Is Ron Artest the scariest non combat athlete of all time

[D.Brasco]

Still waiting for a clip of one of James Johnson's 27 sanctioned fights. People bring it up in every thread, and dip out when asked to present evidence.

From Sports Illustrated:

Miami Heat forward James Johnson, the 6’9”, 250-pound behemoth nicknamed “Bloodsport,” isn’t impressed, either. Johnson’s combat background has been more than chronicled. Both of his parents are black belts. He and all eight of his siblings all hold black belts of varying degrees. Johnson began karate at the age of 4 and, by his 18th birthday, he secured seven world karate titles, nine national crowns, and compiled a sterling 20-0 record as a kickboxer. “You fight your weight class,” Johnson says. “I fought 26-year-olds, I fought 30-year-olds, I fought 16-year-olds, I fought 18 and 19-year-olds when I was 14, 15, 16 years old.”

Amid his ninth year in the league, Johnson’s competitive fighting career has been on pause for nearly a decade. He now spars at his father’s and uncle’s MMA gyms each offseason. It’s the perfect, unique conditioning work to disrupt the monotonous summer of jump shots. No challenger has defeated him. “I’m sure there’s someone out there in this world who can beat me. I haven’t met him yet,” Johnson says. “I’ve been knocked down before. I’ve been knocked out before, but I remember getting back up before that 10-second count and I remember winning that fight.”

https://www.si.com/nba/2018/01/20/james-johnson-mma-nba-fights-blake-griffin-arron-afflalo-serge-ibaka-suspension-fine

It's possible and almost certainly likely these fights were fully on the amateur level hence no video, but I doubt he's made up his whole martials arts background and the fact he still trains MMA off-season.

Having any actual martial arts/combat training is a huge game changer when it comes to fights as 90%+ of people on the street have no fight training whatsoever.

So that combined with his natural size and athleticism would make him a very scary guy if a fight goes down, scarier than a crazy Ron Artest flailing around.

[EasternHeretic]

John Brisker.

Looked him up, interesting story

[Lala870]

Not enough discussion of that harden play that happened back when. I honestly have never seen a play in any sport come close to this where the other player could have legit suffered a head injury intentionally. If artest hit harden in a slightly more sensitive area in the head...I could see harden having lost some hearing or vision... Football doesn't really count either cause I've never seen someone run up on a guy in a football game and elbow the side of their head

Watch on YouTube

OP makes a great point and I would agree. Unhinged is a great word to describe Artest IN GAME....

It honestly kinda blows my mind too that major media circles like the jump continue to feature artest on their show given his dirty court antics while players like AI never pop back up on shows like it.

[soxfan2003]

I saw Ron Artest at a Whole Foods in Oakland, CA with perhaps 1-2 years left in his career. He was at a checkout stand. Guy just looked average sized for his height.

A ridiculous amount of NFL players look much scarier. I mean maybe over half of the NFL players any sane person would want on their side in a fight before Ron Artest.

I didn't realize the full extent of how misleading TV makes NBA players look. On tv I realized former Celtics Reggie Lewis who passed away was thin but in person he almost looked anorexic.

[Lala870]

mean maybe over half of the NFL players any sane person would want on their side in a fight before Ron Artest.

OP said NON-COMBAT athlete which would disqualify NFL players as its a collision/combat sport.

I think OP was alluding to how unhinged artest can act. Like mentally he's a loose cannon like you can tell from that harden replay

That harden elbow almost single handily ranks him as one of the most crazy athletes as you don't know if your head will still be intact at the end of the game.

If the league didn't crack down on malace in the palace makes you wonder what other shenanigans artest would have gotten involved in. I'm sure he had to restrain himself SIGNIFICANTLY during his career given what happened in Detroit.

[Duke4life831]

mean maybe over half of the NFL players any sane person would want on their side in a fight before Ron Artest.

OP said NON-COMBAT athlete which would disqualify NFL players as its a collision/combat sport.

I think OP was alluding to how unhinged artest can act. Like mentally he's a loose cannon like you can tell from that harden replay

That harden elbow almost single handily ranks him as one of the most crazy athletes as you don't know if your head will still be intact at the end of the game.

If the league didn't crack down on malace in the palace makes you wonder what other shenanigans artest would have gotten involved in. I'm sure he had to restrain himself SIGNIFICANTLY during his career given what happened in Detroit.

There is a huge difference between combat and contact sports. NFL is a contact sport, it isnt a combat sport.

So if we are talking just non combat sports, then ya its a very very long list of NFL players before you ever reach an NBA player.

[Lala870]

mean maybe over half of the NFL players any sane person would want on their side in a fight before Ron Artest.

OP said NON-COMBAT athlete which would disqualify NFL players as its a collision/combat sport.

