More chiming in on the weekend


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Excellent rant in the update today.  Brilliant stuff, you guys have
outdone yourself this weekend with the audio shows and updates.
Mike DeGeorge

Thumbs way up -  big show with hype actually lives up to expectations.     
 
Best match - Lesnar / Mir & GSP / Alves. Being Canadian I have to vote for the GSP match, especially after learning he pulled a muscle halfway though.
 
Worst match - Fitch vs ???. Maybe it would have been a better match but after that main event a slow paced conservative match left no impression.
 
OK so I predicted Lesnar by 2nd round MAULING and I guess I got it right. I was surprised Lesnar didn't want to stand like he did with Couture but maybe he wanted to prove he wasn't scared of being on the ground with Mir. This makes it real tough to do Mir / Lesnar III because Mir looked to have nothing for Lesnar. The post fight antics were 95% awesome, the beer comments were stupid and he should get in deep crap for that but everything else was awesome. I will say that in a room of non-wrestling fans the option was reversed for them but I just kept thinking how each and every guy in the room is going to want to see Lesnar beat up. I also have a tough time Dana White didn't think the exact same as me, which is, be as crazy as you want without dissing the sponsor.
 
GSP looked great - almost too great. How do you beat this guy? Even injured he can take anyone down and hold them there. On the feet he has KO'ed guys in the past but I think he knows he cannot lose on the ground and will not even take punishment, but on the feet a Serra-like incident could happen at any time. Great for prolonging the career but it is good for him that people like him because nto finishing on the ground could be considered boring to some. But who does he face? Mike Swick??? Hard to promote Swick as a guy who can beat him. The only fight for him is vs. Silva, or if someone drops from 185, or Sheilds comes in, or maybe another match with Hughes - not that it would be competitive, but an Ultimate fighter with Hughes as the bad guy will do buys even if the fight will be a blowout.
 
Will say that Alves did a good job in lasting and not breaking, and showed real class afte the fight.
 
I also have no problem with Henderson continuing to punch, he stopped as soon as the ref got a hold of him, and in this sport you have to keep fighting until the ref stops it. What he did was no worse than Koscheck did on the Fight for the Troops (knocking down a guy when he is already out). Sadly that is part of the sport.
 
On a side note I would love to hear an interview with Bisbing.
 
 
GREAT show - Dave was there any thought to making it 4 hours with the two title fights? I know that 2-3 more undercard fights would have not made the show too long, because the anticipation for the 3 main events carried the whole show.
 
One more note - before the fights earlier in the evening, I went to the local grocery & liquor stores and probably saw 15 people wearing UFC / Tapout gear - it seemed like every third person was going to be watching the fights. I live in Halifax NS which always buys a lot of PPVs but based on how many people were dresses up for the fights I expect the buyrate to be crazy high - I have never seen so many people out and about with UFC / MMA gear on.
 
Andrew Warnica

Hey Dave:
 
Not expecting a response to this and please know I'm not trying to 
start an argument re: Henderson's "extra shot."
 
First off, it was tough to watch (even as much as I wanted Bisping to 
get beat).
 
My question is this:
 
Is it the responsibility of the fighter who delivers the punch to 
dictate whether his opponent is knocked out?
 
Specifically, should Henderson have not thrown that second shot? Or is 
his job to finish until the ref steps in?
 
The irony is that Henderson has been both criticized (and 
complimented) for his rep as a nice guy, e.g. Pride 13, it appears he 
didn't realize that Renzo Gracie was out when he took a second shot at 
him after the KO.
 
There is no doubt, that shot was to make a point but I hope that fact 
doesn't necessarily negate my general question.
peace,
G
 
 
 
George Maranville

 


Hands down without question Brock Lesnar owned not just Mandalay Bay 
but each and every sold out man cave, living room, sports bar and wing 
joint that televised UFC 100.  Channeling a time in professional 
wrestling where things weren't so homogenized, Lesnar had the audience 
in the palms of his hand - at times loving to hate him and then hating 
to love him.  Back and forth, back and forth.  Combat wonderment.
 
