| Thumbs up! Well worth the $44.95 price tag I paid. Sometimes we get too wrapped up by speaking with folks that are very close to the situation. Here's my thoughts from 2,500 miles away from basically UFC's target PPV audience. That sound you hear is people lining up to pay money to watch Lesnar get what's coming to him. I had a party for this with a bunch of people who never watched UFC or were vaguely familiar with it. Every person enjoyed it a lot and when everyone was leaving they all asked when the next one was because they wanted to see Lesnar get his ass handed to him. Scary looking knockout by Henderson, that second punch is where "accidents" can happen and gives the anti MMA crowd feul for the fire. That's the stuff brain damage is made of. Legit knockouts are always entertaining to watch from home but I coud have done without the second punch. That's not fun to watch. GSP is a class act and I will pay money to watch that man fight for as long as he continues. The perfect face of UFC for the public. Grandmothers will want to root for him. Brock is a giant and anyone who thinks that fight was boring is crazy. Watching Mir try to stay awake while get pounded with stiff shots from a freak is good entertainment. Wish it wasnt so one sided but that happens sometimes when you get 2 men in the octagon. I was surprised it went to round 2, Lesnar could have had dinner in the middle of this fight and then still finish Mir off. Mir was classy in defeat, Lesnar was....well Lesnar. His post fight interview was worth 500,000 buys alone for his next PPV. All in all a very entertaining PPV and Dana White has to be smiling somewhere right now. He must also be crying at some point as he is tasked with trying to keep Brock in line, which cannot be easy. I will not pretend to know enough about MMA to give any type of BS analysis but I do know when I got my money's worth and that's my feeling after last night. Vince McMahon should be taking notes, UFC has a person that the average fan will dislike so much they will be willing to pay almost $50 to watch lose. Jeremy Nunes Hey Dave - I thought you might be interested in knowing what the crowd size was like at the sports bars last night. I went to a very large bar in the DC area (probably 100 tables or so spread out in three rooms) that is "the place" to go to watch the Washington Capitals. Now as you may or may not know, the Caps are huge around here and during the playoffs this season, they were setting all kind of TV ratings records for hockey. When I would go to this bar to watch the hockey games, I would usually get there about 30-45 minutes early to ensure that I got prime seating and never had an issue doing so. Well last night, my buddy and I went down to the bar around 9pm, partially because we wanted to get a table but mostly just because we were starving. Well, when we got there, nearly every table was full. They even turned all the pool tables (10 or so) into makeshift tables that sat eight people. We were lucky enough to find a table in a not so prime location but with a small TV to watch so we were happy. Within minutes, every other seat was taken. Before the Lesnar/Mir fight I was getting nervous so I decided to stand up and it was at that point that I really got a grasp on just how crowded the bar had gotten. I am not exaggerating when I say that there had to have been at least 1,000 people in this bar. It was so crowded, you would have thought we were in a Vegas nightclub...it had to have been a fire code violation. The Caps playoff games were nowhere near as crowded as it was last night.
I'm not sure what the correlation is between sports bar attendance and buyrate, but if there is a strong one, then this buyrate is going to very very big.
