After UFC 100 Brock Lesnar is THE MAN in MMA
by Nate Wilcox on Jul 13, 2009 8:37 PM EDT
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So says With Leather:
I love Brock. The guy won UFC’s biggest fight to date. He won that promotion’s heavyweight title. And then Grizzly Rogan jams a mic in his face and asks, "So how’d it feel to kick that guy’s ass?" WHAT IS HE SUPPOSED TO SAY? This is the guy that Dana White brought in. This is the guy that got fed up with WWE. The guy that walked away from the NFL because he didn’t want to play in Europe. The guy that came to MMA because guys with 25-inch necks don’t work the late shift at Denny’s. It’s wishful thinking on White’s part that he can take Brock’s name and peel away the rest of that wrestling persona like a banana peel.
Brock Lesnar, in case anyone hasn’t been paying attention, is not a company guy. But now after the dust has settled from UFC 100, he’s THE GUY. And whether that’s part of the sizzle or not, I want to see it. I want to see what happens when he wins again. When he loses. As a casual fan, I’m guaranteed entertainment the next time he steps into the octagon. I don’t care if he’s a prick or who he upsets by doing so, because he’s done it. And I can’t wait to see him do it again.
HT Fightlinker
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We’re going to look back on this time in MMA fondly as ‘the end of the beginning.’ We can’t currently imagine a world in which the UFC sells six or seven million PPV’s a year and gets millions more to watch on free TV. But it’ll be here soon.
I’m really glad I fell into this sport before all this happened, rather than coming in now or being around since the beginning. It’s much more accessible now, much more linear, much more legit and much more popular. Yay.
How's the weather up your own ass? - Stephen Colbert
by Derek Suboticki on Jul 13, 2009 8:52 PM EDT reply actions 3 recs
Definately. I don’t think MMA is anywhere close to hitting the ceiling when it comes to profitability and fan base. I’m glad I get to look back and think, wow, I remember when my old man swore up and down that Tito Ortiz was the baddest man in the world, and ever further back, when Tank was producing the best KO’s at the time…gah…how times change!
"You guys are jerking eachother off with some pseudo deep bullshit." - Kid Nate
by Kaleb Kelchner on Jul 13, 2009 9:03 PM EDT up reply actions
personally
watching the sport evolve has been fascinating to me for over 14 years now and it hasn’t stopped evolving for a moment.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
I was talking to a friend and the topic of how boring the first UFCs could be was brought up. He said he was glad that he got into MMA during TUF II because watching the older events would have turned him off the sport.
He made some sense but at the same time I tried to remember why, at age 12, I fell in love with 30 minute lay-n-pray fests, I could only come up with A) this SHIT is for real!! and B) the same reason I later fell in love with punk, metal, et al. NO ONE else was watching it and if I met someone who was, they were more than likely cool.
by Applejack McNeil on Jul 13, 2009 9:38 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I’d have to say GSP is the man in MMA.
Once Brock gets into promoting the sport on a mainstream level and tunes up his ability to be charismatic, that is when he can really become an icon in the sport.
Right now he is too brash and involuntarily(key word) plays a heel, because that is all he knows how to do. I think the real Brock is in there but I don’t think he is comfortable enough with himself yet to be that person, so he has the “WWE Brock” as his persona in the ring and in (most) interviews.
It’s like the movie “Me, Myself and Irene” right now Brock is in the permanent ‘Hank’ state and sometimes he comes out and is back to his regular nice guy self (usually post-fight press conferences.)
by DirtyML on Jul 13, 2009 9:23 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
GSP is the man, I agree. I think him and Brock are equal, but for very different reasons. GSP needs to be feautured prominently in his next fight, hopefully against someone who is going to blow up the hype. Don’t know when that will be though, due to his injury.
"You guys are jerking eachother off with some pseudo deep bullshit." - Kid Nate
by Kaleb Kelchner on Jul 13, 2009 9:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Once Brock gets into promoting the sport on a mainstream level and tunes up his ability to be charismatic, that is when he can really become an icon in the sport.
I’d argue that Brock is much more charismatic than GSP. GSP is almost plain in comparison.
"Japan is half-Machida" - iiowyn
The complete lack of respect for anyone that doesn’t praise him endlessly is not very charismatic.
He even bites the UFCs hand if he feels he is not being rewarded excessively (bud light comments).
