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[foutch550]

IMO, your options are pretty damn thin in the HW division. Bringing Randy back, while huge, is already a laid out plan. Id say in Randy's mind, his new 3 fight contract is (1st fight) Brock, (2nd fight) Big Nog/Mir and (3rd fight) Fedor. In the 3rd fight, I believe its a possibility that Dana will be much more open to signing a Couture/Fedor fight. Win or lose, Couture is done. So what would Dana care?

The HW division is too thin to expect a 3 fight winning streak over top contenders like you could have in the LHW or WW divisions. It seemed like alot of people were pushing Kongo til he lost to Herring, but no one wanted to see another Herring/Big Nog. So Herring had to wait. Mir beats the heavily hyped Lesnar which sets up the whole TUF coaches plan. So it only made sense to put Lesnar/Herring together, which Lesnar won impressively for his 2nd UFC, 3rd mma fight ever. Right now, I think the UFC is doing what they can with an improved, yet still thin HW division.

[dagreat1]

I fully understand that it's a business but as a consumer I don't want to hear that stuff, it simply doesn't interest me in the slightest.

The UFC went from $40 million in the hole to being worth $100 billion.

If you look at the history of the UFC you will see that modern UFC is very similar to vintage UFC. Chuck hand picking opponents, Tito hand picking opponents, Vernon White getting a title shot, etc. However, back then it was a failing business so Chuck, Tito and Randy needed to constantly be in the big fights. With the 250 fighter roster that the UFC currently has they have a plethora of top tier talent and don't need to still award undeserving title shots or #1 contender fights.

I guess it just really lies within the person. I'm not cool with someone getting a #1 contender fight they didn't deserve and then winning that fight and getting a title shot. It leaves people like Machida and Werdum out in the cold who have earned their title shots. To those that stated they were OK with Lesner or ANY fighter for that matter getting an undeserved title shot as long as they get to see GSP vs Penn II or any other big name fight. That's what the UFC is banking on, individuals willing to turn the other cheek and remain silenced like little muts and remain content with TUF filled fight cards as long as there's that 1 big fight on the card.

I just want the best to fight the best, was that not the main marketing/selling point the UFC has been making for the past 5 years? So what happened to that angle?

Someone spoke of Lesner not deserving a title shot but if he can beat Randy they are OK with it. I'm not because for one he didn't earn either of the #1 contender fights in the first place and ontop of that the selected opponent is a favorable matchup for him compared to the other option which is Nog or yet another option which is Kongo or yet another option which is Werdum.

It's a big NAME main event but think about the matchup, how is this FIGHT going to be exciting? Can Couture stop a Lesner double leg? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say no. Can Couture get back to his feet after being taken down? Again out on a limb, maybe within the first round or 2 but after that, no. Was the Lesner vs Herring fight really exciting to anyone? I found it incredibly boring after the initial knockdown. Why is the Couture fight going to be any different other than it likely lasting 25 minutes?

Couture is a master at solving puzzles but the solutions for power are a ground game, elusive movement (Machida, Anderson) and KO power... Couture has none of those.

I find the whole "it's business" line to be such a huge copout. It's an answer that is simply used to generalize every issue and is something an Exec typically says, not a consumer/fan.

[Malice]

dagreat1 I have the same concerns as you.

It is real unfortunate where MMA is going...

Brock Lesnar and Kimbo Slice are headliners.

Real unfortunate for MMA, it is unfortunate that hardcore fans here are actually accepting match-ups like these.


I think Affliction has a real chance to capture the hardcore fans, I really hope they keep it up.

[edthepimp]

My friends are tired of hearing me whine about this already but all this thing with Brock and Randy is missing is for Dana to put on a purple sparkly suit and shout at them through a megaphone. I dont care if it is what sells. They claim to be trying to legitimize mma as a sport.... well how does random title shots for the undeserving promote a controlled systemized ranking system like all the other "legit" sports have? Brock = media coverage = $$$

[strife]

I haven't read every post but I will say this dagreat.

The phonies and the non-elite all weed themselves out eventually, so if Brock really isn't any good, when he inevitably fights Nog/Mir (again) IF he gets passed Randy, he will just drop the fight like we all expect. If he's really the real deal and actually has what it takes and beats these legends of the sport, isn't the UFC in the right by pushing him to the top and marketing the living shit out of him? Realisticly he has 0 shot at beating Nog, and even smaller of a shot at beating Werdum if they ever fight. So if you really dislike Lesnar all that much, I wouldn't worry about it. Like I said, if he can't hang with the big dogs time will weed him out of the picture.

[Malice]

^^ True they all weed themselves out, but honestly A 2-1 guy fighting a multi-time returning UFC Champion is just bullshit.


There has to be a balance between Business and Bullshit.

UFC is leaning towards Bullshit.

[strife]

Lets be frank here, Brock is going to have to up his game beyond what he did against Herring to have a shot at beating Randy. Randy's stand-up improved leaps and bounds in the Sylvia and Gonzaga fights, using much better head movement and moving in and out. I'm not a Randy hugger, he's far from even being my favorite fighter in the division but there's no reason to write him off just because he was beaten by Ricco or Barnett. Brock is MUCH MUCH MUCH underskilled compared to Ricco or Barnett, and not only that he only has 3 pro fights. I don't see how Couture wouldn't be able to sub Brock, he just needs to avoid giving up dominant position to Brock.

[alfin]

Originally Posted by CanaanCreed

I don't think Brock DESERVES a title shot right now however, I understand what's happening. It's a win-win situation for Dana and the UFC.

Brock wins; Huge PPV #s, Randy gets a loss (embarrassed), they have a marquee name with massive drawing power as their champ.

Randy wins: Huge PPV buys, Brock has an excuse (he lost against one of the greatest HW's of all time in his 3rd UFC fight), Randy then figts Big Nog and then they put together the Fedor fight.

It's money in the bank. ANY fight promotion would kill for this opportunity.

i agree who else would you have coluture fight . he can't fight nog he can't fight mir put him up against someone who you want to be the next big thing. If randy loses that what he gets for leaving in ufc mind , if he wins it's see why we wanted him back so bad.

[edthepimp]

I dont think brock will land that telegraphed overhand right on randy... i hope randy whoops the royal piss out of brock (not that im a brock hater) but anytime you face a guy with brocks physical gifts its gonna be a tough day.

[Squeako]

UFC = Business/Entertainment
MMA = Sport

Really, 3/4 of the fighters vying for the title didn't earn a shot.
1) Nog did, since he beat Tim, but that's it.
2) Randy didn't earn it, he was gifted a fight with an injured Sylvia it to sell PPV.
3) Mir didn't earn it, he was expected to lose and build up Lesnar but messed up the plan.
4) Lesnar sure as hell didn't. He lost to Mir, then fought someone whose style is tailor-made for a big, strong wrestler; get him on the ground and he'll turtle until he can roll out, but was overpowered by a 280 lb Koscheck.

That said, I'll watch all three fights (Randy/Brock, Mir/Nog, and title match). I just hope Randy is able to get a punch in before he's laid on for five rounds.