If a neanderthal man was still alive and became an MMA fighter, would he have any advantages over a modern human male MMA fighter?
I don’t know much about MMA. I’m not an expert on neanderthals either but I have read a fair bit about them.
I do know that neanderthals were stronger than us, and have a lower center of gravity. Think of them as very similar to humans, except with shorter arms that have more leverage and much more of a barrel-chested, stocky build. In a grappling fight, the Neanderthal has the advantage.
Humans also have a genetic mutation in our muscles that I don’t think neanderthals had. This mutation makes us weaker, but gives us better endurance. Chimps and other apes don’t have this mutation, which, along with leverage based on where the tendons attach, is why chimps are much stronger than we are, pound for pound. Neanderthal arms were short and had larger tendon attachments, and with stronger muscles, they would easily beat us in an arm-wrestling competition.
Those shorter arms also mean a slightly shorter reach. Again, I don’t know much about MMA so I don’t know how significant this would be.
Neanderthals also weren’t quite as smart as us, but they weren’t idiots either. If you look at ancient relics, neanderthals made tools and made artwork, just like homo sapiens. It’s just that the homo sapiens versions were a bit more complex and sophisticated. They have the bigger brain, but ours works better. I don’t know how significant that would be in an MMA fight, especially given that the differences in artifacts isn’t huge. Neanderthals probably weren’t idiots, and they got into a lot of fights. Their fighting instincts were probably pretty good.
I guess my advice to a homo sapiens MMA fighter is don’t let the neanderthal get you into a grappling fight, because if it comes down to grappling, the neanderthal is going to win.
He has a larger and probably stronger nose, that is a big deal when you are getting hit in the face. The eyebrow ridges are also stronger and larger. Neandertals had larger and more robust rib cages and this may have helped with endurance and wrestling. A modern human would get winded long before the Neandertal.
Basically, Neandertals were pre-advanced tools and weapons. They had some but they were crude. Relying more on up front, in your face, type of hunting their prey. Up close and personal. Cro-Magnons (modern humans) developed tools that assisted them in less confrontational hunting, from a greater distance and fewer broken bones and deaths. An early example of technology over manual labor. This also freed up more time for artistic and practical endeavors like better shelter and clothes.
I wish we knew more about these people but we just don’t really.
If modern science continues to advance as it has been, it’s likely that we’ll have a definitive answer to this question within a half-century or so (assuming we start cloning neanderthals in the next 20 years, then 20-30 years for them to grow to adulthood).
Don’t know much about either of these…
But as a sport, MMA isn’t just about brute strength. It already accounts for different body builds in terms of weight classes, so heavier-set neanderthals would probably be fighting larger homo sapiens anyway, and then it’s a matter of technique, training, speed, discipline endurance, ability to withstand blows, etc. Supposedly homo sapiens are better-adapted for endurance, but then heavier MMA fights tend to end by knockout rather than submission (more readable story). We don’t know much about their emotional lives either, such as how well they can maintain composure and reaction times under extreme stress.
I’m reminded of that Game of Thrones episode with the fight between The Mountain and the Viper (warning: brutal), but that’s an extreme exaggeration 
MMA isn’t to the death anyhow, and seeking out opportunities for points or submissions within the constraints of nonlethal rules (no throat strikes, eye gouging, groin kicks, etc.) is different from trying to murder your opponent as quickly as possible.
Primate homo bodies are not really designed for unarmed fighting, anyhow. We didn’t survive, evolutionarily, by defeating our prey, other primates (or neanderthals, for that matter) with MMA skills. There isn’t as huge a strength disparity between us and neanderthals vs chimps or gorillas, and MMA should be able to subsume them into the existing weight classes. Given equal training and technique, maybe neanderthals would have a slight advantage over homo sapiens, but we’d at least have a… well, fighting chance.
And also, Slate’s take on it: Neanderthal vs. Homo sapiens: Who would win in a fight?
It would be interesting to do a DNA analysis of current MMA fighters and compare their wins by their percentage of neanderthal DNA…
Nah not really. There is a huge variation in human frame size and body composition already, and there are plenty of modern humans who’ve competed in MMA and other full-contact combat sports who would have overlapped well into the typical Neanderthal range of stockiness and natural strength.
MMA being the sport it is doesn’t really favor any particular body type. It does favor technique, overall fitness, and game plans. Take 2 identical twins, train 1 in the sport for 2 years and not the other, and it won’t matter whether they are natural sprinters or marathon runners… the guy who’s trained will win.
There are some sports which favor a stocky powerful frame, but MMA isn’t one of them.