I think OP was alluding to how unhinged artest can act. Like mentally he's a loose cannon like you can tell from that harden replay

That harden elbow almost single handily ranks him as one of the most crazy athletes as you don't know if your head will still be intact at the end of the game.

If the league didn't crack down on malace in the palace makes you wonder what other shenanigans artest would have gotten involved in. I'm sure he had to restrain himself SIGNIFICANTLY during his career given what happened in Detroit.

There is a huge difference between combat and contact sports. NFL is a contact sport, it isnt a combat sport.

So if we are talking just non combat sports, then ya its a very very long list of NFL players before you ever reach an NBA player.

I disagree for the main reason that football players build their physiques centered around major collisions and "wrestling" other players to the ground. I would think thats in the same vein as something like wrestling itself. Of course they might look more physcially intimidating when weighing 400 pounds is actually a good thing depending on your position.

A better argument might be quarterbacks, kickers, special teams and wide receivers versus NBA players cause defense is definitely is an unfair comparison (particularly defensive line, middle linebacker, etc)

In any event, I feel OPs point kind of got misunderstood by the posters. As mentioned, ive never seen a player like artest nearly end someones career and long term health from an intentional elbow like that.

[Duke4life831]

OP said NON-COMBAT athlete which would disqualify NFL players as its a collision/combat sport.

I think OP was alluding to how unhinged artest can act. Like mentally he's a loose cannon like you can tell from that harden replay

That harden elbow almost single handily ranks him as one of the most crazy athletes as you don't know if your head will still be intact at the end of the game.

If the league didn't crack down on malace in the palace makes you wonder what other shenanigans artest would have gotten involved in. I'm sure he had to restrain himself SIGNIFICANTLY during his career given what happened in Detroit.

There is a huge difference between combat and contact sports. NFL is a contact sport, it isnt a combat sport.

So if we are talking just non combat sports, then ya its a very very long list of NFL players before you ever reach an NBA player.

I disagree for the main reason that football players build their physiques centered around major collisions and "wrestling" other players to the ground. I would think thats in the same vein as something like wrestling itself. Of course they might look more physcially intimidating when weighing 400 pounds is actually a good thing depending on your position.

A better argument might be quarterbacks, kickers, special teams and wide receivers versus NBA players cause defense is definitely is an unfair comparison (particularly defensive line, middle linebacker, etc)

In any event, I feel OPs point kind of got misunderstood by the posters. As mentioned, ive never seen a player like artest nearly end someones career and long term health from an intentional elbow like that.

I’m sorry but this isn’t really something that can be disagreed. NFL is a contact sport, not a combat sport, that really isn’t debatable.

Combat sports literally have one goal, defeat your opponent via combat. Whether that’s a striking sport like boxing, kickboxing and so on. Or grappling like wrestling, Judo, BJJ. Or you have MMA which is a mix of all Of it.

NFL and combat sports are very different kind of sports.

[Lala870]

There is a huge difference between combat and contact sports. NFL is a contact sport, it isnt a combat sport.

So if we are talking just non combat sports, then ya its a very very long list of NFL players before you ever reach an NBA player.

I disagree for the main reason that football players build their physiques centered around major collisions and "wrestling" other players to the ground. I would think thats in the same vein as something like wrestling itself. Of course they might look more physcially intimidating when weighing 400 pounds is actually a good thing depending on your position.

A better argument might be quarterbacks, kickers, special teams and wide receivers versus NBA players cause defense is definitely is an unfair comparison (particularly defensive line, middle linebacker, etc)

In any event, I feel OPs point kind of got misunderstood by the posters. As mentioned, ive never seen a player like artest nearly end someones career and long term health from an intentional elbow like that.

I’m sorry but this isn’t really something that can be disagreed. NFL is a contact sport, not a combat sport, that really isn’t debatable.

Combat sports literally have one goal, defeat your opponent via combat. Whether that’s a striking sport like boxing, kickboxing and so on. Or grappling like wrestling, Judo, BJJ. Or you have MMA which is a mix of all Of it.

NFL and combat sports are very different kind of sports.

What do offensive and defensive lines do the ENTIRE game? They literally wrestle and fight each other for positioning just like other positions like full back, middle line backer etc.

So your saying no combat takes place on the field??? What do you call it when a linebacker trucks and throws a full back to the ground? I guarantee you offensive and defensive linemen take classes in wrestling and other forms of MMA to give them concepts that can transfer over to football.

Your description is honestly more akin to hockey

[Lala870]

https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2019/February/01/Wrestlers-in-the-Super-Bowl

[LikeABosh]

Ben Wallace was going to ring his neck and he wanted no part of it. Ben Wallace was a hell of a boxer

Yes, Ben Wallace, and Al Harrington are the best boxers to play in the NBA.

