Welcome Your New Heavyweight UFC Overlord: Brock Lesnar
by Mike Fagan on Nov 16, 2008 9:57 AM EST
in MMA News
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Brock Lesnar is the UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Let that sink in a second.
One almost tastes a hint of Pride in the aftermath of UFC 91. There's a pro wrestler, an aging legend, and 50 pounds of weight difference. Yet with a backdrop that screamed "freakshow," we were treated to a legitimate fight for a share of the heavyweight crown.
Whether it be the nature of Brock's former profession or his short fight record entering the fight, rumblings prior to the fight shot through the MMA universe that a Lesnar win hurts the sport of MMA. This couldn't be any further from the truth. Fact is, Brock Lesnar will be the best thing for American MMA since Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar fought live on Spike TV three years ago.
B.J. Penn put it best in a recent interview for Vegas sports radio. Brock Lesnar brings more fans to the sport and consequently puts more money in B.J.'s pocket. His pro wrestling past helps, but I think that's also overlooking the fact that he's a 6'3", 275 pound beast who moves like a gazelle. American combat sports have been missing athletes of this caliber because they usually pick up a football in high school. Fortunately for us, this South Dakota farmboy put on a wrestling singlet.
Whether or not Lesnar even deserved to be given the opportunity is now moot. He dominated his UFC debut before an unfortunate standup and subsequent submission to Frank Mir. He controlled the veteran and game Heath Herring for three brutal rounds. And now he's finished a legend of the sport without controversey and in convincing fashion.
I'm extremely interested to watch Lesnar's career unfold from here. A fighter usually doesn't have much room to grow after winning the most prestigious title in the sport. Yet, we have an extremely raw phenom at the top of the proverbial hill. Brock Lesnar has arrived, and I believe we've only seen the beginning. I, for one, bow down to our new heavyweight overlord.
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Did you hear the boos
There is a new figure to hate…and that is Lesnar. Couture looked thin and elderly and Lesnar looked huge and tired. I am simply not sure what to make of all of this. I certainly do not see Lesnar as the best and I think Fedor (sorry but it is worth mentioning) would take him out via pure speed.
There is a new fighter to hate and I am certain that will be the reaction of many.
Wags
When Nog most likely beats Mir
Brock will have no shot. Nog can’t be knocked out and when the fight hits the ground it will be a quick tap out.
Essentially Randy screwed himself over. If he had fought last year against Noguiera win/lose it would have been better than where he is at now. Plus the HW probably wouldnt be held up by TUF and possibly no Junie.
i thought we’d get less lesnar haters after the fight but i guess i was wrong..
and so what if fedor is arguably better? thats irrelevant. Its like saying after i beat my neighbor in 1on1 basketball that Jordan(or whoever) would still beat me! i mean so what if jordan can beat me? ..it’s missing the point. The fight just showed that brock was better than randy at that time, saying that fedor is better is completely irrelevant..
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
relax.
well the only reason i said ‘arguably’ was because some people are debating it right now.. I dont think that he’s better. If you look at the analogy, i said fedor was jordan. I just said i dont get why people suddenly say ‘so what if brock wins, fedor is better?’ what kind of an arguement is that?
its just like when i say ‘maia(or lawler or whoever) is good’.. then someone says ‘so what if lawler wins, silva is still better.’ its just an irrelevant argument.
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Nov 16, 2008 10:58 AM EST up reply actions
The fight just showed that brock was better than randy at that time
I think you meant to type “bigger”, not “better”.
so does lesnar have to beat someone as big as tim sylvia to make him ‘better’ in your eyes? cause every fight he goes to, brock will most likely be bigger than the opponent.
If somehow (but i doubt it would happen) he winds up not getting tapped by nog and beats him too, would he still be just “bigger” not “better”?
(im not a lesnar nut hugger, i just dont get why people hate on him like he’s kimbo or something.. okay he did pro wrestling, so what, those haters have just got to get over it)
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Nov 16, 2008 11:11 AM EST up reply actions
Point 1: Using “hater” as an argument has always been ridiculous, and is now ridiculous and old.
