

Firstly, just because a pro MMA fighter would easily lose to a chimp, it doesn’t mean that MMA fighters are bad when it comes to combat. As has been established throughout, there are levels to the game when it comes to the animal kingdom. Imagine an untrained human fighting against a domestic cat. Obviously, the human would win the fight even if they weren’t a great fighter. This goes to show the huge emphasis on strength when it comes to combat. Even within species, humans are given a huge advantage by strength. If you think about it, this is why weight classes are around – so that fights are fair and even.

Secondly, this debate shows how dependent humans are on technology. Although humans may be physically inferior to many species, if they are armed with weapons then they can dominate those same animals. This may be unfair as it changes the nature of combat. However, the wildlife world doesn’t care if things are unfair and only winning is important.

In conclusion, even the best human fighter in the world would lose to the average chimp in a fight. Sadly, there are a number of delusional people online that over-value the skills of MMA fighters. As mentioned, whilst they may be technically superior, the sheer strength and athleticism advantage by the chimp would be far too much to give the MMA fighter any sort of chance.