Mixed Reviews for Brock Lesnar and UFC 121 Primetime
by Nate Wilcox on Oct 7, 2010 10:31 AM EDT
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Watching the first part of the UFC 121 Primetime special has me in full "Brocktober" mode. Lesnar had been a little tarnished in my mind after crumpling under Shane Carwin's assault in round 1 of their UFC 116 bout. But Brock came back in that fight, and the Primetime special is going a long way towards rehabbing Lesnar's image as the fearsome heavyweight champ.
I also found Cain Velasquez and his story of fighting for his immigrant family to be compelling and sympathetic. But I'm a mark. Always have been, always will be I hope.
Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer discussed the Primetime special and felt that the show was "awesome" and did the job of telling Cain Velasquez' story. Meltzer said "You come out not wanting either man to lose. They both seemed like hard working great athletes who are just dedicated as hell." Meltzer also commented on how good Lesnar's physique looked and that his biggest advantage is the fact that Lesnar can handle the pressure of a title fight whereas we don't know if Velasquez can.
Alvarez said "the show was all about, this was the Brock Lesnar show. I just can't see the average UFC fan seeing this show and not going, 'I have to see this specimen try to destroy someone." Meltzer came away thinking that Velasquez will win based on his better speed punching the bags.
Others are not so generous. Here's Steve Cofield:
Lesnar may be billed as an unstoppable force but it's clear that he's needs to restore much of that aura after he was beat up by Shane Carwin at UFC 116. Las Vegas bettors aren't buying the unbeatable label. Lesnar is a small favorite at minus-140.
Zach Arnold is even more critical:
If there was anything that was hammered home more in last night's Primetime show, it was this - Brock Lesnar is once again going to have to carry his opponent in generating fan interest for the fight. I thought Shane Carwin was boring leading up to the July fight but Cain Velasquez takes that to a whole new level. He's a nice guy and a talented fighter but he simply can't escape being boring in workouts or interviews. He also has a tendency to say a few things that make you go, "Huh?"
It was interesting to see how UFC presented Velasquez on the Primetime show. They heavily pushed the angle of him possibly becoming "the first Mexican heavyweight champion" despite the fact that he was born in California. Zuffa showed footage of him doing Spanish-language interviews trying to put this angle over. Even in those settings, charisma is not a word you could come up with. He's a quiet, relatively unassuming guy with a "Brown Pride" tattoo. That's about it when it comes to what most fight fans take away from seeing him.
...
What struck me as a dual-edged sword coming out of the Primetime show was how Brock Lesnar fights in the UFC are now no longer so much about his opponent but rather all about him. The fans who hate him will pay to see him get beat up and the fans who love him will watch his fights no matter what. He's by far the strongest drawing card in Mixed Martial Arts and the most intriguing giant that the business has seen. Bob Sapp made an impact in Japan but he did so with a sometimes-cuddly side. Brock Lesnar is anything but cuddly.
Zuffa is desperately hopeful that Velasquez can somehow catch lightning in a bottle and attract new fans but I don't see it happening, even if he does beat Lesnar later this month. Some people have ‘it' and some don't and he doesn't have the ‘it' factor that a simple eye test from a fan can see. The Primetime show last night didn't really give the viewers at home any new reason to want to see the two men fight. I came away watching the show with more of a mild shrug than anything else.
I think Zach is a little too close to the screen here. He may be right that the Primetime special did little in the way of giving hardcore fans new reasons to watch Lesnar vs Velasquez. But the reality is that the market the UFC is aiming for is the casual fan who need to be told that the fight is happening at all and when.
Selling a fight involves answering three questions: 1) who is fighting? 2) why are they fighting? and 3) why should fans care?
UFC 121 Primetime answered all three questions: 1) the most fearsome heavyweight in the world (Brock) vs a likeable and formidable up and comer (Cain) 2) for the title of world's top heavyweight fighter 3) because it's going to be effing epic!
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The footage of Lesnar going at it with the ropes was intense.
Looked like he was training for a Donkey Kong style beatdown.
100% agree
that shot was epic. Made him look like a comic book character or something.
I consider myself a softcore fan.
When I saw that, I instantly thought “GIF”.