Point 2: His size makes a difference. Maybe you’re used to seeing matches between The Big Show and Rey Mysterio, but in a real match the huge size difference is a problem. Fifty seven pounds. 57. Watch the fight again and tell me if Brock was better or bigger. He muscled him around, and grats to him on that. But that’s because hes bigger.
And to answer your question: Yes, I would rather see him fight people closer to his size. I have been saying all along I would love to see a Super Heavyweight division to avoid silly match ups like last nights.
1. Yes that should happen and the weight limits should be fixed, but good luck finding super heavies. they cant even stock up on the current HW division.
2. i didnt even call YOU a hater or use ‘haters’ an an arguement, i just simply said that i dont get why people hate on him.
3. I dont watch pro wrestling, maybe you do cause you know the characters a lot.
and yes he’s bigger, But because the ufc’s divisions are flawed, his wins should be disregarded? So if he keeps on winning, will you disregard everything cause he’s just bigger?
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Nov 16, 2008 11:48 AM EST up reply actions
1: Good point. Would be nice to see them try tho, instead of yet another TUF to fill out an already bloated division.
2: If you don’t understand why some of us don’t like Lesnar, I could try to to help a little:
2a) He’s an arrogant ______.
2b) He is getting very special treatment because of his name, which reminds some of us very much of how EliteXC handled Kimbo (Lets give him constant main events because it brings in eyeballs!)
3. I used to, and I have a high respect for most pro wrestlers as athletes. My problem with the Lesnar thing isn’t that he was a pro wrestler, its the way the UFC is handling him. And the fact that he is an arrogant _ (see 2a).
He got fights he hadn’t earned, but he won them so that point ought to be moot.
by Richard Wade on Nov 16, 2008 2:27 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
lolwut?
The fact that be beat Randy makes the special treatment point moot? I disagree immensely. Would any other heavyweight have beaten Randy last night and got the title? We’ll never know because the former WWE champ got the chance instead of the people who’ve been working towards it. I think that’s pretty important..
So you believe in the plumber's union mentality, then?
You’ve gotta Pay Your Dues before you can Get Your Shot?
If you can win a fight, or more directly if you DO win a fight, then however you got there is pretty much moot.
You’re blending all these emotional rants into one and then trying to defend them simultaneously using pretty odd logic, myth.
This is an entertainment, so entertainment quality has to be considered during matchmaking. And if you’ve got a guy like Carwin who is every bit the identical twin, athletically and skillfully, of Brock Lesnar, but he isn’t anywhere near as entertaining..well, I’m sorry Shane but you’re going to have to take a step back in line.
That’s the way the world works. You can rant about injustice all you want, and I’d gladly join you in those specific debates. But Brock Lesnar belonged in that fight from every single angle and to try to discredit him now is just bitterness.
It sounds to me like you should be ranting about Dana and Joe Silve instead of Brock. They appear to be the cause of your disgruntlement.
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
Hmm not sure why you have plumber on the mind, but I look at it like this.
People work hard at job x for a promotion. Finally, a spot opens (title shot) and several people say “Man I worked my ass off for that, I hope i get it!”. But alas, the bosses spoiled nephew (famous wrestler) comes in and gets the job. Now, he may do a good job (wins the title match), but that doesn’t mean that he deserved the job, or that one of the others who worked for it couldn’t have also done the job, maybe better.
Now, it isn’t my job so it doesn’t affect me, but I can look at the boss and say, “that was a shitty thing to do.”. It won’t change anything, but it’s still a shitty thing to do.
And btw, I was (past tense) a fan of wrestling for years – I know very well how entertainment trumps “deserve”.
MMA is a sport not job X. Lots of guys have fought for years and years and will never get a title shot, you don’t earn a title shot through senority or some kind of MMA pecking order. Of course whether you think he “deserved” the title shot to start with or not doesn’t change the fact that he earned and deserves the title belt now that he has beaten the champion.
i completely agree. even if we debate on this all day, It has nothing to do with senority. or anything.. and him deserving the shot should now be irrelevant since he already beat randy.
and myth, i think u should be mad at joe silva and dana for putting him up against randy. Not brock, its simple, he gets offered a title shot and he accepted. End of story.
its not like he’s kimbo who beats cans, then suddenly gets labeled as the baddest striker alive. Cause brock beat the champ,and isnt randy in the top 5 of most rankings? where’s seth, tank, bo, and thomson, not even top 100 maybe? Kimbo and brock are entirely different fighters so dont even compare them.
