Bruce was the light bulb among candles , iPhone among Nokias during his time.
Let me now address the common arguments presented by the MMA fraternity.
Argument # 1 Bruce was only an actor.
Bruce was first a marital artist before an actor. Most people working on set with him doubted his skills and of course Bruce had no problems proving them wrong.
Argument # 2 Bruce would have lost in the UFC
He fought with Joe Lewis (father of kick boxing, karate black belt), Chuck Norris(Karate World Champion), Jesse Glover( Judo Champion) and many more.
He created MMA. He was the father of MMA. If you were to bring his skills to the present day after 44 years of his death, he would probably wipe out most fighters as his fighting style is constantly evolving. His insane mental strength would no doubt earn him a BJJ black belt in let's say 3 years?
People like to talk about how would he fare in the UFC. All I gotta say is that
a)he would be 50 years old when he competes in UFC 1.
b)he is as heavy as a featherweight(64kg) but punches as hard as a heavyweight (90-120kg)
- from Joe Lewis
To say his fighting style would not work is just being plain stupid. His fighting style evolves over time.
So you can't compare something that is constantly evolving to "today's" MMA.
By just watching at his movies, he was already doing submissions before the Gracie BJJ became popular.
Here are some of his research into martial artist. I like to call him a scientist of marital arts too.
Well Bruce would no doubt dominate the octagon. Just look at his physical attributes. Can you even do a two finger push up? What’s your punching speed? Bruce’s punching speed was 0.3s. Even blinking your eye is slower let alone blocking it.
Here are some videos of great , ESTABLISHED fighters on Bruce Lee.
I'll find the replacement links
"this is my edit with the quotes i'll try finding the videos as some of the videos have been taken down."
Bruce Lee fighting blind-folded.
https://youtu.be/z9f1-KuD49M
His full sparring with both his students.
https://youtu.be/oxM6zbccT5s
His exceptional speed against Victor Moore (karate black belt 10th dan)
https://youtu.be/dm7uLgLdk-E
Joe Lewis, known as father of kick boxing (beaten Chuck Norris before and he is a black belt karate black belt also) vs Bruce Lee's punch
https://youtu.be/jp_FsBoqMl0
Chuck Norris on Bruce Lee
https://youtu.be/z7PAuRCFGjg
Joe Lewis mentioning Bruce Lee who was at that time 64kg could hit as hard as a heavy weight (at least 90kg)
https://youtu.be/S7oa_PNSzCE
Mike Tyson on Bruce Lee
https://youtu.be/AeNsKy3rNA8
Conor Mcgregor on Bruce Lee
https://youtu.be/iv1rGhsR7kE
Even Conor says that Bruce Lee would no doubt rule the octagon. Mind you, this is coming from a double weight champion. So... who are you to say otherwise ������.