Someone Post it.
by I Can't Feel My Face on Oct 7, 2010 6:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Agree
Great article Nate. There were a lot of negative comments in the live thread here, but I think Zuffa dd a good job. They have two big limiting factors in my mind:
1) they need three shows worth of material, so they had to stretch things out a bit (I.e. Day laborer routing)
2) Cain seriously lacks charisma
Overall it got me pumped to watch the rest of the primetime episodes…. And reminded me that Lesnar is a monster.
by flingom on Oct 7, 2010 10:49 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
I thought it was a great first show. These shows aren’t (IMO) cared to the hardcore nerds that will watch anything MMA related but used a vehicle to attract the casual fan that may be mildly interested in watching the fight.
My only hope is that they continue to build on Velasquez as he didn’t get enough air-time on his history beyond the family stuff. They need to delve in his time at ASU, training partners there and at AKA, more time shown training. They say he has cardio, let the audience see. They touched on it but not enough.
Yes, "hardcore nerds". Even casuals on a wrestling board I read thought it was bad
Cain was the blandest Mexican I’ve ever seen. His Spanish-speaking father had more charisma, like someone in the live thread said, his father’s HAT had more charisma.
I dislike the racial pandering, I hated the overtones in the Rashad/Rampage fight too. It screams WWF.
More training please.
"Boy you got me confused with a man who 'peats himself"
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by S.C. Michaelson on Oct 7, 2010 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions
It screams WWF/E you say?
You must have missed the ads promoting Mosley vs. Mora.
I said the same thing then
"Boy you got me confused with a man who 'peats himself"
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by S.C. Michaelson on Oct 7, 2010 5:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Meh....
I’ve seen worse on MSNBC’s Sunday afternoon line up..
"Wait why didn't I kill that motherfvker"
Also
PLEASE let’s not have this tat discussion for the 147th time. It never leads to anything constructive.
"Wait why didn't I kill that motherfvker"
by Ze Pequeno on Oct 7, 2010 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
it is offputting to say the least. maybe it’s because i’m european and with us, beating the dead heritage-horse isn’t anywhere as popular as in the US.
Go big red!
well Europeans
are more insular and less welcoming to immigrants. and Cain’s heritage is as alive as his father.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
by Nate Wilcox on Oct 7, 2010 11:05 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Because of course ...
… Europeans are all the same and share the same opinion on the subject. Of course.
Well, anybody who knows me knows I'm no fan of dictionaries or reference books. They're elitist. Constantly telling us what is or isn't true. Or what did or didn't happen.
Stereotypes, on the other hand, do.
Well, anybody who knows me knows I'm no fan of dictionaries or reference books. They're elitist. Constantly telling us what is or isn't true. Or what did or didn't happen.
by MarcoDos on Oct 7, 2010 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
... and if you're into statistics :
New citizenships (per capita) (most recent) by country :
# 1 Canada: 6.54169 thousand per 1 million p
# 2 Belgium: 5.9919 thousand per 1 million p
# 3 Sweden: 4.83226 thousand per 1 million p
# 4 Switzerland: 3.83229 thousand per 1 million p
# 5 Australia: 3.52414 thousand per 1 million p
# 6 Denmark: 3.46097 thousand per 1 million p
# 7 Netherlands: 3.04748 thousand per 1 million p
# 8 United States: 3.03651 thousand per 1 million p
# 9 Austria: 3.0055 thousand per 1 million p
# 10 France: 2.47296 thousand per 1 million p
USA is number 8, 6 out of the 7 first countries and 8 of the first 10 seem to be “insular and less welcoming European” ones. How weird.
Well, anybody who knows me knows I'm no fan of dictionaries or reference books. They're elitist. Constantly telling us what is or isn't true. Or what did or didn't happen.
by MarcoDos on Oct 7, 2010 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Its a lot easier to have a larger ratio with small countries. Also, citizenships isn’t a great metric considering the amount of people in the U.S. both via work visas and green cards as well as illegally.
"You should work for 15 minutes to knock your opponent out, submit him, or improve your position to give yourself the best chance of doing either." - Dan Hardy
I’m not pretending this is an overall evaluation of immigration. Nate’s point was that Europeans, are insular and not as welcoming as the US of A. I’m answering to this and I think in this case citizenship is a better metric than the amount of people living in a legal grey area to power a local economy (going going, back back, to Cali Cali ^^).
Well, anybody who knows me knows I'm no fan of dictionaries or reference books. They're elitist. Constantly telling us what is or isn't true. Or what did or didn't happen.
Touche. I think you’re probably right that given the context citizenship is a better metric – also I won’t pretend to know the feelings of Europeans (or even Americans given how different parts of the country are like completely different worlds let alone the same country) but what Nate is saying is a common sentiment here.