How rich was it to see a conflicted crowd struggle to find their 
bearings as a bully stuffed the hometown kid, then violently shut him 
down only to pour a little salt into that wound with a post fight 
"assessment" of the bout proceeded by shining that grin, his UFC 
Championship and a babe around his arm as he exited Vegas?  Poetic.  
Exciting.  Fresh.
 
Yes, he was a bully and devoid of humility in his domination.
 
But that's not necessarily a bad thing.
 
Sure, he didn't help icy Budweiser-UFC relations, but it won't kill 
the deal.
 
But the UFC brand and Mixed Martial Arts as a sport aren't scarred.
 
Naturally, the MMA blogosphere is abuzz and the message boards have 
hit the double digits with pages and pages on hyper analysis and 
discussion of the UFC Heavyweight Champion.  MMA net reporters are 
furiously punching up op-eds over the notion - this fantasy - that MMA 
needs to be a sterile politically correct enterprise to succeed and be 
accepted by Corporate America (it doesn't - just ask ESPN, AOL and 
every medium from papers to the web to cable TV that gave Saturday 
night coverage).  The MMA community is talking.  That much is for sure.
 
I say:  Great!
 
Why?  Because not only is the MMA community talking about UFC's World 
Champion but the average guy who doesn't know the difference between 
an MMA fighter, an Ultimate Fighter or a bull fighter is talking.  
Today at the sold out water cooler, people who don't know there is a 
MMA world outside of the 3 letters UFC will be talking and their 
friends who have even less of a clue about UFC will want to know more 
about this "outrageous" World Champ - and the UFC as a whole.  
Questions like: "who does Brock fight next?"  "When is UFC coming to 
NYC?"  And - "When's the next PPV?!" will be asked.
 
Things were almost getting TOO sterile and predictable in the new 
sponsor regulated, EA Game blackballing era of UFC.  Brock is just 
what the doctor called for.  He has the tools from his WWE tenure to 
project a larger than life persona and knows how to play the role - 
but more importantly has the balls to go there.  Combine that with his 
expanding skill set, ease with ground control and newfound commitment 
to stay to strategy, this guy has got the world in his hands right now.
 
People have a heightened interest and are talking and they are talking 
with passion not seen in a looong time.  And if you are UFC or a fan 
of MMA, that's a good thing.
Court Bauer

One other thought: Lesnar still doesn’t seem to have any submission skills. His strategy consists of him mauling his opponent until the ref stops it, which is fine but I think will make his matches go longer than they have to. My guess is that is going to come back and bite him in the future when he fights a submission specialist.

 

Having said that, he’s a blast to watch and a match with Fedor might break all-time PPV records.

Thumbs up.

 

Best fight: Lesnar-Mir. While technically it wasn’t the most interesting fight, the hype – and the prospect that Mir could grab an ankle or wrist and get Lesnar to submit --- made it the most exciting.

 

Worst fight: All the fights on the PPV were good.

 

 

Thoughts: I absolutely loved Lesnar’s antics before and after the fight. GSP may be the best fighter in the world but Lesnar was the only one with the rock star vibe.

 

Also, I listened to Bill Simmons podcast where Dave said at some point, there will probably be a fatality in a televised match. For a second, I though that prediction came true on Saturday after Henderson KO’d Bisping and then belted him again. I really did think he was dead the way he was laying there. Scary.

Brett Davey

 

Hi Dave,
 
I'd give UFC 100 a thumbs up, despite the Japanese broadcast (WOWOW) airing
only four matches in their entirety.
 
Best match - Lesnar vs. Mir, primarily for Lesnar's wildly entertaining
post-fight interview and the fact he was able to control and damage Mir in
the first round using nothing more than a modified half-nelson. Sick!
 
Worst match- None
Bisping/Henderson wasn't going anywhere, but the highlight reel KO and
follow-up bombs-away forearm smash more than made up for the lack of
fireworks.
 
After countless times of Dana professing how he does nothing but eat, drink,
sleep, and live MMA, in the end, he truly doesn't get it. The business is
built around marketable stars and characters and Lesnar's post-fight tirade
was one of the best MMA heel interviews in recent memory. Dana was turned
off by this? This is stunning. Why did Dana sign Brock in the first place?
It wasn't simply because he was a Division I NCAA champion wrestler. It was
because Brock Lesnar was a big-name pro wrestler who exuded big-time pro
wrestling attitude. And now he wants to squelch that? Other than Brock's
comment about mounting his wife, his antics weren't as bad as the press is
making them out to be. 
 