Scott Gold | UFC 100 Thumbs Up Best Fight: Henderon vs Bisping Worst Fight: Fitch fight Really good card, with only 2 other under card matches sneaking in besides the triple main event matches. This was the highest attended PPV I've ever hosted, by leaps and bounds. People were definitely curious about Brock/Mir and I think it delivered. Brocks promo after the fight was gold. The ONLY thing he could have left out was the Coors light thing. I could care less about that but I'm sure Dana and UFC got some serious fucking heat from Bud Light about that and I'm assuming they're a very important sponsor. Also when he approached Frank after the fight, I thought that was unnecessary. He should have thanked Mir for cutting those great promos, selling the fight as best as he could. Instead, he took it personally, big time. No matter what you say about him or if you love/hate him, Brock is controversial and puts asses in the seats. All of this extra stuff only adds to the intrigue of Brock Lesnar. Brocks face was hardly nicked after the fight, and Mirs looked like hamburger meat. Just a brutal beating there. Who's next for Brock? Winner of Carwin/Cain? Or Nog/Randy? I can't wait! The GSP match wasn't as entertaining as I thought it would be but thats only because he dominates Alves. Henderson killed Bisping with an additional punch that was not necessary and makes the sport look bad. Some people were cringing watching that punch replayed over and over. Dan certainly didnt help his case after the fight when he admitted that he knew he was out and he still threw in that extra shot just to shut him up. Thats the type of shot that could lead to some serious, serious injury. No need for that Hendo. The Fitch fight never had a shot of getting over due to its slot and the Akiyama match was pretty decent. Bill Zdon Ya know, I think I have to go thumbs down. There really weren't any great or even very good fights.
Best fight: Akiyama vs. Belcher I guess by default
Worst fight: GSP vs. Alves
KO: Hendo
Sub: *sigh*
I guess Akiyama vs. Belcher was the only really competitive fight, although I thought the decision reeked, can see Akiyama winning, but 30-27 like on the one card? I thought Belcher won. I don't see Akiyama doing much at 85 in UFC. He can probably make 70 and probably should, although it's sorta academic because he has zero chance against either Anderson or GSP.
Hendo walked right through Bisping, which pretty much everybody saw coming. Horrendous KO. Only really hot moment of the night.
GSP was completely dominant over Alves but the fight was one dimensional and boring. GSP was sorta doing a lotta L&P. Wasn't passing guard, wasn't trying to finish. Wonder if he's gonna get as much crap as Anderson got for the Leites fight, and if not why not (aside from the obvious reason).
Brock fought the perfect fight and never gave Mir an opening to do anything aside from that one combo of strikes in the 2nd and he shut that down right away, but IMO his classless jerkoff display after the fight went way past heel to asshole (and I don't imagine Dana is real thrilled with him shitting on a major sponsor either). Don't see who in the division is gonna beat him and I'm not sure that's a good thing in the long run.
Fitch mostly dominated Thiago in another basically one dimensional fight and reaffirmed that he is and has all along been the #1 contender to GSP, but where is there to go with it? GSP beat him so easy nobody wants to see a rematch.
Crimson Mask .hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { font-size: 10pt; font-family:Verdana } Thumbs up for the big show.
In the almost five years I've been watching UFC live, I had to say there was quite a different atmosphere and buzz going into things tonight and I guess what I am trying to say is that Dana White and company succeeded in getting me absolutely pumped for the fights tonight more than I ever have been before.
As for the PPV fights I'll go in order-
Akiyama I actually thought won on points in that fight upon first viewing. Very close though, I can see how the judges would see it as for Belcher. Both guys got their shots in, Akiyama had him hurt and Belcher with a constant kicking attack. Everywhere I have been (internet wise) since have either had it 29-28 Akiyama (in some cases 30-27) or a 29-28 win for Belcher.
And Rogan himself called it Alan being "robbed." I'm not exactly sure if I'd call it that, but when have we ever heard Joe ever say that? Not very often especially during the show.
Bisping getting KO'd was pretty satisfying for me, and maybe not for the same reasons for what most would think. Being American it wasn't so much about bragging rights and "taking it to the Brit" or whatever crazy vengeful scenario you could think up, I just genuinely think Mike had to have him a piece of humble pie. He had to realize that he hasn't fought really anybody relevant in his entire UFC career, (be it 205 or 185)- Rashad and Leben are tough guys, but really Bisping (for me) was way in over his head and it was a matter of him talking a bit too much to where his performance in the octagon couldn't make up for or help the stuff he was saying pre fight. Seeing the boo's he got tonight and over the course of the weekend tell me that Mike won't be too liked really anywhere they (the UFC) go in the states. But nonetheless, great victory for Dan Henderson and still shows that he's very much still relevant at 38 in a pretty paper thin UFC middleweight division.