"You should work for 15 minutes to knock your opponent out, submit him, or improve your position to give yourself the best chance of doing either." - Dan Hardy
so that's why Canada's economy is doing so well
By the way, where did you get those stats?
by Lauren J Darkbloom on Oct 7, 2010 1:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) via nationmaster.com
… time to leave the comp and hit the gym, laters guys.
Well, anybody who knows me knows I'm no fan of dictionaries or reference books. They're elitist. Constantly telling us what is or isn't true. Or what did or didn't happen.
Ah, excellent
Here are some statistics from the same source showing unemployment rates among immigrants compared to citizens—perhaps Europe is “insular and less welcoming” as Kid Nate suggests.
http://blog.oecdfactblog.org/?p=92
In most European countries, immigrants face massively higher unemployment rates than non-immigrants, but not in the US.
Tough to decide whether, in general, Europe is more or less welcoming than the US, just based on one set of statistics.
by Lauren J Darkbloom on Oct 7, 2010 1:43 PM EDT up reply actions
From the article you linked :
One reason is that immigrants tend to work in sectors which are sensitive to swings in the economic climate, that is, where demand for workers rises sharply in good times and drops fast during bad.
The economical crisis has been hitting hard, the article is studying one of its consequences (it’s a 2009 snapshot). How is this related to being insular and less welcoming ?
Tough to decide whether, in general, Europe is more or less welcoming than the US, just based on one set of statistics.
I couldn’t agree more. I was just answering an argument and playing the game a bit.
Well, anybody who knows me knows I'm no fan of dictionaries or reference books. They're elitist. Constantly telling us what is or isn't true. Or what did or didn't happen.
You know I think it’s off putting that his ancestors are more native to these lands than mine or most others yet his parents had to sneak over the border and be treated like aliens to give their kids a better life and now people dislike that he’s proud of his heritage.
by mmalogic on Oct 7, 2010 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions 17 recs
that's what toni valtonen said! check out his sweet heritage tattoos!
Go big red!
by pornflake on Oct 7, 2010 12:37 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
If Cain wants to be proud of his heritage that’s great – his father seemed to work his butt off to give him that opportunity but I’ve never understood your type of argument.
Its completely based on the assumption that every Mexican’s (or Central American depending on the situation) ancestors previously lived in the territory that makes up the U.S., that having a blood type to people who previous lived on land no matter how far back gave some sort of right to that land, and that national borders and citizenship are some new invention created by the U.S. to slight anyone who did have ancestors on the land.
"You should work for 15 minutes to knock your opponent out, submit him, or improve your position to give yourself the best chance of doing either." - Dan Hardy
by Day Man on Oct 7, 2010 1:27 PM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
They did lose a war
That’s what happens when you lose a war.
I’m just saying.
"Boy you got me confused with a man who 'peats himself"
SCM aka Black Lesnar aka Slap ya Favorite MMA Writer
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by S.C. Michaelson on Oct 7, 2010 1:27 PM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
“That’s what happens when you lose a war.” You fight another war?
"I am a man who pisses largely and frequently, which they say is a sign of great mental activity" -Henry Miller-
You could. Or you sign a treaty.
But you lose the war and you lose the claim. No coming back years later
"Boy you got me confused with a man who 'peats himself"
SCM aka Black Lesnar aka Slap ya Favorite MMA Writer
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by S.C. Michaelson on Oct 7, 2010 1:41 PM EDT up reply actions
As a person of mexican heritage...
i completely agree with this statement.
I will never understand why some people sharing my heritage get so damn butt hurt over it, Mexico lost the war, and quite thoroughly as well. Some people just need to accept that, that’s how the world has always been.
Don't open your eyes and you can swim
http://brioe162.blogspot.com/
"more native to these lands"
Actually, going just off appearances, Cain looks somewhat Criollo. His father didn’t seem to have much Amerindian in him. I don’t know, most of my judgement is based off a rant in which my old Guatemalan Spanish teacher told us about how they try to “filter out” native blood on Mexican television.
"We should just concentrate on what we’re good at… Death Metal and interior design." – William Murderface
Selling a fight involves answering three questions: 1) who is fighting? 2) why are they fighting? and 3) why should fans care?
this is why scott coker should try and get paul heyman onboard asap. the quote holds so much strength and it’s something dana realised years ago.