Sorry, but if Dana is that paranoid over one of his fighters refusing to bow
in obsequious servitude to a sponsor, then the UFC business model isn't as
secure as it seems. Good for Brock; Bud is a lousy tasting beer anyway.
 
By the way, did you happen to see who was on the cover of the special UFC
100 commemorative magazine? Royce Gracie? No. Randy Couture? Try again.
Chuck Liddell? No sir. None other than Dana White, and Dana alone, graces
the cover. I've always supported Dana until now, but I think it's becoming
nearly impossible to deny that Dana craves to be the true star of the show.
 
Finally, Henderson wasn't in the wrong with his follow-up flying forearm
smash on a prone Bisping. Until the ref motions to stop the fight, a fighter
should continuing pursuing his opponent and constantly be in "finish" mode.
 
Regards,
 
George Guida


 .hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { font-size: 10pt; font-family:Verdana } Hey Dave and Bryan,
 
The show went over well with the group of 4 I had over.  This is the first time I've gotten anybody to come over and help pay for a show, so the interest was there.  3 of them weren't regular watchers but have seen a show here or there at bars and watch Ultimate Fighter casually.  They were also wrestling fans and had an interest in Brock already.  I've been regularly watching since UFC 70something but my first UFC was 3 and have probably watched 2 dozen or so shows up until I got into it regularly (money helps).
 
The fourth was my dad.  We'd both been busy the past few months and hadn't seen each other for awhile.  Earlier in the day he called and I invited him over thinking he wouldnt be interested.  As far as I know in my 34 years of living, my dad has never watched any sports let alone wrestling, boxing, or mma.  But he showed up to my surprise.  He didn't even know what we were about to watch.  Everyone showed up at 9 so we could watch the countdown special from earlier.  After it was done my dad was all hyped up about 'that Brock guy' but thought that the preshow was what we got together to watch.  He asked 'so what day is the fight?' and we all laughed and told him that's what was about to start.  Then he got giddy.  It was kind of funny.  Anyways, he loved the show and thought Brock was the baddest bastard on the planet and thought his post fight interview was hilarious.  He pretty much hasn't stopped talking about it all day so clearly nobody told my dad that Brock was bad for business.  He's already planned to be there for UFC 101 and doesn't have a clue who anybody is.
 
My thought on Belcher/Akiyama was that Belcher won, but everyone else thought Akiyama did.  I had 10-9 for Akiyama in the first, and the rest for Belcher.  I didn't think Akiyama did much with the 2 takedowns he got and that Belcher connected more standing with his striking and jabs to take those last 2 rounds.  But I did think it was close enough that I didn't feel it was a robbery or anything.  The judges 30-27 was pretty ridiculous though.
 
It seems like I'm not the only one that thinks Ziggler is friggin awesome.  WWE seems to be strapping the proverbial rocket to his ass at the moment.  I guess we'll see how long that lasts.  But do they really think casual fans are going to take him seriously as a main eventer with that stupid name?   They're neutering these guys before they even have their first match with dumb characters and stupid names.  Sometimes I feel like they are purposely trying to sink the company.
 
And while I'm yacking... maybe this is a question for Lance Storm or Buddy... but do the guys in the back/real life call each other by their real names or by their stage names?  I'm assuming you don't call the Undertaker by that name cause that would be wierd.  But in the case of Dolph for example, would you call him Dolph or Nick (or whatever his real name is)?  Is it just how personal a relationship you have with them?  Just seems like it would be confusing sometimes.
 
So much for a quick comment.
 