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Nov 16, 2008 10:06 PM EST up reply actions
And said fights weren’t against the cans that were being fed to Kimbo (I’m not saying that Mir or Herring are world-beaters, but they’re a hell of a lot better than Bo Cantrell, Tank Abbot, and James Thompson).
Granted
but neither are they world class, either. Mir was coming off a LONG layoff and was expected to lose, and Herring is a veteran but hardly a number one contender, and Herring was also expected to lose. So I’ll agree that he didn’t get any Tank Abbotts, he also didn’t get anyone that he wasn’t favored against.
ah ok
You got me. He came back from the accident, went 2-2 before his match with Lesnar in which he was a .500 fighter expected to lose, Brock Lesnar -175 – Frank Mir +145.
My point remains.
The smart people were picking Mir in that fight and it was pretty much universally considered to be a huge step up in competition for Brock and a real test for him. Honestly lets not act like the UFC was feeding Brock a can here, Brock has been the favorite in every fight so far but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t against high level competition.
it was pretty much universally considered to be a huge step up in competition for Brock and a real test for him.
.. you mean his first UFC fight, his second fight ever, was considered a huge step up? Right on, man.
Hard to say he was given a fight he was supposed to win when it was only his second fight ever and the first fight was pretty much a joke. At that point how was the UFC supposed to know that he was better than a former world champion to give him that fight as a easy win? Hell they gave him a submission expert right out of the gate in the UFC, that was anything but a gift fight.
If you can make the weight you should be able to fight in the weight class. Brock is naturally enormous and has worked very hard to become extremely strong. He stopped Randy’s wrestling and that’s something Gonzaga and Timmah couldn’t do. Yes Randy was outweighed by a ton, but if you’re going to blame anyone for being in the wrong weight class, blame Randy.
Is Thiago Alves not a very good fighter because he always comes in as an enormous welterweight? Its not fair to apply a double standard to Brock just because of a shallow talent pool at heavyweight.
Alves was fifty seven pounds heavier than Koschek?
Keep in mind the “double standard” thing only works when the two things are similar.
Lesnar didn’t cheat. He fought in a division that was tailored made for him. It’s not his fault that he was born huge and fast. Some people are born physically gifted and Lesnar is physically gifted. I don’t know why you’re so hung up on his size.
I’m not. I’m just not deifying him based on his ‘incredibly amazing skills’. I’m pointing out that he is winning because of his size, something that people seem very unwilling to admit. To say that the 57 pound weight difference is meaningless is to ignore that the sun gives off heat.
By your logic, Bob Sapp is a top heavyweight. If size is all that matters, then the best heavyweights in the world would be 265lbs. Why even train if size wins fights?
Uh… it was evident from last night’s event. Are you still in denial?
Is there a machine that can separate skills from size, strength, and youth? No, you look at things from the sum of its parts. If you can’t separate the elements out then you will have to take it as a whole. Brock dominated Randy last night, and you can split hair all you want, but Brock has a lot of skills. Force = mass * acceleration.. With a man that big moving at that velocity, his punches have the potential to KO anyone.
OK cool, at least I see where you’re coming from. We can agree to disagree then. I don’t think that because someone can mighty joe young their way through a much smaller man, that makes them a skilled mixed martial artist. You do.
Would make it very easy to find the best p4p then – no need to speculate, just match them up. Brock vs Faber — His size won’t matter, right? So if Faber is any good, he will win.
This isn’t a pound for pound argument. Brock Lesnar would be a better heavyweight than Urijah Faber. If the biggest guys in your division are too big for you, then you should be fighting in a different division.
by Richard Wade on Nov 16, 2008 2:29 PM EST up reply actions
Is there a machine that can separate skills from size, strength, and youth? No, you look at things from the sum of its parts. If you can’t separate the elements out then you will have to take it as a whole.
His argument was that weight doesn’t matter. My reply was to do away with weight classes then.
