Did Brock Lesnar’s actions legitimize pro wrestling or tarnish MMA?

Big, how much for you to get this tattoo?

So, last weekend at UFC 100, Brock Lesnar defeated Frank Mir to become the “undisputed” heavyweight champion of the UFC.  After the fight, he proceeded to flip off the crowd, demean Frank Mir, and give a “WWE-like” victory speech.

This seemed to cause an uproar because…well, I’m not too sure.

I’m not a huge MMA fan.  I’m more of a boxing guy, but I watch MMA on the periphery with the guys, and I know who’s who.  Here’s the thing…exactly what is so wrong about showing a little bit of personality?

Is Dana White that terrified of being lumped with Vince McMahon?  Does he think that if his guys show some personality that they’ll be seen as on par with pro wrestlers instead of as fighters? 

I’m pretty sure even the most hardcore of MMA fan isn’t the same kind of guy as the baseball purist here or Joe Buck complaining about Randy Moss’s touchdown celebrations.  The whole god damn sport is based on raw brutality and primal instinct. 

Guys talking trash, showing personality and creating rivalries is what drives interest.  Period.  If you ask me, the entire argument against Lesnar and his actions are wholly based in the fact that he was a former pro wrestler and MMA junkies are so terrified of being lumped with the WWE and its fan base.  

cleaning out the closet, MMA

All right, my goal today is to clear out the old "back log" of posts. They probably won't be long, but I've got a few that i wanted to post, but never finished. Up first, MMA

The UFC had a pretty big fight last weekend, and we have a new Baddest Man on the Planet.

UFC 98 was headlined by the Light Heavy Weight title fight between "Suga" Rashad Evans and Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida., and trust me, the UFC LtHeavy Strap means your the Baddest man on the Planet.

Evans is undefeated coming into 98 and won the strap from fan favorite Forrest Griffin over the winter, with a stunning knock out of the gritty Griffin.

Lyoto Machida, also undefeated, has been called the best fighter nobody likes, because of his "boring" fighting style. Machida is a reactionary fighter who will grind out a victory(think Lennox Lewis in boxing).

Well, the non exciting Machida dramatically knocked out Suga' in the second round, and is still undefeated, and still gets no respect.

In fact, the person that is next in line for a title shot, Quinten Rampage Jackson, has decided to be a host of the Ultimate Fighter, and fight the other host, Rashad Evans, the loser of last Saturday title fight.

So who fights Machida? Well Forrest Griffen and Anderson Silva are fighting at UFC 100, and even though Silva is a middle weight stepping up in class to 205, he is considered to be one of the pound for pound best fighters in the game. The winner of that fight in few months will prob get a title fight with the Dragon sometime next year.

Your Monday Morning MMA

Yes, He's Canadian

So Saturday night was another big UFC PPV, and yes, it was another fantastic show that keeps MMA head and shoulders above boxing.

UFC 87 was billed as one of the deepest cards in recent history, as 3 fights were on the card that could be considered main event level matches, and all three went the distance.

The first of which was Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta, which saw KenFlow take it to the SI cover boy and win decidedly in by decision. I didn't get to really watch this fight as much as the others because of a the distance I was from the TV at the bar I watched it from.

As my party got smaller at the bar, me and bizzle decide to get closer for the other two fights, and found a table much better suited for watching the fights.

After a couple of fights from people i didn't know very well, both knockouts, both entertaining, the "double main event" was ready to get rolling.

As a fan of WWE, and well pro wrestling in general, I was skeptical when I heard former WWE champ Brock Lesner was going to become a MMA fighter, but I was intrigued. His first fight saw him come out of the gate swinging, and then punching on his opponent and pummeling him with his brick like fists, but one of his shots landed on the back of the head, and the ref stood the fighters up to dock Lesner a point, and then the savvy vet Frank Mir caught the big guy in a ankle lock.
While the end result may have been what most MMA experts thought would happen, Lesner getting submitted, even the most hardcore MMA guys thought Lesner looked good in his opening fight till he was docked that point.

That brought us to last Saturday, where Lesner got his second chance in the UFC, and needed to win to continue to be a big draw. And win he did. In the first 30 seconds or so his fight with Heath Herring, Lesner Landed a straight right square on Herring's cheeking, sending his flying backward about 20 feet. It was almost like a cartoon punch. Lesner swung, connected, and Herring was sent flying over backward. To Herring credit, he recovered quickly, and avoided a knockout, but Lesner continued to pound on the guy over and over, using his 15 pound weight advantage to smother Herring on the ground for the better part of the three rounds.

Lesner still has a long way to go, but he won this fight, and looked good doing it.

Then it was time for the real main event, George St. Perrie vs. Jon Fitch, for the welterweight championship strap. GSP is thought of as one of the best fighters in the world, of any weight class, and against of the hottest MMA stars today (Fitch had won 8 or 9 straight UFC fights) GSP proved all the experts right. From the opening bell, GSP dominated this fight. He knocked Fitch around early, and then took him to the ground for some classic GSP ground work. After the first round was over, Fitch was bloodied and GSP didn't even look tired.

Despite the lopsided decision, 50-43, 50-44, 50-44, for GSP, i will say this for John Fitch, the guy can take a punch. 4 or 5 times during that fight, GSP connected with fantastic shots that should have ended the fight, but every time Fitch would recover and continue.

Overall it was one of the better Cards that I've seen in awhile, but not the best. Look forward to Liddel/Evans next month.

Coolest moment ever in UFC

Now, I am a semi UFC/MMA fan. I like to watch it and I know a little bit about what goes down. I now have a new favorite fighter, Nate Quarry. He fought some douche bag guy from Canada named Starnes at last weeks UCF 83. Here is a tribute video to Starnes who just runs away. Why is Quarry my fav? Watch until the end and you will find out.



Just like Rocky ended the cold war, I think we can now all get along with Canada.

H.T. Fanhouse