Take care,
 
Mike Parisien

 

st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }

I thought Lesnar was unreal, although downing Bud Light clearly was big picture unwise.  My non-wrestling type friends only had a problem with the “go home and lay on my wife” part of Lesnar’s promo.  They saw that part and ONLY that part as white trash.  One guy (lawyer) said that white trash stuff can scare away sponsors.  When he said that I thought of Flair talking about bleeding virgins at MSG and Vince going nuts on him because of sponsors were there.  Anyways, food for thought.  I thought it was just funny, but I think there is a point there when it comes to that part of it.  Otherwise everyone thought it was a great show, some wondered about GSP not being spectacular, but that was moreso just because they have heard all the Canadian hype on him and they just assume he is some kind of KO freak, not realising that those takedowns one after the other were damn spectacular as far as the science of the sport.

 

WWE Vintage on THE SCORE had outstanding matches on Saturday.  Bret vs Waltman and Pillman-Liger.

 

 

Name withheld

Dave,
 
I felt a lot more strongly about Lesnar's antics than you did. I don't
think there was anything inherently wrong with them and they weren't
any worse than a lot of what you see in the NFL or NBA, but this is a
sport that still isn't there with a lot of the editors and producers I
talk to. Making the sport look like slightly more respectably pro
wrestling doesn't, fairly or not, help, especially in their biggest
ever show. It might help his draw, but I think it was bad in the big
picture. (And this actually has nothing to do with his WWE
background—I'd say the same thing if Rampage had cut the same promo in
the same spot.)
 
That said, you're dead right about Henderson. I was just thinking that
UFC was really fucking lucky that so many people who saw what he did
probably had no idea what they were watching, or that the guy doing it
was someone who carries the kind of respect in the sport that
Henderson does. That was disgraceful.
 
If you want to run this on the site or what have you, please keep my
name off. And as always keep up the terrific work.
 
Name withheld

.hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { font-size: 10pt; font-family:Verdana } Thumbs way up.

Best fight: Brock vs Frank
Worst Fight: Fitch vs Thiago
Best KO: Dirty Dan, obviously
Best sub: sadly....

Off to a solid start with the Akiyama and Belcher fight, plenty of action, at least early on, and I am fully agreeing with the decision rendered.  Not sure what Rogan was going on about on commentary.

Surprising to jump right into Dan and Bisping, and this fight was alright, nothing too spectacular until the brutal finish.  I was actually slightly disappointed to see Dan murderize Bisping with the second shot when he was already comatose on the mat.  I'm not one of those goofy sportsmanship sticklers that was embarassing themselves at the press conference or on the message boards, but Dan's appeal to me was that he was a gentleman, as exhibited in his fight back in Pride where he KOed Renzo Gracie, and checked to see if he was alright before hitting him again.  Dan's still a personal favourite of mine though, and I suppose that's what happens when you make fights personal. 

The GSP vs Thiago Alves fight might have been boring if taken out of context, as it was bordering on Lay 'n Pray (not quite though, GSP was certainly trying to hurt him).  When you take into consideration this was "GSP's toughest challenge to date", a massive, deadly striker with impeccable takedown defence, the guy it would seem who had the best chance of dethroning the champ, then this was actually a marvel to behold, as it became truly apparent how special a fighter GSP truly is, the most dominant and perfect fighter in the world.  Beyond a shadow of a doubt the P4P king of the world. 

Brock vs Mir was everything I was hoping for and then some.  Brock looked terrifying out there, and Mir looked like he had just been run over by a bus.  The post-fight promo was awesome, and stupid or not, the Coors Lite rant was funny, and popped the entire room I was watching in.  And that shot of him screaming into the camera, saliva flying, will amount to millions of dollars down the road. 

Fitch and Thiago ended the show on a bit of downer, but even then it wasn't a horrendous fight.  I'd rather the time be used to show us Jonny Bones, but we can't win 'em all, can we?

Not sure how some of the Sherdog goofs could possibly see this as "a card looking lacklustre going in", as I saw it as one of the most stacked shows ever, and it delivered.

Curtis Hughes 

Just read your update on the site.  Couldn't agree with you more.
Well said and well written.
 
It was nice meeting you this past weekend.  Enjoyed the dinner with
you, Bryan, and the other readers.  Also enjoyed hearing your thoughts
on various topics.
 