He didn’t make the argument that weight doesn’t matter. What he said was that you can’t separate all of the elements of what makes one fighter better than another.
by Richard Wade on Nov 16, 2008 3:36 PM EST up reply actions
There is a reason that the Heavyweight division has such a large weight spread, it’s because the bigger you get the less the weight difference matters. If weight was the deciding factor in the sport then every heavyweight champion ever would be the biggest guys instead of the best guys. Tim Sylvia also cuts to make 265lbs but there was never any outcry that he was winning because of his size. Tim Sylvia is a seasoned vet with 29 fights(16 KO wins) and has been heavyweight champion twice yet he got handled by Randy and by Fedor. Weight is much less important than skill, and no one gets to be world champion based on size alone.
Brock is a elite level athlete, if he wasn’t he wouldn’t be fighting at all to start with. Yes he uses a style that takes advantage of his size and power but honestly without the skill and training to use that size and power it would be worthless in the cage. Did the 50+lbs of muscle make a difference, well yea but that doesn’t mean that the guy won on size alone. To say that he only won because he was the larger fighter doesn’t make much sense either.
Weight is much less important than skill, and no one gets to be world champion based on size alone.
Of course not. However, overlooking the advantage that size plays is a bit nuts too. Did you watch the fight? Can you honestly say that size played no role?
Of course you can’t, because you then say, “Did the 50+lbs of muscle make a difference, well yea”. And so, you agree with me.
It plays a role, but that’s why we have weight classes. If you choose to fight 45 pounds under the weight limit in a given class, you accept that you will on occasion be giving up an enormous amount of weight.
by Richard Wade on Nov 16, 2008 3:37 PM EST up reply actions
The difference is that I can admit that size played a role in it where you can’t seem to admit that Brock’s skill and training also played a important role in why he won too. If Brock didn’t have the skill and training to be in there then even a 150lb weight advantage wouldn’t of made any difference.
good point
The same people who would gladly give credit to Fedor for beating a no-skill giant, would turn around and discredit Brock Lesnar for being all size and no skill. If skills trump size in Fedor’s case, then why is it that size trumps skills in Brock’s case?
Have I denied it? Not at all. In fact, in the very the comment that you’re replying too I acknolwedge it. So I’m not sure what you’re going on about here.
Weight is much less important than skill, and no one gets to be world champion based on size alone.Of course not. However, overlooking the advantage that size plays is a bit nuts too. Did you watch the fight? Can you honestly say that size played no role?
Of course you can’t, because you then say, "Did the 50+lbs of muscle make a difference, well yea". And so, you agree with me.
??
I’m pointing out that he is winning because of his size, something that people seem very unwilling to admit.
Good job
So even tho in my reply to you I said otherwise, and in every other comment I said otherwise, you found the one spot where I didn’t. Well done!
That was the comment I was replying to. Do I need to go through the thread and pull out every time you said Brock won because of his size?
Hard to confuse what your saying when you spell it out so plainly and even state that “This has been my point all along.”
I think you meant to type "bigger", not "better".
Watch the fight again and tell me if Brock was better or bigger. He muscled him around, and grats to him on that. But that’s because hes bigger.
I’m pointing out that he is winning because of his size, something that people seem very unwilling to admit.
I don’t think that because someone can mighty joe young their way through a much smaller man, that makes them a skilled mixed martial artist. You do.
He isn’t good enough to be champion, he isn’t good enough to even be in a championship match.. but his size makes up for his lack of skills. This has been my point all along.
Of course Alves wasn’t 57lb heavier. My point is that you’re being unfairly critical of Brock because he’s big and you don’t like him. If its that he’s not very technical, wait a few months for the finals of our heavyweight tourney. Every fight he improves, and I think it will show against Mir/Nog. If he wins or loses he will impress with improved technique.
Brock is doing a lot for MMA. He brings in new fans. With all of these new fans maybe one day fighters earning Affliction level money will be realistic instead of financial suicide. Any new fan wanting to see Brock would have been impressed by last nights other fights, and that is good for long term growth. They may be knuckle dragging mouth breathers now, but a fair percentage of them will get into it enough to stay.
