If whoever is currently the best MMA fighter in the world got into an unarmed fight, (in a 100m diameter walled arena say with MMA guy in centre and the others approaching from the edge) with 4 stocky guys who’ve had a few scraps, can handle themselves but have no advanced skills, who would be likely to win?
I would put my money on the MMA guy. He would take out two of them before they ever got their hands on him. There are only hope would be a bum rush and then pile on weight.
The four guys. MMA fighters don’t have super powers. Once one guy engages the MMA fighter he is open to attack from the three other guys. He won’t be able to fight back against them at all.
If you use Kung Fu movie rules then the four guys have to attack one at a time, each waiting until the previous one has been disabled. In that case the MMA fighter probably wins.
In a fight nothing beats 800 pounds of meat. As someone who has been in a bunch of dog pile on the rabbit fights the one guy always loses. The only way he wouldn’t is if the come at him one at a time like it would happen in a movie.
I’d put my money on the 4 guys. Quantity has a quality all its own.
You can find you tube videos of trained fighters taking on multiple street toughs. I am not talking heavily trained champion class fighters, just guys with some training. The training makes a big difference. A world class MMA fighter is in a different world than even a trained fighter.
I’d say if they all rush him and get him on the ground, he’s pretty screwed. If they hang back, and try not to get hurt, the MMA fighter could disable a couple of them, and have a decent chance.
This is a video of 3 Olympic fencers vs 50 ‘normal’ fencers. They almost manage it. The second-to-last normal fencer takes out the last Olympian standing.
I’d like to see those videos. I think you were taken in. And I don’t know what kind of ability you think MMA fighters have, but I can tell you they are no better at fighting multiple opponents than anyone else.
Kung Fu movie rules at work in a hilariously stupid situation.
This is not an intellectual exercise for me. Although it was not involving “the worlds best” I have had to take down individuals in situations like this. Some highly trained, some not. Most desperate and much more highly motivated to win than any fighter. Some whacked out of their minds on various substances. 4 200 lbs guys will win every time. The single fighter mostly has the advantage with his ground game and being able to easily submit or choke out a lesser or untrained opponent. He can’t do that when 3 other people are kicking the shit out of him. He is certainly not going to be able to one punch knock out 4 opponents before he is piled on. In real life situations I have had more trouble subduing a giant power lifter who used to play football than someone highly trained in MMA.
The MMA fighter will end up taking a stomping.
The MMA fighter has a lot of things going for him, besides the training and knowing how and where to hit he has the physical conditioning, the ability to take pain and stay calm under fire. I agree if they pile on all at once he would most likely loose but if he can move enough in this gigantic ring described to spread them out he has a very good chance.
Not superpowers, but trained fighters are quick, trained at evading, trained at kicking and punching HARD and striking vital targets effectively, and trained at absorbing considerable abuse.
While I’d probably place my money on the 4 guys, when I used to train (not primarily for competition) we spent quite a but of time on multiple opponents. Like so much training, the translation to street may be dubious, but the basic principle is to quickly incapacitate 1-2 opponent, and then use footwork/positioning to have the others screen each other. Not as smooth as in the movies where you niftily use one baddie as a human screen, but you can try to get them to get in each others’ way, lessening their ability to harm you simultaneously. Even against a group, you fight one guy at a time - tho you may rapidly shift between the one guy you are fighting moment to moment (if that makes any sense).
Couple other factors - what weight class MMA? A middleweight would be outweighed some 5-6 to 1, and is outweighed by any one opponent. But get a monster like Brock Lesnar in there, and the odds aren’t quite so skewed.
Another one - pro fighters - especially heavies - punch incredibly hard. And are used to taking abuse. The average 200# toughs who has been in a few scraps might be terribly unprepared to keep going after one good sledgehammer blow, while the trained fighter would likely be able to assume a few blows himself.
The stupidest thing for the MMA guy to do in this situation would be to go to his ground game. I remember one pretty accomplished fighter telling me an amusing story of when he was out looking for trouble with a couple of college wrestlers. They found it, and this guy was alarmed at how prettily the 2 wrestlers each tied up a single opponent - leaving him standing to face the rest of the room! 
What is these guys’ motivation. How willing are the 4 guys to accept whatever punishment? I’ve never been in such a situation, but I can imagine that if one guy took considerable damage, that might take some fight out of the other guys. At least that is the hope we used to have when training.
Final thought - tho I know many on these boards disagree - a knife evens things out considerably. I’d take one armed FMA against the 4 toughs any day.
Why would they spread out? Like I said, I’ve actually been in situations like this. In the real world his best chance would be to run away. His superior physical conditioning would mean he could probably get away without too much trouble. In this walled arena he couldn’t do that. If you want him to use his conditioning to run around the arena away from his opponents why not use the best marathon runner? He can run 5 minute miles for hours.
It’s probably important to remember that some of the MMA fighters training is a disadvantage. They have significant training to make sure their reactions follow the rules. Street fights don’t have rules. Bite, claw eyes, break fingers if they go for a stronger grip in a hold instead of the safer grip, punch the back of the head, pick up any nearby object to use as a weapon, etc. It’s all fair game in a real fight.
That is the main thing. I am using my real life experience where everyone is fighting for their lives. The single guy will do anything to keep from going to jail and the others know the one guy will kill or disable them if given half a chance. In martial arts videos of multiple opponents most are trying hard not to get hurt.
That is one of my problems with the Army Combatives Program. It is good PT and good at teaching aggressiveness but if I’m in combat and find myself in unarmed combat I am not going to be maneuvering to get a rear naked choke. I’m going to be bashing the guys head in with my ACH.
About eight years ago I (adult man) was in a fight in Honduras. At the time I was in my late 20s, and about 250 lbs or so, beefy and strong but overweight. I wrestled in high school (and wasn’t very good) and boxed in college (and I was a little better). Late at night, 3 youths accosted me. They were skinny teenagers, perhaps about 130 lbs each at most, and they attacked me with rocks and beer bottles.
They were very hesitant to get close to me (we were sort of in a “running battle” through the streets of the small town of Copan as I was heading home) and mostly threw the rocks and bottles at me. With my adrenaline pumping, I didn’t feel any of it and laughed it off while cursing them. Finally, at some point, one of them got close and I grabbed him. It was like wrestling with a child, or a rag doll, it felt like at the time, and I got him in a headlock and punched him until he collapsed. He was absolutely no threat and the struggle was almost comical – I recall thinking at the time that the guy almost felt like he went limp or something. Shortly after the other guys ran off (and picked up their prone compatriot, I think) and I got home.
If “me vs 3 scrawny Honduran teenagers” is comparable at all to “best MMA fighter vs 4 guys like me”, then I’d pick the MMA fighter. Obviously the settings are very different, but based on the incredible imbalance in strength I think I could have easily and quickly disabled two of them in a ring even if they all attacked me at once, leaving the last one all alone.
Well sure, a fighter against three guys who don’t want to fight and never even throw a punch or rush him. That’s a different scenario.
This reminds me of Ron & Fez asking how many 9 year olds can you fight.
And it also helps when they are half his size.
Weight matters, if those 4 stocky guys jump on him he is going down no matter how conditioned he is. I know if I was one of the 4 guys my own plan would simply be to catch hold of the guy and hang on, once I am holding his arms there are 3 other guys left to start kicking him in the face.