-Nomit Shah

 


Judging by our mail, a lot of people who were on the fence about MMA bought into the hype and watched UFC 100 with friends. Many were turned off by the blood, and by Lesnar’s antics after the match. I can see that being a pro wrestling fan actually helps you like the sport, since you see Lesnar as just being a classic heel. We got about 100 letters, about 90% saying the sport should be banned and/or Lesnar should be reprimanded. People seem to really respond to it on an emotional level, and any attempt to explain rules and why it’s safer than boxing (and a few other sports) falls on deaf ears. As one of my friends said “Anything where you can hit a man when he’s down (like Lesnar vs. Mir) isn’t a sport.

 

Meanwhile, on our website, the coverage blew everything else away as far as page views go. It’s up there with the same numbers our Lakers coverage gets, which is unheard of.

 

 

I forgot to add: The same people who are ripping Lesnar now will be keeping an eye on the sport just to see him get beat, so, mission accomplished Brock!

Houston Mitchell

 

It's things like you're daily update today why I've read you for almost 14 years now. A great job.
I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction watching last night's show. I remember reading almost weekly in 1998 how UFC was withering on the vine, with one major cable company after another taking it off their systems, which led into the dark ages. Now, it's the biggest drawing PPV commidity around. Quite an amazing turnaround, and I've read you most of the way to guide me. Thank you, sir.
Jeff
 
Amen, Dave, Amen.

Thanks for providing the tremendous, rational and needed counterpoint to the reaction on Lesnar's statements and actions from UFC 100. Honestly, I know stuff like this blows over for the most part and that MMA and pro-wrestling pale in comparison to the things that "really matter" in this world. Still, it makes me happy and satisfied that there is someone like you around who is there to provide sensible commentary when some journalists go off the rails with their arguments against either forms of entertainment such as in this case. There are so many worse things in the world of sports than what Lesnar said and did last night and some writers or MMA hardcore fans all-too easily forget that in order to slam a former pro-wrestler who is succeeding despite their desire to see him fail.

--Ari Berenstein, Brooklyn NY--

thumbs up..best gsp/alves...worst fitch/lucky punch thiago. Sorry jon...
at my party i bet a buck on bisping just for the hell of it. As i suspected he had nothing for hendo. Its hard to think of where he goes now. Maybe they can create a european belt for him...
alves looked tough and wanted the belt..but the white bruce lee shut him down. I think hes cleaned out 170 and should move up. Either now or after 1 more defense.
brock is the man. Won 30 bucks on him. I will agree the coors light thing was over the line...but the getting on top of my wife thing was gold. The smile on sables face behind him when he said it was even better. She still looks pretty good after all the years and popping out a kid.
 
Matt Vandeventer
.hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { font-size: 10pt; font-family:Verdana } Dave,
 
I could not agree more with your comments about the Lesnar reaction in today's update.  I am a true die hard pro wrestling/WWE fan since 1989 who has made the transition to MMA fan as well largely in part of Lesnar but also partly because there are striking similarities to the product:
 
The emotion.  I have attended UFC 98 event and weight ins, the fan expo, and UFC 100 event and weigh ins live and I can tell you with all honesty that UFC events/fights have pulled the same passion, intensity, and emotional rollercoasters out of me with Evans/Machida, Hughes/Serra, Bisping/Henderson, Lesnar/Mir, and GSP/Alves that rival any Hart/Michaels, HHH/Austin, Benoit/Guerrero, or Rock/Angle matches that I have witnessed live.  Crowd reactions for GSP, Serra, and Henderson that have rivaled those of Rock, Austin, Hogan, and Undertaker that I have witnessed live.    
 
The build up. The UFC does a great job of promoting fights and giving fans access to the real fighters, their real opinions, and the real issues that need to be resolved within their fights.  Then when it's all said and done they do not force feed us who is the heel and who is the face in the situation... they leave it up to us and our own opinion on who we want to cheer, who we want to boo, and who we want to pay to see win or lose... which is something I swore Vince McMahon would like to believe he applies to WWE and it's fans yet that is truly not the case.
 
There are also aspects of the UFC that WWE could not provide to it's fans that would be a dream come true . 
 