Of course Alves wasn’t 57lb heavier. My point is that you’re being unfairly critical of Brock because he’s big and you don’t like him. If its that he’s not very technical, wait a few months for the finals of our heavyweight tourney. Every fight he improves, and I think it will show against Mir/Nog. If he wins or loses he will impress with improved technique.
Here’s the thing.. you just admitted that you agree with me. He isn’t good enough to be champion, he isn’t good enough to even be in a championship match.. but his size makes up for his lack of skills. This has been my point all along.
As for the new fans, I addressed that elsewhere. Fans like these we don’t need. “After a semi-mediocre undercard the lights dimmed and the crowd booed as Metallica’s Enter Sandman blared over the loud speakers and Lesnar entered the arena.”
Anyone who thought that the undercard was “semi-mediocre” can go back to watching boxing or wrestling and leave MMA for those of us that enjoy it, as it is.
I seem to recall people complaining about the undercard before the event. Perhaps they meant semi-mediocre on paper.
by Richard Wade on Nov 16, 2008 2:30 PM EST up reply actions
Maybe
but he also wrote about the fan reaction to the entrance, so I would assume he meant live. My guess would be he’s one of the new breed that doesn’t think the ground game is interesting, and this the BJJ clinics we saw last night were ‘semi-mediocre’ fights.
Some of them were a bit one-sided as well. Perhaps that was the issue he took with them. I disagree that they were at all mediocre, but I can see why someone else might feel differently.
by Richard Wade on Nov 16, 2008 3:38 PM EST up reply actions
Remember that
the Champ is always allowed choice of when to walk out, and it’s 98% last. So when the lights dimmed, the home-town crowd knew it was Couture’s opponent. I don’t know how much of it mattered that it was Brock..I know it was some, but certainly less than half. It was more, to my mind, an expression of support for Randy.
Did you hear the ovations for him during his walk-in and announcement? Goose-bumpy.
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
The hole in this argument, myth,
is that Randy had the opportunity to BE BIGGER and we’ve seen him do it in the past, but he decided not to do so. Could he have made up the weight? Of course not..at least, not with muscle. But he could have easily come in 10-15lbs heavier with muscle if he’d decided to, and put on another 10-15 in fat/fluid for leverage. His gameplan was to be smaller.
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
(I wish this site had lines to comments so I could easily see what you’re replying to)
Anyway, the only thing I take from that is that, I reckon Randy’s no the master gameplanner that the Brocksuckers wanted us to believe before the fight, and I think you’ll agree, 10 lbs more wouldn’t have made a difference. 47 vs 57.
By the way, I’m also not discounting other variables like age, rl distractions, ring rust, etc. These are also things I’ve been saying whenever people were trying to pretend that this was going to be a real tough battle for Brock, to test him.
Nah, I’m not into cyber-relationships. Or you, actually. I was hoping you had wrestled in high school or college, because then you’d be able to agree that 10-15lbs is a HUGE deal for leverage. Randy made a conscious decision to forgo that leverage in an effort to be quicker and more agile.
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
by misterjonez on Nov 16, 2008 10:58 PM EST up reply actions
Click on “up” an it’ll take you to the parent comment.
by Richard Wade on Nov 17, 2008 7:26 PM EST up reply actions
Well, the problem with proclaiming that Lesnar is the best heavyweight in the world based on his performance in the UFC is that like, most of the proven heavyweights are outside that promotion. He’s got loads of talent and this is a good win. No doubt. No lie. But, uh, I don’t think he could run over Josh Barnett. Or even beat him.
i dont think they will promote him as their best heavyweight. Well not yet at least. They have 2 champions so it would be disrespectful to the fighters for the management to promote either as ‘the best’ without them fighting yet.
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Nov 16, 2008 10:51 AM EST up reply actions
Lesnar winning just confirmed what I wrote about months ago…Fedor vs. Couture would have been an abosolute mis-match.
http://mma4real.net/
Wilbon on UFC 91:
“As you clearly can see, MMA is a joke. It’s fake! They even have a former WWE Wrestler as they’re Heavyweight champ.”
“But Brock is a NCA—”
“Look! I know you’re trying to save your reputation. Give it up man. The UFC and MMA are fake. Your boy took a dive and gave in to those fake punches.”
