Human Strength

[Pckts]

Functional strength in the terms you're suggesting is good core strength for some, hip movement for others, grip strength or technique. None of the athletes you've mentioned can claim to not have been overpowered in their careers (outside of ngganou who hasn't been tested in that respect.) And all of the athletes you've mentioned have built up their strength through many years of strength training, none of it is born to them. 

Next is your interpretation, "it is much harder to lift a 300-pound sandbag with uneven distribution than a perfectly distributed 300-pound barbell of the ground. "
Comparing a sand bag lift to a deadlift is the same as comparing a bench press to a farmers walk. They are completely different lifts and require completely different movements, you're better off comparing a clean/front squat to a sand bag lift and even then, they are still very different. But there are plenty of guys who are gym strong who if taught the technique to a sand bag lift "legs on both sides of the bag, squat low, grip over-under then squat the bag and stand" could do it easily. Could they also do a 300lb clean easily, I highly doubt it. But either way, sand bag lift is much more anterior while a Deadlift is posterior chain. 


A wrestler is strong, very strong when it comes to core and grip, can they squat a lot, bench a lot, dead lift a lot? 
It depends, none of them are going to walk into a gym and never lift then try to compete with people who do lift, can they ragdoll stronger people than themselves in the fields I mentioned above?
The answer is, Absolutely!
But that once again isn't strength, that's technique. Strength factors in, a good wrestler who is also incredibly strong will have an advantage over a good wrestler, but a wrestler who is strong isn't more or less strong than a non wrestler who is also strong. 
Simple as that. 

Because one trains in areas that require unconventional lifts doesn't mean that they are any stronger than someone who strictly trains in a gym. I have seen it time and again, I have trained with all, whether MMA or strength training, strong is strong.  Reply