The welterweight title fight was maybe a letdown if you look at it from the standpoint that Thiago never really got any good striking going throughout the fight. He spent majority of things on his back and being taken down over and over. I knew that if Georges were a smart man (which he is) he'd take Alves down quickly in the fight and then make the bout a wrestling match as opposed to a striking match. It would take just one shot from Alves to turn the tables on things and we've seen in past GSP get clocked by Serra, so I knew if Matt Serra could ring his bell, Alves would be no different and serious threat to the title. And Matt Serra is dominantly a jiu-jitsu fighter, so there you go.
The only thing I see the MMA community lashing out on this fight is that Georges may have come off that he was really fighting to not finish but to just control and score within rounds and not look to win the fight. This may be seen as true, but what I really love about him is he breaks these guys wills and going into the later rounds he's just keeping the same pace he started with in Round 1. He's not 2006 Tim Sylvia, fighting not to lose instead of win, and I think GSP does have that animal instinct to finish, he's just been in there with top level dangerous guys that if he were to take it easy for one moment he'd get finished.
And Brock/Mir was just a bad schoolyard bully looking for his lunch money kind of beat down and Mir's face will reflect this for days to come. Lesnar was pretty flawless out there and has shown tremendous improvements in not getting over excited and keeping a sturdy game plan and executing it well. Can't really anything good for his attitude though, honestly. I grew up primarily a WWF/WCW fan in the 90's and was a Brock fan in his '02-04 WWE stint and the mannerisms and over the top promos show he's still got that part of him, and it came off in a really bad way tonight, the worst it's looked. At the post fight with Herring it was just a little silly with the stallion riding out of town line, but this was just bordering on a top level WWE "heel" type of guy. It wasn't well received by the Mandalay Bay audience either. The Bud Light/Coors thing was BS to me too. He's getting what 400k for this fight, without any of the extras that come with? How much would not getting any from Bud Light really affect him. Completely rubbed me the wrong way, and even the jumping on Sable later comment made me question if that was really appropriate at the time. I only say this because more and more youth I've come to notice have jumped on the MMA movement and to me I don't Dana or anyone else involved with the event were particularly happy with his post fight antics.
All I would want is for Brock to be more humble. In the Spike countdown he said he has zero respect for his opponents. Excuse me? 0? Couture? But, really at the end of things he's a proven powerhouse draw and the WWE stuff isn't really that bothersome to me, just keep his cockiness in check and not flip off the people who are helping you make your money showing up to your fights. And I know Mir had a lot coming to him, he talked his fair share, but come on. We can all agree that Lesnar did step over that "fine line."
And Thiago/Fitch went last, I'll give it a mention. Paulo had early hope with the guillotine and the chokes in the first round, but Fitch was durable and gritty and outwrestled him en route to a easy unanimous decision. Paulo wasn't exposed in the stand up as some would of thought would happen, but Fitch is a wrestler first, and I didn't expect much stand up exchange out of this. I don't know where things go from this for Thiago, but Fitch is slowly building his star again and could make a way up to the title shot again. How about rematch with Thiago? He's beat him before, why not?
Overall I had a fun time tonight and it was just another UFC PPV when it came to, but this whole week I credit Dana and all those involved in making the event seem so special and now I think 101 is going to be totally "sick" in terms of good fights, roll on BJ/Kenny.
