To those on here with fighting experience, there is one thing I have noticed by following the UFC over the past couple of years - the commentators [especially Joe Rogan] always point out whether or not a fighter is big, including muscularity, and also whether or not he is lean.
For example, in UFC 217, both Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan pointed out how big Georges St-Pierre looked in that fight.
So what's the benefit of size alone? My guess is that it's harder to take down a larger man, as his body weight protects him from being manhandled [recall when Mariusz Pudzianowski attempted to pick up and take down Tim Sylvia, and even Pudz wasn't strong enough to do that].
How about strength alone? So take a man who is the size of Ed Coan - like when he weighed 166-lb and missed weight for one of his early meets, but still managed to total something like 1690. Would that strength alone make a big difference?
Lastly, which is more important - size or strength?
PS - I am NOT asking how an IFBB pro bodybuilder who do in a fight against a UFC fighter, lol. I realize any lightweight fighter would be able to beat any IFBB pro, if not even the lighter fighters in the UFC.