“Fake punches? You see the size of those ham—”
“Look! It’s fake! Let’s go to the next subject.”
“But you’re wrong”
“Next Subject!”
Why wait for facts when we can make up stuff?
This is the internet, you seem to be lost.
by Phildo on Nov 16, 2008 5:52 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Yea how silly of me to be expecting facts on the internet it’s just funny being that Wilbon’s actual last quote about UFC 91 was that MMA is now more popular than boxing.
I am glad the other fighters get it even if the Lesnar haters don't.
B.J. Penn put it best in a recent interview for Vegas sports radio. Brock Lesnar brings more fans to the sport and consequently puts more money in B.J.’s pocket.
Brock Lesnar is great for MMA.
In a sport where promotions are dying every few months why not show a little bit of love for a guy that is actually bringing in new fans to the sport.
Not to mention he brought ESPN to the event to cover it live. I know you could argue whether they were there because of Lesnar or in spite of Lesnar. Point is it had to be a big event for ESPN to show up and cover it and Lesnar is the guy that draws attention.
I think he is great for the sport for everything that he brings.
You know what I'm most mad about?
Not the fact that Brock beat Randy. It was a decisive win. What I’m most angry about is that 50 Cent was right.
by The Pope of Chilitown on Nov 16, 2008 10:34 AM EST reply actions
50 cent?
that dude’s flame burnt out about 5 years ago…if soulja boy is at the next event ..i will puke. the UFC acts like they have to earn some “street cred” or something by bringing in this washed up rapper. you’re already this toughest sport in the world..nuff said.
Great show
all around. So glad they showed so many fights! Lesnar and Florian put on great shows and my house was rocking from all the action. This card lived up to the hype! UFC FTW!!! This is how MMA is done!
Great, great post
I never heard anyone talk about moving the HW weight class from 206-265 to anything else until this fight was booked.
Randy lost. Get over it.
by Derek Suboticki on Nov 16, 2008 2:41 PM EST reply actions
The issue is the talent pool at greater than 205 pounds, almost all of the truly athletic phenoms that big go into other sports where they can make more money. Hopefully with the increased exposure that Brock brings, there will be more money pumped into the sport to lure these type of athletes into competing.
Hopefully the UFC (or some other promo) makes it worth their while. Right now they seem content with expanding the weightclasses that already have tons of talent, while neglecting the heavyweights (and super heavyweights!) and let’s face it, Brock wouldn’t be here either if he didn’t get cut by the vikings.
Or had he accepted their invitation to play in NFL Europe to get the experience necessary to make the team.
by Richard Wade on Nov 16, 2008 3:57 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, how dare
a guy whose already made $20mil+ on the pro wrestling circuit – establishing long-term stability and security for himself and his family – insist on spending his prime athletic years in whichever fashion he sees fit.
What a whiny little brat.
There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.
:-)
That was like cyber aikido black belt stuff.
by ununkvadrium on Nov 16, 2008 4:50 PM EST up reply actions
Oh, touchy
I was just complimenting Jonez on a well written and well conceived irony figure. Seeing as how you didn’t understand my comparison to aikido I’ll tell you the basic principle, then you can figure it out for yourself – use the force of your opponent against himself.
Off to explore the rest of the internets
by ununkvadrium on Nov 18, 2008 4:49 PM EST up reply actions
To Mythbuster
Dude – I generally like your posts and comments and I think you make good points but I really don’t see why you’re so hung up over this Lesnar thing. From what I can see you’re ‘hating’ on Lesnar because:
1. He didn’t deserve his title shot.
2. He’s a massive SOB.
3. He’s arrogant.
My two cents:
1. I agree he didn’t deserve his title shot. However he didn’t threaten Joe Silva or beat the crap out of Dana. The UFC thought it would be good business to give him a title shot and they were absolutely right. Brock would be stupid NOT to accept the chance they gave him. If you’re hating on someone for this – hate on the UFC.
And there is a huge difference between Brock and Kimbo – yes they’re both being pushed into main events because they bring eyeballs – but Brock can actually fight. Do you think Seth Petruzelli would have beaten Brock Lesnar?
