it's pretty clear that most of the athletes would prefer not to stand and strike.

With a few exceptions, MMA fighters look like a shark out of water when standing
on their feet and trading, and prefer to just grapple, hold, and hunt for submission
holds on the ground. So the argument is really moot.

MMA fighters aren't as multi-dimensional as many purport. While they (allegedly)
bring a plethora of mastered disciplines into the octagon, at the end of the day -
it's a ground-fight of grappling/wrestling.

So this is basically like saying - "who would win, football players or basketball players?"

two entirely diff. sports.

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