[jfk]

If the chimp were allowed to bite, scratch, gouge, etc. perhaps it would have a chance. Otherwise, the human fighter would have too much of a skill edge to lose. It would stand to reason that this edge would grow when moving up in weight class.

No doubt that chimps are going to be enormously strong but the amount of skill that a UFC type could bring to bear would be decisive.

A friend once had an involuntary battle with a full grown, adult orangutan when he went into a Malaysian preserve earlier than the guide's scheduled arrival. Though the orangutan was tough, my buddy eventually got the best of it.

Per his retelling, the orangutan had him by all four limbs, at which time they took to wrestling. The orangutan constantly bared its teeth, but never brought them into the fray. Certainly, had the orangutan had more malice in him it could've been ugly, but even in a determined pitched battle, my untrained friend was able to beat it away. From what I gather orangutans are more formidable than chimps if considering mass. Temperment would be a bit of a wild card.

To Sklansky's point, when my friend recounted the story to the guides, they were skeptical that man could beat ape, especially when he pointed out the alleged offender (which they later spotted). So anecdotally, at least in a Malysian game preserve, it is commonly thought that the simian would have an insurmountable edge, though this test case showed otherwise.

For more amusing monkey stories, seek out Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff". Apparently the space program chimps were real bastards.