Kevin Anderson- Salt Lake City, UT
PS
I missed the Buffer 360! Was it cool? | | Thumbs up. Best: Brock/Mir Worst: Fitch/Thiago Worth every penny. Only complaint is the lack of prelim fights, which of course they had no way of controlling. How in the world does ANYONE score Akiyama/Belcher 30-27? I mean really. I did give the fight to Yoshi but expected a split decision. What I didn't expect was anyone on the planet scoring all three rounds the same way. Someone was blinded by the sexy, apparently. This was probably the first fight I've pulled for GSP, mainly because of all the people who should know better picking him to lose. Every bit as dominant as I expected him to be. Brock was AWESOME! While I enjoyed the heck out of his heel antics following the fight, I can understand those who don't appreciate my love of them. But what's really annoying me are the multitude of those bashing Brock (including Kevin Iole) while seeming to have no problem with Hendo delivering a shot to an opponent he ADMITTED to knowing was unconscious. It seems like one hell of a double standard to scream "bad sportsmanship" for flipping off a crowd booing him while having no problem with consciously trying to injure a defenseless opponent (enjoying both doesn't make me the epitome of class, but at least I'm consistent.) Here's to a successful next 100 PPVs. Michael Roper Columbia, SC | This was a weird show. It was a thumbs up, but definitely the weakest of the last three shows I've seen (98, WEC and Finale) in terms of fights. It also didn't help that my dish cut out during Akiyama/Belcher. But in the end I had a ton of fun watching this show. Lesnar's post fight promo was absolutely awesome and had everyone here in hysterics. Henderson beating Bisping was a great, feel good moment. I enjoyed GSP/Alves, but GSP's cornermen are so entertaining they outshined the fight. So basically this was a show with better storylines than wrestling, better "moments" than wrestling, better promos, and better managers! Well, at least the wrestling of today. Best Fight: GSP vs Alves Worst Fight: Thiago vs Fitch (It seemed fine but it was a victim of circumstance.) Christopher Gilleski I give UFC 100 and thumbs up.
Best match: Henderson vs. Bisping for the crazy knockout. Good fight and it went the way I kinda thought it would. I think anyone who discounted Henderson in this fight have only seen his UFC fights. He seems back up to the level he was at in Pride.
Belcher vs. Akiyama was also a good fight. It could have used a bit of build up on the countdown show just for some background on Akiyama.
I thought that Alves was going to be a bigger threat to St. Pierre than he was. He serioulsy looked like it coming into the cage tonight. I don't know who else is at GSP's level right now. I think if he moves up in weight to fight Silva it would put him at a disadvantage but he would do it depending on how Silva looks in his next fight.
Lesner is always entertaining to watch and I'm glad that he won. Mir looked like he could have come into this fight in better shape, he looked beat up already with the lump on his head and the taped up knee.
Thaigo vs. Fitch was a good fight but obviously really needed to be at the beginning of the card.
My only complaint is that for this show, they could have made it a little longer and shown more of the fights on the undercard. It seemed kinda short for the biggest UFC card ever, especially after all of the hype.
| Jason McNeil | Hi Dave, Just wanted to give my thoughts on UFC 100, I give it a big thumbs up with every match being really good, but a big thumbs down to Brock for showing such poor sportsmanship. 1. Akiyama VS Belcher I thought both guys had great skill, but Belcher was just a little bit better and I thought he was going to win the decision for sure. I was very surprised when Akiyama was announced as the winner, and thought Belcher was maybe robbed of a victory. Akiyama fought with alot of heart, and was hurting, but very good fight between the two. 2. Henderson VS Bisping It was just great to see Dan Henderson knock the lights out of Bisping, what a great knockout! Bisping talks so much trash and is just a natural heel, it was great to see someone just take it to him and and just get knocked cold. Dan Henderson is a legend and this was good fight for him 3. GSP VS Alves Fantastic fight that went the distance, thought for a moment that GSP was going to lose as he seemed to fatigue towards the end and the groin injury. But GSP is a class act all the way and won the decision, this is a perfect example of what MMA is all about and how a UFC champion should behave and act at all times, great fight. 4. Lesnar VS Mir I thought it was a good fight, but not great. I was actually pulling for Lesnar to win, but quickly changed my mind after watching the way he acted before the fight when he refused to touch gloves, and how he displayed himself after he won, just made me sick. Frank Mir showed more respect and class having lost that fight, then Lesnar did winning and becoming the now "Undisputed" champion. I can only imagine what Royce Gracie was thinking when Lesner was yelling profanties and flipping off the crowd after he won. MMA is all about respect for yourself, respect for your opponet, respect for the sport, and respect for the fans. Brock Lesnar showed none of these qaulities, and just came across so poorly as nothing but a punk. Being a wrestling fan and watching Brock make the transition to MMA was amazing, but he was practically given the title after only a few fights,and now that he is the "champion" showed no class, dignity, or respect. He is nothing but a paper champion, and frankly I can't wait for him to lose the title. My prediction is that after he loses his next fight or two, he will walk away from the sport because he has no respect for it and should just go back to WWE land. Thanks, Jon Southerland Clovis, Ca. |
Purists hate him for being the rassler, but that post match interview, flicking off the crowd...I bet they sure would pay to see him get his ass kicked.