Media coverage:UFC also has media coverage and exposure that the WWE will never have as well....  I always dreamed as a kid of one day picking up a newspaper and reading results of saturday nights main event, PPV's, and prime time wrestling on the front page of the sports section being treated with respect and relevance yet that day will never come.  Yet to my delight the Las Vegas Review Journal that I purchased this morning in the airport before my flight home to San Diego had Lesnar and the cover with front page sports features on the fight(profiling Lesnar/Mir and GSP/Alves with little mention of Henderson/Bisping) that really personifies how fast this sport is growing and where the company is really headed in regards to media acceptance(the story on the yahoo change from MMA to UFC is a solid example as well).
 
Fan Expo:  I have attended 4 wrestlemania's live as well as multiple fan axxess events and I can honestly tell you that UFC fan expo delivered a similiar experience on par with what WWE solidly delivers from their axxess events.  Fighter access was great for the fans.  I got the opportunity to meet and greet Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, Diego Sanchez, Shane Carwin, Gabriel Gonzaga, Urijah Faber, Marcus Davis, Gray Maynard, Mike Brown, Miguel Torres, Leonard Garcia, Ben Henderson, and Nick Diaz + many more.  Nick Diaz?, Hell, that was like going to WWE fan axxess and getting an autograph from Jeff Jarret... absolutely amazing and all the above mentioned fighters as well as the one's I left out were absolute class acts who are representing the sport well and treated myself and the rest of the fans with the utmost respect that I truly appreciate and will never forget.   
 
The most hilarious sidenote of the weekend to me being a pro wrestling fan was seeing Marty "champain" Gardner and Al Snow at the UFC 100 weigh ins!  What was Al Snow doing there with a huge camera acting like a photograpsher? 
 
Also seeing Bobby Lashley at the fan expo was funny as well.  I got him to sign my UFC 100 program and take a pic with me after my wife told a story of us meeting him at universal city walk in Los Angeles and that we knew who he was and appreciated him before any of the MMA fans even knew who he was.  He smiled and gladly abliged and then proceeded to leave the expo in a hurried fashion. 
 
Fans can say what they want to say about Lesnar but the facts are that he draws money, he brings new fans in(including myself) and he is doing what he has done best given his experience in WWE to capitalize on his success and draw heat as a performer/athlete that will turn into buyrates, ratings, and bigger paychecks.  I strongly believe he is intelligent enough to play his cards right and remain champion for a long time.
 
Thanks Dave for all you and your team do with the site!
 
-Jose Rodriguez
Pro wrestling/MMA fan
Murrieta, Californa   
I could not agree more with your piece on Brock Lesnar and UFC.
 
The media overreaction is typical to what most of them "think" WWE is all
about.
 
I am more of a pro wrestling fan than MMA, but I thought the UFC 100 was
very entertaining and a lot of that had to do with Brock Lesnar vs. Frank
Mir.
 
Thanks again for your excellent coverage,
Phil Strum
Poughkeepsie Journal
 
 TJ Simers of the LA Times is the Brock Lesnar of columnists.  He
writes to be hated.  He basically writes the same article over and
over again.  He introduces a topic and finds an aspect that should be
talked about and should be taken to task.  But instead of presenting a
rational argument, he instead sensationalizes it using hyperbole and
the proverbial sharp stick, poking at it over and over and over again.
In other words, he is a douche.
 
He gets a lot of heat in the LETTERS section of the paper.  His
editors must love the guy because he gets people talking and has been
around a while.  He is no Jim Murray, though.
 Adam R
 
Brock freakin rules!
 
On the poll today, I'm one of the few who very rarely buys a PPV, UFC
or otherwise. But I bought that sum bitch last night for two reason —
Brock and Henderson.
 
Sweet Daisy Fuentes did it deliver!
 
I've been a Brock fan since Day 1 in WWE. I rooted for him in the NFL
and now I've followed him to UFC. That promo last night has to be the
best mic work he's ever done anywhere.
 
I'm no MMA purest, I'm a pro wrestling fan. But I respect the farts
out of what all these guys do and how hard they train. It's unlike any
sport on Earth.
 
Last night's show was everything I'd hoped for as a fan of watching
people get the crapped kicked out of them.
 
