The internet has argued for years: could 100 unarmed men defeat one gorilla in a fight?
It’s the kind of hypothetical that lives on Reddit threads, Twitter polls, and drunken debates at 3 a.m. But while most of us treat it like a meme, one scientist finally gave the question a serious breakdown—and the answer is far more brutal than many expected.
In a recent viral video, Dr. Gregory Erikson, a biologist and anatomy expert, analyzes the raw power, speed, and evolutionary advantage of gorillas versus a human mob. The verdict? It’s not even close.
🦍 Gorilla vs Human: The Numbers Don’t Lie
Let’s start with physiology. An average silverback gorilla weighs around 400 pounds and can lift over 1,800 pounds—nearly 10 times the upper limit of a fit human male. Their bite force clocks in at over 1,300 PSI, stronger than that of a lion, and their arms alone can snap a small tree trunk like a twig.
Dr. Erikson explains that gorillas have muscle fiber composition closer to elite sprinters and powerlifters—despite doing no “workouts” in the human sense. Their muscle-to-weight ratio is off the charts, and their reflexes are designed for dense jungle combat, where fights can be brief, violent, and deadly.
👨👨👨 Strength in Numbers?
So what about the 100 men? Surely overwhelming force could work?
The video explains why that’s misleading. Most of the 100 men would be bottlenecked by space—they can’t all attack at once. Only a few would be able to get close at any given moment, and even if they tried, the first 5–10 would almost certainly be maimed or killed instantly.
Humans are adapted for cooperation and tools, not raw hand-to-hand combat. Without weapons, our ability to take down large animals is nearly nonexistent. Dr. Erikson points out that even trained soldiers would struggle in close quarters against an apex primate like a gorilla, and that the coordination required for 100 men to even attempt a takedown would be almost impossible in practice.
🔬 The Scientific Consensus
From a biomechanical and behavioral standpoint, the gorilla dominates. Its instincts, endurance, and pain tolerance far exceed that of any unarmed human. Add to that their familiarity with close combat from fighting rivals in the wild, and the odds tilt dramatically.
Dr. Erikson emphasizes this isn’t just about brute force—it’s about reaction time, ferocity, and anatomical design honed by millions of years of evolution. He concludes that while 100 humans might “technically” be able to kill a gorilla, the number of casualties and the gorilla’s ability to kill in seconds makes it essentially a one-sided massacre.
“If this were a battle royale scenario, 100 unarmed men wouldn’t stand a chance unless they were willing to sacrifice dozens of lives,” Erikson explains.
📹 There’s even a short, compelling video where Dr. Erikson breaks down the biology and combat dynamics in more detail.