He can come off as being somewhat of a nice guy at times and I think he should encourage this, people can identify more with people who have some kind of vulnerability even if it is manufactured, people who are icey a-holes to the general public, end up just having everyone want to see them lose.
Look at Matt Hughes, he was a love him or hate him kind of guy, said a lot of a-hole comments over the years about everyone, and I still remember how happy most fans were when Alves TKO’ed him and when GSP beat him soundly, but when Hughes was the good guy and in a vulnerable position against Trigg and came back and won, everyone cheered for him endlessly.
It’s a question of wanting to be the great champion that everyone wants to see continue to be great (GSP) or be a champion that crushes his competition and laughs in their face, that people constantly hope the next challenger can usurp. (current Brock)
I hope for the sport that Brock can take a more GSP style to his reign as champion and truly become someone that the fans are behind, because that is what will push the sport to the next level.
He can come off as being somewhat of a nice guy at times and I think he should encourage this, people can identify more with people who have some kind of vulnerability even if it is manufactured, people who are icey a-holes to the general public, end up just having everyone want to see them lose.
Absolutely. When he joined the UFC, I was curious (having seen him when I watched WWE). After he lost to Mir, I LIKED the guy. He came across as humble, willing to work to get to the top, etc. After the Herring fight, I think the real Brock emerged and it was, in my humble opinion, not a good thing.
The cats out of the bag, and I think any attempt to hide his true personality will come across very fake.
("you don’t like Brock" – helping Weobo out)
But what about the Couture fight?
A fight where he wasn’t in a trashtalk battle with his opponent?
The Declaration of Hendopendance
He lost me after the Herring fight. The fact that he didn’t act like a _ after the Couture fight (or did he? Honestly I can’t remember) doesn’t nullify the bad.
Kind of like… if someone intentionally breaks your nose, but then makes you brownies, which are you more likely to remember?
("you don’t like Brock" – helping Weobo out)
He was fine after Couture
The running constant seems to be that he reacts poorly to trash talk, which isn’t exactly unheard of.
Now that I think of it though, the Herring trash talk was somewhat mundane and occasionally really funny—“He’s gonna take me down and try to Donkey Kong on me.”
The Declaration of Hendopendance
There were some rumors about Herring 1. being pissed at even being asked to fight Lesnar and 2. being pissed to have to walk into the cage first.
I think you’re dead on about him not being used to the trash talk. In WWE it’s scripted so everyone knows it’s just part of the job. Here it’s not and I have to think he struggling to learn how to handle it. It’s obvious when there’s trash talk before the fight he’s not ready to hug it out after the fight.
I’m growing a little weary of people talking about the honor and respect between fighters. When did it become honorable to talk shit about someone for a month only to want to shake hands after the fight?
Pretty much for the entire history of combat sports. Sure there are situations where the hate persists, but the expectation is that the winner is supposed to win gracefully, while the loser is supposed to lose gracefully. Rubbing your opponent’s nose in your victory over them often leads to altercations, and further breakdowns in sportsmanship and respect.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s room for both, for Coutures and for Ortizes, for faces and heels in this sport. But some fans see a dude like Floyd Mayweather or Brock Lesnar, and want to see him get his block knocked off. And when it happens, it’s terribly rewarding.
But sometimes, we like seeing a good scrap where the two competitors appreciate the toughness of their respective opponents, if not before the fight, then afterwards.
Fair point, the moralizing just seems a little disingenuous after a month of running a guy down. I prefer either GSP (respectful all the time) or Brock (taking it personal and letting a guy know it’s personal). Either way I want it to be real. For me, the Dan Hardy/B.J. Penn style of blowing a guy up only to want to hug afterward leaves me feeling used. Like they just made up a bunch of stuff to sell tickets. (Which most do)
And Brock will get his block knocked off. They all do. And over a million ppv buyers will be there to watch it.
I think Hardy realized he was getting to Davis, and so he kept it up. That’s a time honored bit of sports psychology, although irking ones opponent on purpose can come back to burn a fighter sometimes as well. (For example it might come slowly and inexorably across the ring towards you for a round and a half and then knock you into next Wednesday)
The Declaration of Hendopendance
Depends on the brownies.
A real Poppy Palace would have a lot more chocolate, and a moat with otters. -Poppy
by Leopold Bloom on Jul 14, 2009 12:29 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
The complete lack of respect for anyone that doesn’t praise him endlessly is not very charismatic.