2. Yes Lesnar is big. That doesn’t mean he’s not good. As someone mentioned above – MMA is a sport where a combination of factors including: skill, speed, size, strength determine you’re overall level. The fact of the matter is that in the heavyweight division, because of the large weight spread, size may play a more important factor than in other divisions. Brock made the 265lb weight limit no questions asked.
More importantly – he won in the Octagon. Randy had previously fought guys who were almost as big as Brock (i.e. Sylvia) and won. However styles make fights and last night Brock won due to him bringing the right combination of attributes into the Octagon. We can argue all day who is the best heavyweight in the division but Brock beat the champion (something Sylvia and Gonzaga, who at the time, most people considered as at least top 5 UFC HWers) and so now he is the champ.
He made weight, fought hard, won his fight. I don’t see why this is such a big problem for you.
3. He’s arrogant. I agree. Personally – I think it’s great for the UFC and MMA. Lesnar has the potential to be the new ‘heel’ of the UFC. Just like Ortiz was a few years back. Hell I would have loved it if in his post fight interview Lesnar pulled out a lifesize Captain American dummy and F5ed it into the mat and went off on some pro-wrestling shit talk.
I love to watch MMA and I’d like it to be respectful and classy at all times. But that doesn’t sell tickets. Bad blood does. In basketball you had the Lakers-Celtics finals being the most watched in recent times because of the storied rivalry. For the future of the sport the UFC and MMA needs to create these sort of storylines. Brock Lesnar’s arrogance can help with this if he is painted as the number one bad guy – the number one guy to hate. Truly…the baddest man on the planet.
Hi
You make some points, but honestly I’m a bit tired of discussing this so I’ll try to make my points as best and briefly as I can.
First, and most important:
Dude – I generally like your posts and comments and I think you make good points but I really don’t see why you’re so hung up over this Lesnar thing.
Thank you, and not true. I have my opinions on this, which many people can’t understand. If you read through, you’ll notice my point remains pretty much the same. Brock is a talented athlete, but not nearly as talented as people want to think – my opinion is that his lack of skills are made up for by his size. by the way, I’m fairly positive both him and Dana White have said the same thing (and as I’m tired of arguing this, I’m not bothering to look it up). Brock fans have said the same thing. But since I said it, and I admit that I don’t like Brock, I get the lightning rod. I don’t care tho, mostly I think it’s funny. I’m hardly hung up on it.
Ok the rest.
1: Honestly, I would rather have seen him fight Petruzelli (or Werdum, or Gonzaga, or dos Santos, or my loud neighbor) rather than see him get a title shot with a 1-1 UFC record. As I wrote above, it’s like the bosses nephew getting a job that others have been working for. In the end, it doesn’t effect me but I don’t have to like it, either.
2: Big doesn’t stop someone from being good, but it doesn’t make them good either. His gameplan was to be bigger (his words), Randy said he was just too big, during the fight he all but picked Randy up and carried him across the ring with the underhooks. I’m not sure how pointing out that his size is a huge advantage for him is a bad thing, considering he has said so himself. But again, people that take issue with it – its their problem, not mine.
3: Here is a great difference for us. I watched WWE for years, and got really tired of being told who to like and who to hate. What I liked the best about the UFC was, as Luke Thomas once wrote, “The UFC signs amazing talent, creates compelling match-ups and lets the chips fall where they may. And in that blind trust, a lot of greatness occurs.” While he was talking about EliteXC, the overall point is what I agree with – Let the chips fall where they may. I don’t want faces and heels pushed down my throat, I don’t want scripted rivalries and ‘the UFC … needs to create these sort of storylines’, and I especially don’t want “Hell I would have loved it if in his post fight interview Lesnar pulled out a lifesize Captain American dummy and F5ed it into the mat and went off on some pro-wrestling shit talk”. Seriously, if you want that than go back to Sports Entertainment.
But all in all, if you read through the arguments above, you’ll see that mostly it’s people nitpicking, bickering or just wanting to argue for Brock. It’s fun for a while, then that’s about it.
And it seems I failed at a brief reply… oh well, longest post I ever made, anywhere. This is a dancing cat.
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