The last shot Henderson delivered was unsportsman like, but it was
still pretty cool.
 
The shows building up to the PPVs the last couple of months are
exactly what WWE/TNA need to do. Make it simple and make it
believable.
 
Your rant today should be on the front page of any and all MMA boards.
 
You guys did great work leading up to this and UFC 100 get a thumb,
fist and forearm straight up somebody's ass!
 
Chad Eiler
Bentonville, Ark.
 

I don’t think it’s as simple as Brock Lesnar being a “heel”.  His promos were actually more “Stone Cold” than people might realize if you want to break it down.  But I think he is that transcendental figure that will take the UFC to the next level.  The two biggest draws in boxing were Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali, were they universally beloved?  No.  Were they universally hated? No. (at least before the Holyfield ear incident)  But they were figures that everyone had a strong opinion of, and paid to see them continue their dominance or get their comeuppance.  Fighting’s biggest stars seem to be the guys that aren’t clear cut heroes or villains, but something bigger than those definitions.  He has an incredibly interesting backstory, an awesome look, and enough mystery to him since he’s only had a few fights.  He’s someone a non fan can understand, and someone a MMA expert can debate.  Brock Lesnar main eventing UFC 100 was the correct call, and he will be that crossover superstar to take the sport to the next level.

 

Steve Te Tai (Inside MMA correspondent)

 

 

 

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Mr. Simers,
 
I read your article and felt compelled to e-mail you. Whether you read it or not I do not know, nor am I going to lose any sleep over it. At the end of the day I know I did my part. My part to defend myself as a fan, defend UFC as a sport, and tell you how I feel about your irresponsible journalism.
 
But the latter point is not one I'm going to go into, because unlike you sir I view it very unfair for me to read one article of yours and judge you're entire body of work based on my snap-judgement. That would be irresponsible. And it would probably leave me with a very high chance of being embarassed when I look like a fool.
 
How many UFC events have you seen? Do you know anything about martial arts? Have you ever spent an hour inside a dojo training? You know nothing about the chokes and submissions you saw people going for, yet you paint such a broad picture of what you saw and the type of people us fans are and what it is we cheer for.
 
We cheer for blood? Really thats the soul purpose? Do football fans strictly go to the events for the hard hits? Hockey fans strictly for a good high sticking? A baseball fan just to see a pitcher throw a 100 mph fastball inside to a batter? Certainly not anymore than fans of the UFC pay $50 of their hard-earned cash, to watch this sport so many of us are embracing.
 
Have you checked Googles top 100 for the day? 15 of the entries in the Top 100 for the day had to do with last nights UFC - and not a single title having the word blood in it. But I'm sure thats not a fact I'd have to tell you right? Because you're a journalist who no doubt takes pride in his work, and would no doubt do extensive research about a topic before you wrote about it right?
 
UFC is going to do over 1 million buys for that show yesterday. The sport is booming, its heading in the complete opposite direction than the industry you are currently in. I wonder why that is?
 
Instead of ripping a part UFC fans, insulting fighters, and talking about a sport you know nothing about, you might want to go back and remember what hard hitting journalism, and actual research is all about. Who knows, it might even save your dying industry. But what do I know? I'm just a blood-thirsty, uneducated fan who can't count to three.
 
Sincerely,
 
Lawrence Musso, Financial Advisor and Avid UFC fan
 
 


    
 

 

 

Dave,
FOUR thumbs UP! Best fight: Lesnar/Mir Worst: None
 
I'm not a big UFC fan and am still not after this PPV. However, all the fights delivered big time! Lesnar's post match promo was one of, if not THE best promo I've ever heard in my entire 30 years on this planet. Just incredible, pissing on a multi million dollar corporation is one thing, pissing on your company's top sponsor just speaks volumes of where Lesnar is and where he's going imo. If he keeps improving, will he EVER be stopped? Not in the next few years imo. GSP looked right and Hendo's SECOND forearm to the face after the knockout shot was EXACTLY what UFC needs more of, fighter's with a taste for BLOOD! GREAT ppv, just fning GREAT on EVERY level. Wow.
 
-Zach Gargus Des Moines, Iowa

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