Sent from my SM-N975U using RealGM mobile app

Perhaps but not necessarily the greatest all around combat athlete which may be James Johnson

Wow, both his parents were black. That's pretty neat

[mitrandil20]

Honorable mention: Eben Etzebeth,

Watch on YouTube

[thamadkant]

James Johnson

fake news
dude did a perfect "hold me back bro" from Cody Martin earlier this year

"hold me back bros" knock you back the bottom with KG

Ah, maybe because if he actually hurts a player he can get sued as he trains professionally as a fighter.

[thamadkant]

I saw Ron Artest at a Whole Foods in Oakland, CA with perhaps 1-2 years left in his career. He was at a checkout stand. Guy just looked average sized for his height.

A ridiculous amount of NFL players look much scarier. I mean maybe over half of the NFL players any sane person would want on their side in a fight before Ron Artest.

I didn't realize the full extent of how misleading TV makes NBA players look. On tv I realized former Celtics Reggie Lewis who passed away was thin but in person he almost looked anorexic.

A lot of NBA players have VERY low body fat in comparison to the average person. And lean muscles too.

Karl Malone looks massive as a player but next to Hulk Hogan?... he looked like twig. Its all relative.

But frame wise, Artest has broad shoulders and if he didnt do so much cardio as a player he would be much bigger muscle wise.

[KembaWalker]

James Johnson

fake news
dude did a perfect "hold me back bro" from Cody Martin earlier this year

"hold me back bros" knock you back the bottom with KG

Ah, maybe because if he actually hurts a player he can get sued as he trains professionally as a fighter.

no he doesn't, already debunked in this very thread

[azcatz11]

fake news
dude did a perfect "hold me back bro" from Cody Martin earlier this year

"hold me back bros" knock you back the bottom with KG

Ah, maybe because if he actually hurts a player he can get sued as he trains professionally as a fighter.

no he doesn't, already debunked in this very thread

How is it debunked? Just because there’s not a video doesn’t mean it’s not true right?

[KembaWalker]

Ah, maybe because if he actually hurts a player he can get sued as he trains professionally as a fighter.

no he doesn't, already debunked in this very thread

How is it debunked? Just because there’s not a video doesn’t mean it’s not true right?

theres more than that, he appears in no fight database records and his dad owns a McDojo that calls himself a "world champion karate master"
its all in the earlier posts

[brutalitops]

Ben Wallace was going to ring his neck and he wanted no part of it. Ben Wallace was a hell of a boxer

This thread never should have been made. He ran away from Ben Wallace and then attacked a guy with glasses half his size.

What about Nikola Pekovic? 6'11 300 pounds with a tattoo of a knight standing on top a pile of skulls. We used to joke that he'd add a new skull to that tattoo after he destroyed each of his victims in the low post.

Since he's retired, he's apparently become a mobster/drug lord running the streets.

He's a pipsqueak

The ****, Is that other dude like 8"4 and 700 pounds?

[dolphinatik]

This thread never should have been made. He ran away from Ben Wallace and then attacked a guy with glasses half his size.

What about Nikola Pekovic? 6'11 300 pounds with a tattoo of a knight standing on top a pile of skulls. We used to joke that he'd add a new skull to that tattoo after he destroyed each of his victims in the low post.

Since he's retired, he's apparently become a mobster/drug lord running the streets.

He's a pipsqueak

The ****, Is that other dude like 8"4 and 700 pounds?

Igor Vovkovinskiy 7 feet 8+1⁄3 inches and 380 lbs

[Duke4life831]

When it comes to James Johnson. Ya from all signs it seems like his parents do run a McDojo. For those that don’t know the term, they’re martial arts academies that are usually run by people that exaggerate their credentials and try to hand out belts quickly to keep their students interested and hopefully more people join. Basically a cheapened commercialized version of an actual martial arts academy.

When it comes to James Johnson there are just too many question marks about everything. Just looking at the number of fights, 20 kickboxing and 7 MMA fights. So he turned 18 in February 2005 and says his last fight was May in 2006. So that is 27 fights in just about a year. Not happening. Then throw in MMA actually has a pretty good database even for the smaller local fighting organizations. Throw in someone as popular as Johnson, hard to imagine they have no records of anything.

Now the most likely thing is, those were amateur fights. But again this then leads back to the McDojo thing and them exaggerating credentials. Did those come against just some random people that walked into the gym that day?

Can James Johnson kick the ass out of most people? I assume so. He’s a huge human being and just because his parents most likely ran a McDojo doesn’t mean they have zero clue about Karate. So ya he is probably pretty damn solid in karate. But ya the whole undefeated fighter thing is kind of a joke. Especially since many think those are legit fights against legit fighters.