Fedor and Brock: A Tale of Two Fighters

From reading Sergio Non and Josh Rossen analysis of Brock Lesnar, you'd think that being 4-1 is somehow indicative of how unprepared Brock Lesnar will be in a fight against Fedor. To me, his record is indicative of what a phenom he is really is and how dominant he is as a heavyweight in MMA. But don't take my words for it, let me lay out the parallels of the two great fighters in their early career.

The Fedor supporters (or Brock detractors, take your pick) will drag out the fact that Brock's first opponent was a can at 3-6. However, they never mention that Fedor's first opponent was 0-2.

In his second fight, Brock asked to fight a contender. In this fight, he lost. The detractors will bring out the fact that he lost to Frank Mir in his second match, a former UFC heavyweight champion as if this is indicative of Brock's skills. It doesn't matter that he dominated Mir for two whole minutes and just got "caught."  Everyone loses in MMA, especially when you're fighting the top of the totem pole every single time. However, a loss is a loss.

In his third fight, he defeated a veteran in Heath Herring at 28-14. Fedor fought Takada who was 0-3. The Fedor supporters will bring up the fact that Heath is a middle of the road fighter. He is that, but he is also a much better fighter than when he fought Fedor. This was a guy who almost knocked out Nogueira in his UFC fight (no built-in excuse this time as Nogueira ended up winning). Versus Fedor, Herring lost by cut to Fedor after a 10 minute fight. This was Fedor's 13th fight, right before he won the belt from Nogueira.  See the parallels?

In his fourth fight, Brock won the belt from Randy Couture, a UFC champ. The detractors will bring up the fact that Randy is an old man. However, most experts predicted Randy would win this fight. Why would they pick an old over the hill fighter to win, never mind that he was the current belt holder at that time? Fedor fought Ricardo Arona, a light heavyweight to a decision in his fourth fight. Many thought that Arona should have won this fight. However, a loss is a loss, so we won't rewrite history.

In the fifth fight, Brock fought former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir again, this time dominating him from beginning to end. This is where we see the pure brilliance of his abilities. He controlled Mir, a 250lbs jujitsu black belt in a way no one has done before. Mir could not transition out of Brock's hold. Not only did Brock avenge his first and only loss, he did it in devastating fashion. Mir, if you remember, was also the guy who knocked out Nogueira for the first time ever. The detractors will bring up the excuse that Nogueira was "injured." How many times have fighters pulled out due to injuries? Why was it that Nogueira decided in this case that he will fight against a former champ for the interim belt while injured? Was he stupid or just crazy? Neither. (1) His injury was not bad enough since in his own words he thought he could still win (if you couldn't walk due to staph infection, why would you think you could win?), and (2) he has a built-in excuse in case of a loss. A win is a win and anything else is just an excuse.

Fedor lost his fifth fight by cut to a guy with a similar record to Heath Herring. The Fedor defenders will bring up the fact that this wasn't really a loss. How could this be? Under the unified rules, when a fighter is unable to continue due to a cut, it is considered a loss. In the tournament, this was also the rule. A loss is a loss, a win is a win, and the rules are the rules.

Fedor and Brock have similar records in their first five fights. Each had one loss each. Fedor fought 4 cans and one journeyman. Brock fought one can, two UFC champs, avenged his only loss, and defended the belt once. He improved dramatically from one fight to the other.

The hatred for Brock in the MMA community is amazing. The Fedor supporters like Jake Rossen will use his first five fights as somehow a liability for Brock while dismissing Fedor's padded record as a plus. Furthermore, people are even demanding that the heavyweight division be split in two because Brock is too dominant. How come nobody clamored for a new division when a former, unpopular champ in Tim Sylvia had to cut weight to hit 265 as well?

Now, with a chance to prove his worth with a 3-6 million per fight deal in the UFC, Fedor turned it down. Many of his supporters will argue that it's not about money. When people claim it's not about money, it's always about money. M-1's sole product is Fedor. Fedor's biggest selling point is his aura of invincibility. If Fedor walks through Brock, he would be richer by millions, still be able to fund his M-1 expansion and retain his aura of invincibility while helping M-1 grow through the marketing and popularity of the UFC machine. But what if he loses? Without Fedor, what would be left of M-1? M-1 would be left with damaged goods and the Fedor brand destroyed. This cannot happen. They turned down big money in the short term to protect M-1 and Fedor in the long term. Money makes the world go around and all business decisions revolve around money.

It's a shame that there are such divisions in the MMA world. The pro-UFC camp and the anti-UFC camp, both in fandom and the media. For the latter camp, Fedor is their last great hope against the hegemony of the UFC. For that reason, Fedor and Brock must never meet in combat. They will go out of their ways to turn down big money... or perhaps even split the heavyweight division.