Contributors/Columnists
SHAWN ENNIS
JASON BENT
MATT PELKEY
ALEX WILLIAMS
JED GOODMAN
FRANK HYDEN
JASON BENT
JOHN TAYLOR
MAYNARD SWEENEY
MARC PATCHING
MIKE JARSULIC
BRUCE MITCHELL APPLY TO JOIN OUR TEAM
Opinion & Analysis
:
Staff Editorials
BENT COLUMN: Brock Lesnar is Real... Good For The Sport By: Jason Bent, MMATorch Columnist
Aug 15, 2008 - 2:48:24 PM
The aftermath of Brock Lesnar's win over Heath Herring has left Lesnar with possibly even more detractors than he had going into the fight. Going into the fight he was 0-1 in the UFC and all of the talk centered around his high rate of pay and his low level of experience and many seemed to feel that he was just simply not going to be able to hang at the elite level of MMA.
Fast forward a week and Brock has summarily thrashed Heath Herring and more than proven that he could possibly be for real. Real as far as really overpowering if his skill set can become equal to his raw power and athletic ability. Of course, real is a nice word to describe Brock now, as up until this point he has been derided as a fake, due to his stint in the world of professional wrestling. It is quite possible that Brock will always hear the derisive remarks in reference to his former vocational choice but I think it is quite wrong to do so.
Randy Couture is starring in a movie that is out right now and not once have I heard that he has somehow made a poor choice, or that he sold out, or that he is somehow less of a fighter because he chose to take an acting opportunity. Yet, everyone derides Brock for taking the opportunity to do something in much the same way for a very handsome payday when he was fresh out of college and looking for some kind of a chance to do something in life.
Now, if and when Randy Couture returns to the ring are we all going to snicker and call him "Hollywood" Couture? Or perhaps a more fitting title of "Straight to Video" Couture? Of course no one will as Randy Couture is always going to be Randy Couture the fighter in our eyes no matter what he does in between fights or for the rest of his working days. As an athlete, I feel Brock should be extended the same courtesy to say the very least.
Lesnar is a highly decorated former NCAA Division I wrestler and while he did take the fast cash of professional wrestling, by no means did he suddenly stop being an elite athlete. Would you suggest that Couture is less of a fighter because he took some time to shoot a movie?
With all of the talk surrounding fighter's pay and all of the grumblings in regards to Lesnar's UFC deal, a lot of people are forgetting that he turned down a lot more money from pro wrestling in order to chase his dreams of competing in the NFL and now inside the UFC's octagon. Frank Mir was working as a bouncer at the Spearmint Rhino not too long ago, and this was a former UFC heavyweight champion; you think he wouldn't have taken the call from Vince McMahon and become a character in a wrestling ring for a few bucks?
I know we all like to harbor this warm and fuzzy feeling that fighters fight for the honor and love of the game but at the end of the day these guys do have to put food on the table and live a life. Brock Lesnar deserves a lot of respect for turning down a lot of money in a wrestling ring to come and take punches in the octagon. He never sold out on his athletic dreams, but I suppose making money is somehow against the elitist fan's code on how to live life.
Beyond all of this talk about Lesnar and his "fake" pro wrestler status and his enormous and unfair contract is all of the moaning in regards to his post-fight actions at UFC 87. See, now that the guy has actually won a fight, and done so in a very impressive way, detractors are forced to find a new bone to pick with Brock. Lesnar defeated a very tough veteran fighter in Heath Herring and even if this were Brock's twentieth professional fight it would still be an excellent showing in the way he manhandled Herring.
Admittedly he still exhibits tendencies that tend to show he is a little unsure of what to do at all times but in time this will come to him and his resume suggests strongly that this shall be sooner rather than later. The man has loads of raw potential and Dana White was right to see dollar signs in signing Lesnar to a contract and he has to be more than pleased that the guy has shown so much promise in such a short time.
Aside from picking apart a few things that he technically did not do against Heath, the fans have been having a field day discussing his actions which so many seem to regard as "classless" and some form of tarnishing this great sport.
Please.