"How you expect to run with the wolves come night when you spend all day sparring with the puppies" - Omar Little
by The Omaplatapus on Oct 7, 2010 10:57 AM EDT reply actions
I'm just curious what the next two episodes will cover....
because right now it seems like the whole story was told in the first 30 minutes. If the other two are simply redundant, they’ll definitely see less interest.
they have some great opportunities to bring up conflicts in part 2
Brock’s health crisis, his near loss to Carwin; Cain’s weak chin against Kongo, his inexperience on the big stage, etc
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
maybe cover Cain?
This “Primetime” show was completley geared towards Brock Lesnar, maybe 15% of the material was Cain. So hopefully they will show more of his training style then showing Brock doing the ropes for 5 minutes at a time
That's because Cain is like a wet towel on the floor
and Brock is a crazy mountain man the latter sales more tickets
More than 15% was Cain
It was around 40%
"Boy you got me confused with a man who 'peats himself"
SCM aka Black Lesnar aka Slap ya Favorite MMA Writer
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by S.C. Michaelson on Oct 8, 2010 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions
I thought it was a boring show
but they did exactly what they needed to do to help sell Cain to the Latino base.
I’m more interested in the upcing shows where they get into their training and past fights. I gotta admit, Cain’s kicks and punches in training looked great. I didn’t realize he was that fast. i gave him a better chance after seeing that small bit of footage, but I still think Brock’s size and strength will be too much for him in the first 2 rounds
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" - Philippians 4:13
Swordcocktober is in full swing!
Lesnar vs Velasquez: Battle of the Farming F150 Riders
It was just the first show, calm down. This fight doesn’t really need a storyline anyway. Brock is a freak of nature and Cain is a hard working Mexican. Its gonna be huge. 1.5mill PPVs
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Oct 7, 2010 11:04 AM EDT reply actions 6 recs
Thank you good sir.
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Oct 7, 2010 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions
Less fat, more lean muscle. He looked awesome and I hope he keeps that beard because he looks like a total badass. lol
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Oct 7, 2010 11:07 AM EDT up reply actions
He has gone "almost vegan" from what Rogan said
He hired a dietitian and is looking at leaner and more cut up, they actually said he walks around at more like 280 instead of 300 so he doesn’t have to cut as much weight. He actually has a real 6 pack now instead of like a hug keg of muscle.
No he hasn't gone "almost vegan"
"Boy you got me confused with a man who 'peats himself"
SCM aka Black Lesnar aka Slap ya Favorite MMA Writer
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by S.C. Michaelson on Oct 8, 2010 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah
No one with that kind of muscle is in any way vegan; vegetarianism isn’t inherently unhealthy, but would be damn near useless for an elite athlete.
"All the time he's boxing, he's thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him." - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Oct 8, 2010 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions
the beard does make him look like a total monster
he should keep it. for safety reasons, too.
Go big red!
… Didn’t help this guy, but was a cool marketing tool.
Semper Fi
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Prediction (11:56a 9/27/10): 16-13 Bears
Factor?: Front 7 of the Bears will cause two (2) turnovers that put a kibosh on two effective drives by the Packers.
by ChicagoMarine on Oct 7, 2010 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions
Arlovski ring a bell?
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Oct 7, 2010 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions
Why is it no one brings up Alessio Sakara in the beard rankings?
Michael Robinson leads the Seahawks in completion percentage, yards-per-attempt, and QB rating.
totally robbed on the p4p beard list.
So much cock. A cock guy.
Read my stuff at SMG.
by inadvertentgroinstrike on Oct 7, 2010 12:26 PM EDT up reply actions
fitchy baby
"How you expect to run with the wolves come night when you spend all day sparring with the puppies" - Omar Little
by The Omaplatapus on Oct 7, 2010 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions
I see a string of these
Cain
JDS
Carwin
There are no “exciting” challengers for Brock on the horizon. even outside the promotion, only Overeem could really hype a fight.
we could always have a rematch with carwin
as it would at least make for an entertaining first round
Go big red!
I think Kid Nate is hyped for the fight
because it’s going to be effing epic!
by ecost on Oct 7, 2010 11:35 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Lol despite the fact that he doesn’t hold back criticizing Zuffa’s business policy, he seems like legit fanboy when it comes to the actual fights
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by sitnam90 on Oct 7, 2010 12:49 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I rather enjoyed it. Brock looks like he’s in better shape than I’ve ever seen him, and Cain may not be very charismatic, but damn it he looked impressive in those sparing shots.
I think if Brock wins, the UFC should find a way to sign Overeem. BROCKLESNAR vs Megareem would be the biggest fight ever.
Fedor can have Strikeforce all to himself and fight Josh Barnett, Bigfoot, and Werdum. Those are good fights for him now. I don’t even care to see Fedor in the UFC anymore.
If Cain wins, a match up with Dos Santos would do gangbusters internationally, but American fans might be a harder sell.
the slo-mo shot of Cain’s switch kick on the heavy bag was freakin sweet
a life: it's the shit that happens while you're waiting for moments that never come -Lester Freamon
That was pretty impressive, although does anyone think he would ever do that in a fight and if not why is he practicing moves that he isn’t going to use?
"You should work for 15 minutes to knock your opponent out, submit him, or improve your position to give yourself the best chance of doing either." - Dan Hardy
Probably just for fun, or more likely to show something flashy for the TV production. I don’t think we’ll ever see him use it in the cage, it’s not the most effective technique.
by Horselover Fat on Oct 7, 2010 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions
well im interested in brock and cain is interesting he just looks to have the charisma of a cabbage
Twitter @MaZZacreMMA
by MaZZacare on Oct 7, 2010 11:59 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Im kinda torn here
Because I’m always pushing for more professional, legit coverage of the sport and that’s what that was. No shitty nu-metal, no phoned in trash talk (mostly), no WWE histronics. It was well done and high brow.
But I got bored. Not gonna lie. Turned it off and went to bed before it ended cause I felt like I had seen it all before. Oh well, it wasn’t appealing to me anyways, as I’m already buying the show.
Give me smallest finger on man's hand. I'll produce information. Computer unnecessary.
by hobbie on Oct 7, 2010 1:13 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Brock Lesnar is not the unstoppable beast the UFC said he was
When he gets hit with power he reels, and doesn’t really know what to do. His wrestling isn’t as good as we thought it was. As far as I’m concerned his sub defense is still a question if he went up against a guy like Werdum. But that being said, he’s still the champ. That’s what’s fun about the HW division. Brock isn’t an unbeatable juggernaut, but if he gets by Cain, there’s only JDS left and he would have cleaned out the division.
"I am a man who pisses largely and frequently, which they say is a sign of great mental activity" -Henry Miller-
I would be careful to read to much into a fight where Brock was coming off a long layoff and a potentially fatal condition where he got tagged by the biggest hitter in the UFC.
"You should work for 15 minutes to knock your opponent out, submit him, or improve your position to give yourself the best chance of doing either." - Dan Hardy
I think Brock was, I'm not going to say afraid, weary of Carwin's power
And that’s why he reacted the way he did. Against Mir, he took those shots and didn’t run, against Couture, he didn’t either.
"Boy you got me confused with a man who 'peats himself"
SCM aka Black Lesnar aka Slap ya Favorite MMA Writer
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by S.C. Michaelson on Oct 7, 2010 1:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Carwin shrugged him off no issue in the first round.
"I am a man who pisses largely and frequently, which they say is a sign of great mental activity" -Henry Miller-
Lesnar took Carwin down in the first round,
Carwin stood back up with a whizzer shortly after. The other stuffed takedown was AFTER carwin landed his uppercut and had Lesnar on the run. Which means that the only other man as large as brock, who also has a credentialed wrestling past, gave him some resistance in the wrestling derpartment. That isn’t enough to say his wrestling isn’t as good as we thought.
I thought it was pretty good. Yea neither of them Sonnen’d out but it was an interesting look at both fighters. Found it interesting that both grew up poor working on a farm (although in very different circumstances) and that Brock used to get paid in Pot Roast when he was younger. It’s a human interest show to hype two fighters to casual viewers not a show with two guys cutting WWE style promo’s on each other, I’m not sure what people were expecting to see here?
The discussions of Cain’s tattoo around here are hilarious.
I don’t like the “Mexican” angle much, Cain was born and raised in the US, he’s a US citizen and thus calling him the “first Mexican HW champion” seems kind of false to me. I understand heritage and all that, I don’t have a problem with any of that, just don’t see why this “first Mexican HW champ” is some sort of selling point. Also Ricco Rodriguez is half Mexican, so it’s not even true in that sense.
Other than that, I enjoyed the show, it’s very well made like usual. Cain has a very flat personality, but the fight sells itself, big freakish strong versus smaller fast n’ technical. It’s gonna be so tits y’all!
