Monday 11 August 2008

Post UFC 87 Thoughts: Brock Lesnar's theatrics more talked about then performance




Just reading the Sherdog MMA message-boards has been hilarious (and at times a headache) with regard to UFC attraction Brock Lesnar and his antics that began toward the end of the fight.

For those that don't know, Brock Lesnar, a former WWE pro-wrestling household name with a legitimate NCAA Division 1 Heavyweight championship accolade in collegiate amateur wrestling, scored his first win in the UFC Octagon this past Saturday in front of 15,000 fans at the Target Center in his adoptive hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Lesnar dominated the highly touted veteran Heath Herring, who with a wealth of experience in international competition fighting some of the very best in the Heavyweight class was expected to beat the inexperienced Lesnar despite the famous name the larger then life athlete brought to the table.

Instead Lesnar, one of the few Heavyweight fighters in MMA that cuts to the 265lbs limit set by the Unified Rules and adopted by sanctioning athletic commissions, used his still present legitimate wrestling skills to control the fight after scoring with a thunderous right hand in the opening seconds that sent Herring into a tumbling back somersault on the mat. From there the fight was dictated over three rounds with Lesnar taking and keeping Herring down while maintaining control from the back and landing heavy handed punches to Herring's face as well as spleen rupturing knees to his body.

However instead of MMA fans giving credit to a raw athlete who has only 3 professional fights to his name and a win over a seasoned opponent with more then 10 times as many fights to his resumé, their focus was on his mock riding of the Texas Crazy Horse (Heath Herring's fight nickname) as the time ran out at the end of the third round.

Worse still these fans have taken offense to Lesnar pointing and laughing at his opponent in a "Ha! Missed me!" gesture just moments after narrowly ducking a wild last-ditch haymaker Herring threw after bucking the showboating Lesnar off his back.

The fight was over, Herring returned to his corner, and a clearly excited and elated Lesnar did his final piece of showboating by pretending to lasso Herring, pull him in and secure him to his imaginary saddle.

When asked about his gesturing in the post-fight Press conference Lesnar responded:

"That was just me I was excited. There was a lot of - that was for Heath’s camp because on the way out to the Octagon tonight, there were some things said before the fight and I had the last laugh and the last words to say and that’s all matters to me …"

Dana White, UFC's President and fight promoter chimed in as well:

"We really didn’t get into it, but there was a lot of back and forth between Brock and Heath, and Heath about fighting Brock and stuff like that – Heath didn’t feel like he should have to fight Brock Lesnar."

This isn't the first time fighters have looked down on opponents perhaps deemed 'not worthy', such as the case of Keith Jardine publicly saying he shouldn't be fighting an unknown in Houston Alexander who went on to KO Jardine in devastating fashion.

Does it justify Brock's actions? Maybe not. I don't think anyone is arguing his actions were classy, but they're a far cry from the completely classless antics of some other fighters and even other professional sports personalities.

I personally thought it was entertaining and harmless gamesmanship, the sort that keeps you fresh in a fan's mind, whether in a good or bad light it's far better then being completely forgettable.

Lesnar puts butts in seats and has no doubt helped bring in thousands more viewers who get the privilege of watching non-marquee fights like the excellent tactical match between UFC Middleweights Damian Maia and Jason Macdonald. Without fighters like Lesnar, such a non-marquee fight would be missed by a great number and that would be worth complaining about.

Lesnar proved himself as a legit Mixed Martial Artist, although still an inexperienced rookie he's shown he'll be a handful for anyone he steps in the Octagon against. Coupled with his ability to draw and generate heated debate among casual and hardcore fans alike he's more important to the sport then certain elitists would care to admit.

"I might have went a little overboard but I was having fun, you know? I like where I’m at and if I offended anyone I’m sorry … nah not really *laughs with reporters*" - Brock Lesnar

This blog was in response to the excellent commentary by Jordan Breen of the Sherdog website. Please take some time to read his article here:

Bull Ropes and BS: 'Respect' and Fan Foolery

No comments: