Would a Navy SEAL Beat a Professional MMA Fighter in a fight?

Over the years, many people have asked this question online. The reason for this is that Navy SEALs are often said to be some of the toughest people on earth who are taught to survive against all odds. One of these skills includes the ability of self defense and hand-to-hand combat. Whilst SEALs are trained to use firearms, they’re also taught how to fight as well by using their fists. It’s no wonder why SEALs have such a fearsome reputation as a result.

However, how well does a SEAL measure up against a professional MMA fighter? Here, the SEAL goes up against someone who has literally dedicated their lives to fighting with their hands. Suddenly, the SEAL doesn’t seem as scary. For the record, this hypothetical fight could take place either in the cage or in the street. We’re not on about UFC Champions either, just your run-of-the-mill pro MMA fighter with a couple of losses under his belt.

Evidence of Navy SEAL fighters in professional MMA

Like everything in life, it’s always good to look for proof to build an argument. In this case, we’ve gone and looked at actual SEALs that have gone on to succeed in MMA. The first example of this is Brandon Wolf, who even fought twice in the UFC during the 2008-2009. He retired from MMA with a record of 7-6, which isn’t the worst in the world but isn’t spectacular either. Of his three losses, half were by submission too which suggests his BJJ game may have been lacking. Nonetheless, here is an example of a SEAL who actually fought pro fighters.

The second example is Mitch Aguiar who 2-1 professionally. This didn’t take place in known organizations either, and he probably didn’t earn much from his fights. In fairness to Aguiar, he had an amateur record of 10-1 which is really impressive. Obviously, this is a different league to fighting professionally but shows just how tough the leap can be from amateur to pro. Whilst a 2-1 record isn’t bad, it’s not quite known as to why he retired.

Lastly, there’s the example of Tony DeDolph. After going 5-0 in amateur fights, he retired as a pro with a poor 1-5 record, proving the leap to professional was once again very difficult. Adding up all of these fighters’ professional bouts, they came out with a total of 10-12 which indicates that they were not particularly good fighters as professionals. In short, these guys could certainly hang with low-level professionals, but if they came up against someone from Bellator or UFC (and not a champion either) then they would seriously struggle.

Are Navy SEALs good at amateur MMA?

It’s widely understood that a Navy SEAL would be able to beat up and kill most regular civilians. The reason for this is that their training demands physical prowess that very few people would usually achieve. In terms of strength, conditioning, and athleticism, these guys would also grow in skills whilst being trained in SEAL school. However, it seems that these advantages just don’t cut it at the professional level.

Arguably, professional fighters go through a similar level of tough training, albeit this is catered towards fighting instead of firearms and other drills. This may be why SEALS struggle against the pros. However, there is still evidence that good SEALS with a background in MMA can still be taken seriously as fighters.

Using the previous three fighters as examples, their amateur careers show a very different story. Combined, their total amateur record is at 15-1 (the record for Wolff could not be found). Even DeDolph who struggled at the professional level had a 5-0 record, with 4 wins coming from submissions. This proves that if a SEAL trains in MMA then they can do well against most amateur MMA fighters, but obviously going professional is another thing altogether.

What about a Navy SEAL against a pro MMA fighter in a street fight?

It should be noted that MMA fights are less dangerous than street fights. There’s a bunch of rules in place that are done to protect the fighter’s safety and so things like weapons, eye gouges, and groin strikes are all banned. At first glance, you could put this in favor of the SEAL who is more suited to these realistic forms of combat. It would also change the dynamics of the fight, meaning stuff like wrestling takedowns would become riskier with elbows to the back of the head now becoming legal.

At the same time, the evidence above suggests that the SEAL would still lose and the lack of rules may even make it worse for them. For instance, if you’re back is taken then you’re now more vulnerable than ever before as you’re more exposed to different attacks such as bites that weren’t available before.

Therefore, it’s fair to say that a Navy SEAL would probably still struggle in a street fight against a pro-MMA fighter. If anything, the lack of rules may even make it an even bigger loss. Remember, the likes of Wolff, Aguair, and DeDolph are all the cream of the SEAL crop too. Not only are they SEALs, but they’ve also spent years training MMA which most SEALs don’t do.

Where could a Navy SEAL beat a pro MMA fighter then?

As mentioned, the SEAL has a deadly reputation and this isn’t for show. There are several fields where a SEAL would defeat a pro MMA fighter and would even defeat MMA Champions too. Specifically, SEALs are brilliant when it comes to weaponry. Whether that’s using firearms and engaging in tactical shooting, or whether it’s using knives and blade skills, the likelihood is the SEAL would win most of the time.

This is because the SEAL would be in their element, just like the pro fighter is in a fist fight or inside a cage. Similarly, SEALs would survive in rough terrain such as under water or in snowy climates, whereas the pro fighter would naturally struggle due to lack of training in harsh conditions. As you can see, this isn’t a particularly fair way to judge an MMA fighter who is unskilled in these areas which is a similar way of harshly judging a SEAL in the MMA fighter’s conditions. Of course, SEALs do go through hand-to-hand training, but this is basic in comparison to what an MMA fighter goes through. If anything, this shows the argument isn’t valid in the first place.

Conclusion

On the one hand, Navy SEALs deserve a lot of respect and they’re genuinely strong people; both mentally and physically. However, as shown above they’re simply not equipped well enough to defeat a professional cage fighter. In terms of hours spent drilling and sparring fights, the SEAL would have trained considerably less than the fighter which is why they’d lose. Perhaps back in the 90s before MMA exploded in popularity people would think otherwise, but since then a light has been shone on just how effective MMA truly is.

At the same time, this is only judging one area of a SEALs skills which is hand-to-hand combat. Remember, war and conflict are mostly fought using guns and other weapons. Therefore, it makes more sense for a SEAL to train other skills which are more likely to replicate these conditions. Lastly, as the case studies showed though, just because a SEAL loses to a professional, it doesn’t mean they can’t fight either. Generally, a SEAL would be able to defeat the vast majority of untrained people in a street fight, simply down to their elite level of physical fitness which would give them the edge, both in terms of strength and cardio.

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