Perhaps not but one can be charismatic in a negative way as well. My point is that he elicits very strong reactions on both ends of the spectrum in a way no other fighter does.
"Japan is half-Machida" - iiowyn
i remember while watching this, screaming at the television, “THAT MAN IS THE UFC’S FIRST TRUE STAR.”
say what you will about antics, but he’s more athletic than anyone at heavyweight, more powerful than anyone in the entire ufc, and more tito than tito ever will be – and tito has been their biggest draw to date. love him or hate him, he’s going to be their first true star.
by slantedwindows on Jul 13, 2009 10:19 PM EDT reply actions
Simple pleasures I guess. It’s so easy to act like that and he’s so predictable and cliched. I can’t help but roll my eyes at his whole schtick, but to each his own I suppose, and with the rise of Lyoto and GSP there’s bound to be a rise in their opposite to keep things in check. Brock kind of reminds me of the bully in 8th grade who went through puberty early and is way bigger than everyone else. He says whatever he wants and everyone laughs at him regardless of how funny it is. You can tell that all his antics are pre-meditated. The way he wouldn’t touch gloves with Mir was a desperate attempt at spoiled attention. And he gets it so I suppose everyone gets their reward.
by Dooda on Jul 13, 2009 10:36 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
When it comes to not touching gloves, some rewards are more fun to recieve than others
The Declaration of Hendopendance
by capital L on Jul 13, 2009 10:54 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Naoya Ogawa, world class Judoka and all around hilarious pro wrestler
He brought a little no-touch-gloves shtick to MMA for a while.
It made for a great counterpoint to a 1 minute shellacking and armbar from a certain pudgy Russian HW.
The Declaration of Hendopendance
Brock Lesnar, in case anyone hasn’t been paying attention, is not a company guy.
("you don’t like Brock" – helping Weobo out)
You always thank the sponsors
Even Big E, the most badass man of all time, knew that.
The Declaration of Hendopendance
I do not know who this is. Dale Earnhart, the race car guy?
("you don’t like Brock" – helping Weobo out)
You Communist. I hate NASCAR and I know The Intimidator.
How's the weather up your own ass? - Stephen Colbert
by Derek Suboticki on Jul 13, 2009 11:39 PM EDT up reply actions
hahaha.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito Ortiz on Vitor Belfort at Affliction:DOR
by Rundownloser on Jul 14, 2009 1:37 PM EDT up reply actions
Although I think that if Tito Ortiz gives the same postfight interview that Brock does, his legend grows…especially the part about him not thanking Bud Light because they wouldn’t sponsor him specifically. He’d be “sticking it to Dana White,” who couldn’t do anything to him while he was champion, and the Tito fans would love it.
Well yeah, I think that’s true. Watching Lesnar on Saturday, I couldn’t help but think about how his persona is going to hurt Tito—it’s his routine pushed all the way into the red. I can’t help but think Tito’s going to look tame by comparison now. And man, if/when Lesnar turns on Dana White, look out.
by An Old Friend on Jul 14, 2009 3:26 AM EDT up reply actions
I finally saw the Brockgate video, and I think Brock just got overwhelmed by the moment and lost his damn mind.
Keep firing Assholes!
Thanks to Bisping's reenactment of the Battle of Cowpens, walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
Oh god, have people started calling it Brockgate?
by Well Read Idiot on Jul 14, 2009 7:30 AM EDT up reply actions
I had a personal investment in Frank winning the fight.
Now that a little time has passed and I’m able to gain some perspective, Lesnar clearly represents a positive force for the UFC. We will all want to watch this guy. As With Leather points out above, we’ll all want to see him lose or we’ll want to see him win. Point is, we’ll want to see him.
A real Poppy Palace would have a lot more chocolate, and a moat with otters. -Poppy
Another take
Another sports blogger who thought the speech in the cage was awesome. I had 3 separate people at work yesterday tell me how awesome the fight and the speech was.
People can get upset and talk about a lack of respect. And yes, saying he was going to drink Coors was stupid, but whatever. the people that pay the UFC’s bills loved what happened, and they love brock.
I think ..
Some of the comments were a little ignorant, but I did enjoy the comment about him getting on top of Sable (Rena). Actually, probably the only person that didn’t smirk at that line was “Marvelous” Marc Mero!!!
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