This is their big shot to tap into the huge Latino boxing fan contingent and they think using the he’s one of us angle is the best way to do it. I’m not a fan either for the same reasons as you stated but its probably going to work.
"You should work for 15 minutes to knock your opponent out, submit him, or improve your position to give yourself the best chance of doing either." - Dan Hardy
Citizenship
Does not negate heritage or ethnicity. Born in America to Mexican parents. He’s a Mexican. Living in America.
I write sometimes for Cagedinsider.com
I disagree...
both of my parents were born in Mexico…I’m an American.
Don't open your eyes and you can swim
http://brioe162.blogspot.com/
Po-tay-toe / Po-tah-toe
Legally, Cain is American
Ethnically, Cain is Mexican
Culturally, Cain is neither…or rather both.
Arguing about the semantics of the UFC’s promotional push is pointless. What is worth investigating is whether it will be successful in bringing Mexico into the fold. If they UFC can pull that off, they have all of North America.
Yeah, I understand why they’re doing it, and I don’t have a problem with labeling Cain a mexican. It just seems kind of corny, or something. To everyone who’s not mexican, it’s just very whatever or borderline silly. They’re trying to make it out to be a bigger deal than it really would be (except possibly for mexicans). I don’t really see how it’s all that relevant to his fighting career, and why his heritage would be such a huge deal. It feels like they’re overreaching, pushing this particular angle which should be a much smaller one IMO. Just my personal feelings, a slight annoyance, not a huge deal though.
by Horselover Fat on Oct 7, 2010 2:35 PM EDT up reply actions
You're totally on point about the relationship to his actually MMA ability
but the Primetimes aren’t meant as a tool too expose us to technique, routine, and career. They are marketing tools to generate popular interest. And the UFC is salivating at tapping into the huge Mexican market, and more generally, the latino market, at least more than they already have. It seems to me that the UFC is using Cain only in the capacity of opening up that latino market and so thats the entire push of the show.
Yep, can’t disagree with any of that. Again, I understand why they’re doing it, I’m just not a big fan of that particular type of marketing ploy.
by Horselover Fat on Oct 7, 2010 3:07 PM EDT up reply actions
Very interesting question I got from Zack Arnold's piece
Who is/was bigger: Bob Sapp in Japan or Brock Lesnar in America?
I’m thinking Sapp, what with his ridiculous commercials. But then again, I wasn’t around for Sapp’s big run.
"We should just concentrate on what we’re good at… Death Metal and interior design." – William Murderface
Sapp was more than just MMA, he did albums and everything
"Boy you got me confused with a man who 'peats himself"
SCM aka Black Lesnar aka Slap ya Favorite MMA Writer
Follow me on Twitter
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by S.C. Michaelson on Oct 7, 2010 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions
huh from an english point of view i thought lesnar had huge crossover mainstream appeal?
"How you expect to run with the wolves come night when you spend all day sparring with the puppies" - Omar Little
by The Omaplatapus on Oct 7, 2010 3:44 PM EDT up reply actions
He does, but he doesn't do it. He doesn't want to crossover
Sapp was a mediocre fighter looking to cash in and was willing to whore himself out to the Japanese in the most stereotypical way possible.
"Boy you got me confused with a man who 'peats himself"
SCM aka Black Lesnar aka Slap ya Favorite MMA Writer
Follow me on Twitter
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by S.C. Michaelson on Oct 7, 2010 5:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Having this political/racial angle during the midterms is causing the split in fans.
Right now, politics and cable news is all about “us vs them”. We’re less than a month away from the midterms and very defensive because of politics.
The reality…… Primetime showed that Brock and Cain are more similar than people realized.
Brock Lesnar’s stand up is somewhat rudimentary , and imo if he ever faces Carwin again I think he loses. Cain should expose Lesnar as Carwin did, but Cain won’t gas like Shane did so this should go deeper thus making this fight more entertaining for the fans ………. I’m waiting and hoping Cain can take the HW Championship from Brock in overwhelming fashion.
Fear is temporary regret is for ever.
I love how
People say A. Silva was exposed, then turn around and call Brock unbeatable. Brock’s defended his title once(you can say twice, but Carwin was the interim champ), and he literally ran from his opponent and curled up in the fetal position. He also looks to have gained an extra person in size between the time he entered college and went to the WWE. Basically what I’m saying is this guy roid’ed and HGH’d himself into a monster and it almost killed him. He doesn’t have a 3rd of the skill of most heavyweights and he doesn’t beat Cain.
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