So money
Name withheld
Dave,
What a fantastic PPV. Probably in my opinion the best PPV event I've ever seen. The show seemed to move so fast. Lots of nonstop action, big event feel, and truly worth every penny.
Best Fight: Henderson-Bisping
Worst Fight: None
Best Moment: Brock's after fight celebration
First fight I thought was a good outing for Akiyama. He could've taken a full five minutes after the accidental groin kick, but didn't. I don' t think this one's as controversial as some feel. Hendo taking out Bisping was poetic justice, and wow, he does live up to his hype. GSP-Alves was academic. I thought this one was going to be a lot closer. I even thought Alves may have taken the fourth round, but really, GSP is so disciplined. 10 takedowns really tells a big story here.
I was dissapointed that Brock showed a lack of sportsmanship, but after Mir tried to clown out Lesnar, he deserved to get beaten that quickly, and to walk out of the octagon looking like a martian. May Brock's critics be silenced, at least for now. It'll be really interesting to see how many people bought this stacked card. If this could be an introduction for some to UFC, what a hell of a way to jump on the bandwagon. Thanks!
Richard McMullen
Denver, CO
| Thumbs up Best: Brock vs Mir Worst: Fitch vs. Thiago A huge thumbs up since all the guys in the fights that mattered won according to my predictions. LOL at Michael Bisping. Dan is really old and over the hill! A satisfying finish to a TUF season! GSP rules! No one can challenge him. A fight with Anderson is way too ambitious. He's gonna have to wait and see what comes up. I'm predicting Swick for his next fight. F U Frank Mir! I have hated this F###er since his season of TUF. I'm so glad to see Lesnar drill his face into mush and keep the HW title. Brock rules! A. Wong Toronto, ON .hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { font-size: 10pt; font-family:Verdana } UFC 100 Feedback Thumbs way up Best match: Georges St. Pierre vs. Thiago Alves Worst match: None I loved the show and it lived up to the hype. Some might say that Lesnar and Mir wasn't a great fight, but it was one of the greatest spectacles you could see. Lesnar's strategy of basically headlocking Mir and punching him in the face life a schoolyard bully was just...cool. And his promo afterward yet again reminded me of Buddy Rogers after his NWA title win over Pat O'Connor. Joe Rogan looked terrified interviewing him. Watching GSP build his case as the greatest fighter in the world was quite tense for me. GSP was dominant but Alves seemed skilled enough to still end it, especially after GSP said that he was injured. Great drama. After watching Dan Henderson spank Michael Bisping, I think I must have been out of my mind to have thought that Bisping would win. Henderson definitely deserves a title shot. Either that, or he takes on Nate Marquardt for the title shot. Fitch/Thiago and Belcher/Akiyama were both fights I enjoyed as well. Great show. I recently had decided that I preferred pro wrestling over MMA because I preferred creativity to competition. I still feel that way, but the amount that I enjoyed this show does challenge that. Dave Musgrave Markham, Ontario.
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