If you can say that what Brock Lesnar's antics were bad for MMA and in the same breath tell me that you can't wait until Quinton Jackson gets back into the octagon, you are a fool. If Brock Lesnar pointing and laughing is the worst thing he can ever do in the octagon, it will be a relief to Dana White to not have to post bail for the guy.
To focus on what Brock did after the fight is akin to being more upset at Reginald Denny's attackers for dancing and mugging for the cameras rather than angry at them for striking Denny with a brick. So what is Brock postured a little and came off like a villain in some folks' eyes? If what he did is so bad then you surely must be Ward Cleaver, living your life without ever uttering a single obscenity and never do you appear in anything but a shirt and tie.
I mean in this day and age of people becoming famous for internet videos that show others engaging in activities that prove to be more embarrassing than being the guy in the ExTenze whose wife says that you really needed it, what does it matter? If seeing Brock Lesnar laugh at Heath Herring is the worst thing you have seen in regards to sportsmanship, you must be a fan of only two sports and they are MMA and chess.
When BJ Penn licked blood off of his gloves there wasn't much of an outrage, and everyone is clamoring to see Penn vs. St. Pierre in a rematch without one mention of any previous transgressions. In fact, when you talk about Georges St.Pierre and speak of how classy he was after his match with Jon Fitch as a way of voicing your displeasure with Lesnar, you are forgetting a lot about GSP. GSP has wagged his tongue more often than Michael Jordan and is known for break dancing and doing back flips in the octagon as a way of celebrating a win.
I guess when it is GSP it is celebrating and when it is a guy like Lesnar it is unsportsmanlike and belongs in the world of pro wrestling. Tito Ortiz made more fans than enemies for donning obscene t-shirts and pantomiming the digging of a grave after a win; yet he is prepared to hit the main stage for Affliction and this is heralded as some pretty exciting news of sorts.
In fact it was the antics and what seemed to be hatred between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock that set the stage for UFC 40: Vendetta and served to kick open the doors for the UFC we are watching today. It was the biggest UFC card ever and a lot of fans who had never watched the UFC before were drawn in from all of the media exposure and hype. It turned out to be a garish mismatch but the rest of the card featured enough action to turn a lot of viewers into UFC fans who remain so as of today. So, just when is it a good thing to talk a little trash and show a personality and when is it a bad thing?
Clearly it all depends on if a fighter is one of your favorites if you can say that you find GSP's dancing to be fun and in no way to be a form of showing up his defeated opponent. Because this same argument could apply to Lesnar as he too had fun and at the same time you could also accuse him of showing up his opponent. You just have to be consistent and it really reeks of fans desperately craving a reason to hate the guy. Of course, it is ok if you do hate the guy.
Just be truthful about why you hate Brock Lesnar and don't use the argument that you found him to be a classless individual who doesn't show respect to his opponent and the sport. Because if you do this, you are going to have to despise anyone who doesn't put their opponents up on their shoulders like it is the MMA version of 'Rudy" and then run a lap around the arena while everyone cheers for the guy who lost.
Remember, this is fighting and it takes some huge stones to get in there and do what these guys do; and it also takes tremendous athletic prowess and a large portion of aggressiveness. You can't go into a fight as if you are 'The Love Guru' and not expect to take an even worse beating than Mike Myers enjoyed at the box office.
Competition brings out emotions in everyone and this is the same if you are a corporate drone working in a cubicle that is fighting the guys in accounting over the last cream filled donut. Believe me, you are not going to exhibit your best behavior here and an office turns into something out of 'Lord of the Flies' when you bring free food into one.
Fighters are the same in how they have to turn it on when it is time to fight; of course they aren't fighting over a jelly donut unless they are sparring with Ricco Rodriguez. What I am trying to say is that emotions are a part of life and especially in regards to competition. To expect Brock Lesnar to calmly shake a hand and bow before Herring and Joe Rogan is completely asinine. Look how you celebrate if you win two dollars on a scratch off lottery ticket and then tell me how Brock Lesnar should exhibit proper decorum inside the octagon.
MMA is rapidly becoming a major sport in this country but it still has a very long way to go before getting coverage on ESPN and respect from those in the media who still deem it as barbaric. Sports fans crave a larger than life athlete and Brock Lesnar may just be that guy to help push MMA to the front page of the sports section.
Look, was Mike Tyson the best boxer of the 1980's? No. Was he the most well known and considered to be the most exciting? You had better believe it. Mike Tyson could have sold out Madison Square Garden if he were masturbating on a stool, and he helped boxing escape the doldrums and rocketship into a new galaxy.
After Tyson's welcome wore off it was Oscar de la Hoya that has become the meal ticket, and at this point he is clearly past his prime but still the biggest name in the sport. Oscar is the fight that every other fighter wants more than anything else. Brock Lesnar could possibly be that guy in MMA and it could mean nothing but positive things for the sport.
I feel that many MMA fans are afraid of the sport becoming too palatable to the masses and then feeling as if this sport is somehow no longer theirs to enjoy because everyone seems to love it. I get that. Kind of like when a band someone has followed for ten years finally hits it big; the old fan feels kind of angry at these new fans for having not enjoyed the band in the years prior. Then the hardcore fans declare that the band sold out and they move on to another unknown treasure.
Does Brock Lesnar make you feel like you could lose your place as being one of a few hardcore MMA fans? Are you angry that the meathead football fans who try to fight other fans over wearing the wrong jersey could suddenly proliferate your ranks? I certainly do not want the Oakland Raiders' "Black Hole" ticket holders suddenly seated next to me at an event but I do welcome their wallets opening up for the fighters' benefit, and to possibly allow this sport that I love to grow and to not just survive but to thrive in years to come.
Perhaps it is not Brock Lesnar who has exhibited a lack of class but rather the fans who have decided that they hate him for what he could represent rather than who he actually is. Fighters like Lesnar represent doors opening for the sport in the future and this is good for all of the fighters that you hold so near and dear to your heart.
Yes, a guy like Kimbo Slice is not exactly the future of this sport but Brock Lesnar is no Kimbo Slice; and for that matter by no means is Slice necessarily bad for the sport. Slice is certainly good for business and at the end of the day this is a business.
Businesses have overhead and in order to continue they need customers willing to part with their money. If featuring Kimbo Slice can draw more eyes to guys like KJ Noons and somehow help KJ to earn more money, I am ecstatic! Because it is all about the good outweighing what we perceive to be so very bad.
Brock Lesnar is not Kimbo Slice. However he could be MMA's Mike Tyson and whether you love him or hate him, when it comes to class it could be Brock who advances this sport's perception and moves it up in class, and perhaps to the same level as other major sports. If you cannot support that which Brock could represent for the sport, than you don't seem like you are as much a fan of MMA as you purport yourself to be. A fan wants that which he loves to thrive so that it can be there for him to enjoy tomorrow and the next day. There is nothing wrong with being a fan; even though some seem to shudder at being lumped in with that group.
Whether or not Brock Lesnar is the future is something for us all to debate but I think the main thing here is that we are openly speaking about a future for MMA and not simply dwelling on all that is considered to be so bad about this sport that we love. I love MMA and I am excited at the notion that this thing that we care about so much is going to get bigger and better. I think this is something to celebrate and perhaps with this in mind we should take a page out of Lesnar's book and point and laugh at all of the folks who classified this sport as "human cockfighting". Because at the end of the day nothing feels as good as proving someone wrong and having the last laugh.
It wasn't long ago that MMA assumed the role of Brock Lesnar when it came to facing off against professional sports in the quest for legitimacy and respect. Everyone on the outside wanted this sport to fail and so many were simply angry that MMA existed at all. Remember how good it felt when the UFC proved all of those detractors wrong and helped to pave the way for Affliction and Elite XC?
Brock Lesnar represents tomorrow and this notion is worth celebrating. Of course for some of you this will mean sitting on your hands and remaining quiet as this is beneath you. As for me, I am going to celebrate and hope that one day some of you can enjoy yourselves when it comes to MMA rather than taking it and yourselves so damnseriously.
My celebration will not tarnish this sport but so much negativity will.
Seriously.
Brock Lesnar may not be your vision of a good sport, but he is good for the sport and that is what we should be celebrating.
