Bruce Lee vs Muhammad Ali: who would win in a fight?

My honest opinion on the age old question

Ramsey Dewey is an MMA coach and fight commentator, and occasional musician based in Shanghai, China.

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This video features original music by Ramsey Dewey

[Empftin]

"Just a boxer." - famous last words.

[affordablecybersecurity]

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall." Not... Not really? More like "The bigger they are, the harder they hit."

[gerardmurphy]

Bruce lee was a great admirer of Ali and his footwork

[dmsalomon]

Well said. Bruce Lee was innovative for his time, but his skill at that time pales in comparison to a modern professional MMA fighter, and no MMA fighter at 130 pounds would dream of entering the ring with a legendary heavyweight boxer like Ali.

[mackenzi_kintsugi]

Float like a butterfly, Hit like a truck.

[bestboutgaming]

An easy answer to the question is another question. Why do you think weight divisions exist?

[NY-Dani]

I was hit by a right hand from a heavyweight, never felt such pain. I thought my eye socket was broken, it was in pain for weeks! Weight divisions were created for a reason!

[dougpridgen]

Street fighters are no more fighters than I was a drummer the first time I put sticks in my hands and started making noise on drums. Okay, that street kid with the buckets is pretty cool, but can he play a drum kit on stage, in front of hundreds/thousands of people, in a band? I'm still not a trained fighter, but I am a trained drummer, and so by analogy I agree with your logic and am convinced.

[nihilistlemon]

Didn't Bruce Lee said that he fears someone who studied one kick 1000 times than a guy who studied 1000 kicks ? But yet people believe that Bruce Lee was a " well rounded fighter " and Ali was " just a boxer " .

[JorgeDiaz-onht]

100% in agreement. Bruce was conceptually far ahead of his time, but he was not a man who fought for a living day in and day out. Mohammed Ali’s footwork was superior, his reach was dramatically superior. Ali’s jab has nearly the same reach as Bruce’s side-kick. The power isn’t worth comparing. Bruce was a magnificent specimen, but not so magnificent as to nullify the laws of physics.

[krashprash]

HERE IS AN ANSWER FROM BRUCE LEE HIMSELF:
Another time Yeung, aka [Bolo] went to see Bruce at Golden Harvest Studios. Bruce was screening a Cassius Clay [Muhammad Ali] documentary. Ali was world heavyweight champion at the time and Bruce saw him as the greatest fighter of them all. The documentary showed Ali in several of his fights. Bruce set up a wide full-length mirror to reflect Ali’s image from the screen. Bruce was looking into the mirror, moving along with Ali.
Bruce’s right hand followed Ali’s right hand, Ali’s left foot followed Bruce’s left foot. Bruce was fighting in Ali’s shoes. “Everybody says I must fight Ali some day.” Bruce said, “I’m studying every move he makes. I’m getting to know how he thinks and moves.” Bruce knew he could never win a fight against Ali. “Look at my hand, ” he said. “That’s a little Chinese hand. He’d kill me."

[masonlerner]

Great question! One them was a 6’’4”, 220 pound multi time heavyweight champion of the world with one of the legendary chins in the history of the sport. We also have literally dozens of hours of him actually fighting we can refer to.
The other was an undersized movie star that none of us have seen in a real fight, much less take a punch.

[AJHart-egys]

Bigger question: Could Bruce Lee defeat Muhammad Ali in ping pong using nunchucks without the benefit of computer-generated imagery?

[vladimir]

Fantasy is good, It keeps martial arts alive, but when people dont realize something is fantasy thats a problem

[Brashnir]

"Getting punched by him doesn't hurt. You don't feel a thing. You just wake up on the floor a few seconds later." -Tyson Fury on what it's like to get punched by Deontay Wilder.


Heavyweights are monsters. In any combat sport.

[stuartward]

I've actually had a Bruce Lee fanboy challenge me to a fight over this question. All I said was that weight divisions exist for a reason 😂

[honestlee]

It's like this weird taboo where your not allowed to say Bruce Lee is even beatable. People will turn and look at you like your crazy.

[michaelscheske]

Leave it to the YouTube comment sections to accuse a respected MMA instructor of not knowing anything about martial arts

[johnellis]

Ali 6'3" ~230
Lee 5'8" ~130

I am a HUGE fan of Bruce Lee and think he was an amazing martial artist but Ali was an amazing boxer as well. I just don't think Lee could overcome the reach and size advantage if they were to have a real fight.

[blacktigermartialarts]

Totally agree with you about this. Bruce Lee was a human being not a demigod. Muhammad Ali was the best boxer in the world and was a seasoned fighter not an actor.
My money is on Ali all the way