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COLUMN: Lesnar-Carwin The Most Important Title Fight in UFC History... Really?
Jun 22, 2010 - 9:23:12 PM COLUMN: Lesnar-Carwin The Most Important Title Fight in UFC History... Really?

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By: Mike Bacior, MMATorch Contributor

I am sure that if you are reading this, you are aware of the massive hype that is being placed upon UFC 116. However, some people are going so far as to call this the most important title fight in UFC history.

Come on.

I understand that, for whatever reason, every time Brock Lesnar fights it is a major, major PPV draw. I also understand that many MMA fans are interested to see how Brock looks after a year-long layoff, as well as wanting to see what kind of problems the heavy-handed Shane Carwin can pose.

But to call this the most important title fight in UFC history? It is simply absurd. We are talking about a veteran of five MMA fights, making only his second defense as UFC heavyweight champion, who has really only taken out two elite fighters in Randy Couture and Frank Mir (Couture being outweighed by about 80 lbs).

It's one hell of an exciting matchup, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here. If you still don't believe me, here are some matchups that could definitely have stronger cases to be the most important.

1. UFC 66 Liddell-Ortiz 2

This had it all. There was the friendship turned heated rivalry between Ortiz and Liddell, the question of whether or not it being the second fight would affect the outcome, as well as being the biggest UFC show to date.

2. UFC 94 St. Pierre vs Penn 2

Again there was the rematch factor in this one, as well as the potential outcome of B.J. Penn being the first fighter ever to hold two UFC belts at once. We saw two pound-for-pound greats fight in their prime, that alone is amazing.

3. UFC 52 Couture-Liddell 2

This could easily be at the top, as this was the major PPV that followed the first season of TUF, which had brought in a whole number of new fans, and brought Chuck Liddell from star to superstar.

4. UFC 68 Couture-Sylvia

No one really knew what to expect out of a 44 year old Randy Couture, coming out of retirement to challenge the favored Tim Sylvia. Randy went on to shock the world and take back the heavyweight title.

So, maybe I'm just an idiot who does not understand the added appeal of Lesnar coming from the WWE to high-level MMA; maybe I don't get why heavyweight fights seem to have more appeal to mainstream audiences; maybe the idea of a huge KO doesn't excite me any more than that of a typical GSP fight. Lets not forget that Fedor is still out there, making it impossible to say this unanimously crowns MMA's #1 heavyweight (unless Werdum pulls a miracle, which he very well could).

But I still believe that anyone calling Lesnar-Carwin the most important title fight in UFC history should welll, get real.

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