Brock, Everything That's Wrong With America

I, as I am sure many of you who truly know the sport, have asked myself since February 2, 2008 when Brock lost to Frank Mir via knee bar in 1:30 of round 1 “What the hell is this guy doing here?” I had no idea who he was but he came with such perfectly manipulated media fanfare that it was hard not to know who he was just prior to the fight with Mir.  Perfectly manipulated media manipulated by the UFC.  As big a sport as it is, and it may be the fastest growing sport in the world, there is a relatively minor grasp on the sport worldwide and the UFC wants to be the dominant company in the world so when Freaks of Nature appear on the card I believe it is just the UFC trying to close in on some untapped market.  Fake wrestler dude – oh, the UFC must be going after the fake wrestling fan, Ex pro fighter – oh, the UFC must be going after the boxing market, Ex pro football player – let’s go after the football fan, etc…etc.  The UFC’s main prerogative should be, and seems to be, getting the UFC brand all over the world, not just the USA, why not make as much money as possible.   It is like getting to a new country and seeing that there is oil all over the place but you have to establish all the laws, policies and procedures before you can begin to drill and get the oil out of there.  MMA is oil and the UFC is the biggest oil company in the world.  With Cain as the new heavyweight champ I can see Dana White wearing a sombrero and tweeting from Mexico City. 

Much the way the US manipulates policy to function for its benefit.  The UFC could be doing the same thing.  I did not see Jake Shields winning that fight.  A lot of times when two guys are standing there waiting for the judge’s scores I wonder what decision is the best for the UFC.  I am sure they made a significant investment in Shields.  Pay per views, merchandising, all that crap.  If he goes out there and kills Kampmann he gets a title shot, but he goes out there edges out a decision, looks like crap and now is supposed to fight GSP for the title.  What happens if he goes out there and gets his ass handed to him by Kampmann?  I think we would be wondering who he fights next.  If Kampmann would have let his hands go he could have been the one interviewed by Joe Rogan after the fight.

This overinflated superhero waltzes into the UFC like the best thing since sliced cucumbers and thinks he’s going to own the fans.  Sure there are a bunch of young fans that eat that up, especially fans of WFC (Who Fucking Cares) or whatever.  But to the fan that’s been around and has seen the great fighters of our time Brock represents everything that’s wrong with America.  Bold statement,  I know.  A little exaggerated? Maybe.  But the U.S. waltzes in everywhere it goes like it’s the best thing since sliced cucumbers.  Many people in the U.S. do not even know what the most popular sport in the world is.  Many think it is Baseball, some even think it’s football.  “The shot heard round the world” really?  I’m pretty sure most countries around the world were watching local football matches and not baseball.  “The World Champion Yankees” being from New York I’ve heard that endless amounts of times.   There is an insurmountable difference between World Champions and World Series Champions.  Same with the NBA.  World Champs really?  What country did you beat?  A world championship is an astounding accomplishment that seems belittled by American semantics.  Everybody and their mother is a world champ in boxing.  Every four years a world champion is crowned in football.  Spain winning it in Africa this past summer.  If the New York Red Bulls win the championship can I get a t-shirt that says world champions Red Bulls on it. 

I’m sure many people ate up that dish full of Brock the UFC has been serving us since the pay per view numbers are great for all his fights.  The guy is a Money Making Machine and the UFC owns him and the register dosen’t stop ringing.  Some of the things I am hearing up to this point are ridiculous, “The Greatest heavyweight fight of all time.” 

Ultimatly,  I would be doing the same thing if I were in charge.  I mean the company has to survive.  Markets need to be explored, exploited and exited. 

Watching Brock Lesnar’s face after being beaten into a ref stoppage the first thing that occurred to me was who is Brock fighting next.  I was sure Junior Dos Santos was getting a shot at the newly crowned champion Cain Velazquez.   It’s a day later and I still don’t know who will fight Brock next.  Watching the training footage leading up to his fight with Cain I don’t think I saw Brock wear headgear once.  While the UFC is laughing all the way to the bank, there is a serious issue here.  Brock Lesnar is not ready to fight at the level he is fighting at.  How in the world can he be the best fighter on the planet with 6 pro fights to his name?  I just can’t get over it.  But all things aside Brock is in a very dangerous position.  He is not prepared to handle the mental demands of the sport.  Going into the fetal position is usually the last resort with most fighters but with Brock it seems to be the first.  I am getting a little worried about Brock, he could get very hurt in there.  That cut on his face from Cain was no joke and hopefully a wake up call to the UFC to ensure that talented and experienced fighters get in there with each other. 

Kazushi Sakuraba the Japanese MMA icon came from fake wrestling and he is my favorite MMA fighter of all time so I don’t have anything against fake wrestling dudes who move to MMA.  But I could not wait until Brock was beaten out of the sport.  I think from this point on Brock will slowly be abrogated to a postscript in the annals of MMA lore where Kimbo, Bob Sapp, Conan and all the other super large freaks of nature hold court.