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ASK THE TORCH: Amadi answers reader questions on UFC business decisions, what made Brock Lesnar a massive draw
Nov 13, 2012 - 12:00:23 PM ASK THE TORCH: Amadi answers reader questions on UFC business decisions, what made Brock Lesnar a massive draw

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By: Jason Amadi, MMATorch Columnist

Nathan writes: Do you think that it's fair of Dana to always look over people because of a business decision? There are so many fighters deserving of a title shot, but then he just gives the shot to someone who will draw PPV numbers. Is there a point in having a belt anymore or is it just a prop?

A: I don't think it's fair to suggest that the UFC regularly gives out unwarranted title shots. Before Chael Sonnen was granted a title shot against Jon Jones, you'd have to go all the way back to Brock Lesnar-Randy Couture to find a case where a guy was given a title opportunity without any real justification.

It's easy to sit back and call pretend that Dana White puts together events for his own gain, but it's the UFC's responsibility to their fighters to draw the biggest buyrates, get the biggest ratings, and ultimately secure them the biggest paydays. When it comes to the UFC and its fighters, the aphorism "a rising tide lifts all boats" rings 100% true.

In the lead up to his fight at UFC 153, Jon Fitch was telling anyone who would listen about how hard it is to make money in MMA these days compared to a few years ago. The reason for that is that MMA is less popular now than it was then. There are less big fights, there are less people purchasing pay-per-views, and there are less people watching on television. As a result, there are less people attending seminars, sponsorships have dried up, and there is less money to be made overall.

The whole Jon Jones-Chael Sonnen fiasco is a perfect example of the UFC making a tough call for the overall health of the sport. The Ultimate Fighter franchise is essential to the UFC's business model. TUF gets UFC content into (potentially) millions of homes on a weekly basis. To keep the series alive in the United States, they had to bring in coaches for next seasons that would bring in ratings and hopefully draw on pay-per-view.

Giving Chael Sonnen a title fight obviously wasn't ideal, but it could potentially save TUF, perform well in the ratings, and then do big numbers on PPV. In the meantime, they get to establish a legitimate number one contender with two guys who were both promised title fights.

Sure, you could argue about what's fair and what isn't, but ultimately everyone involved is going to make more money from this set up than any other alternative.

As for whether or not any of this demeans the championship, of course it doesn't. There was a lot of talk about Ronda Rousey not being the rightful number one contender for the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Title earlier this year. After she broke Tate's arm and took her title in less than a round, all of that talk stopped dead in its tracks. Say what you will about matchmaking, but once the cage door shuts, the better fighter will get their hand raised. Or maybe they'll get screwed by the judges, who really knows?

Steven writes: I was/still am a HUGE Brock Lesnar fan. I admire his dedication to whatever he does. And there's no question (in my mind), had he have had the adequate time and experience, he probably would've been one of the UFC's greatest heavyweights ever. One thing no one at all can question: his star power for drawing PPV buys. I understand a majority of this was due to his WWE days. But is there anyone now or up-and-coming you can think of that has the potential to draw "Brock" type numbers every PPV? Will Jon Jones get there? Silva and GSP don't consistently do it... who could be the UFC's "next big thing"?

A: There were so many factors that contributed to Brock Lesnar's pay-per-view success with the UFC that I can't say with any sort of confidence that anyone will ever be able to replicate it.

First of all, the UFC had just begun to really explode in popularity when Lesnar debuted in 2008. Their brand was just incredibly strong at that point, and there was tons of demand for their content. The year prior, Zuffa had purchased Pride, they brought all their stars over and were doing dream matches left and right. As all of this was happening, Randy Couture (at the time, UFC Heavyweight Champion) got into a bitter contract dispute with the UFC and decided to chase, what was at the time, the dream fight to end all dream fights. I could go on and on with what was happening at that point, but to make a long story short, Brock Lesnar picked the perfect time to try his hand at mixed martial arts.

Obviously having two years of weekly television exposure with the WWE made Brock Lesnar a star before he ever stepped foot in the Octagon. But, what really put Lesnar over huge and what separates him from all other former WWE superstars that have since tried their hand at MMA is that he started off his career competing against elite fighters.

I had always hoped that Brock Lesnar's career would have turned out a bit better so that it could have avoided this comparison, but Lesnar's success here in America isn't at all unlike what Bob Sapp was able to do in Japan. As it turns out, seeing big, monstrous dudes thrown into the deep end of combat sports (with no experience) and watching them initially succeed really piques people's interest. Who knew?

When guys slowly come up through the ranks like Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones have, they prove their superiority over tougher and tougher competition. In the case of those three, they reach the elite level of their weight class and then prove to be leagues beyond them as well. When athletes are that proven and their superiority over their contemporaries is that well established, fans in this sport can no longer suspend their disbelief and pretend that they're in any sort of danger.

They can all still draw big because they're stars, but they'll likely never be able to do it with the sort of consistency that Brock Lesnar was able to.

When Brock Lesnar would compete, it was a big star against guys that were more experienced and all around better fighters. That type of dynamic is almost impossible to replicate, because in MMA, you only really get to be a star these days if you blow everyone away on your way to the top.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter @JasonAmadi and direct your "Ask the Torch" questions to askmmatorch@gmail.com