” … when the dust settled on an unusual year, the biggest news of 2008 was the emergence of Lesnar as the year’s pay-per-view king. Lesnar’s 2.2 million buys over three fights made him the most-watched PPV fighter in 2008. His total was the second highest total in UFC history, trailing only Tito Ortiz, who did 2.25 million in headlining three events in 2006.”
– Yahoo!Sports.com reflects on the year that was, highlighting the emergence of UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar as the new pay-per-view (PPV) powerhouse. Lesnar, of course, brings in a whole new audience because of his days as a professional wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). His fight against Randy Couture (just the fourth of his pro mixed martial arts career) raked in more than 1 million buys — it was the second most successful event for the promotion ever. The New Year should be very interesting indeed now that Lesnar starts of the 2009 fight campaign atop the heavyweight division. It will also likely be a very lucrative year for the promotion if current trends continue.
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hope mir pulls this one off so we get to see the rematch!
Dana is a brilliant business man. like they say any publicity is good publicity and to watch this sport grow is great.
war Dana
Maybe from a business standpoint, but its not always good for the sport as a whole, and sometimes its not good for the fans.
Not sure how it’s not good for the sport. Fighter A fought and beat Fighter B, simple as that. Speaking as a fan, I enjoyed the fight between Randy and Brock, as did many others who watched the event.
I just hope people call stop dissing Brock. He is what the HW Div. needed in the UFC. He is here, he puts his heart into this sport(Just like he did Wrestling in collage and H.S.,Football, and “the entertaining buisness.). After all, he did beat Randy senceless.
What’s not good for the sport?
Hyping guys that are overrated
I don’t think he’s talking about lesnar per say. My take on this is that you are not suppose to be learning at this level in the game if that makes any sense. That’s why you don’t see guys like Fedor improving by leaps and bounds. He already has the skills, it’s just a matter of application. This might set a precedent for getting guys with draw to the top fast and thin out the skill level at the top. This results in your typical japanese freakshow because out of all the guys who come to MMA that can draw – how many will be a lesnar?
Overrated….Hmmm….He is now in his 4th fight the HW champ. I don’t see him as “overrated” at all. Was he “pushed”? Sure…business is business. But he is about where he should be on most HW ranking lists. I would agree with your comment if he were being ranked #1 or #2 on some lists but he’s not…You might as well get used to the FACT that Lesnar is here to stay and no matter how much whining anyone does he is the champ for now.
Not good for the fans ???? Did you read the title of this article ??? Th guy pulled the second biggest PPV numbers in history….Obviously people want to see him fight. Let me guess….not good for the REAL fans ????
Not good for the fans ???? Did you read the title of this article ??? Th guy pulled the second biggest PPV numbers in history….Obviously people want to see him fight. Let me guess….not good for the REAL fans ????
so true…well said sir
thats quite an achievement considering hes new to the sport and looking at the two main events of the other ufcs(probably gonna get flamed)its obvious he was the draw.not taking anything away from st pierre and noguera but no one likes mr poopy and the average fan wont be up to speed on fitch.
I think UFC want Mir to win. A rematch is something everyone would want to watch. A Nogueira fight is something only hardcore fans want to watch. My friends ll like the sound of Nogueira (I have hyped him up as a man who cannot be KO’d, never been submitted, top 3 HW in world) but they still want to watch a rematch between Lesnar and “that guy who beat Lesnar”
agreed, Nog beats Mir and Brock easily
im sure it wasnt a shocker to anyone that Brock was gonna sell PPVs. 08 has been a sick year in the ufc and mma in general, i can not wait to see what 09 has in store… oh yeah, PLEASE god let Nog beat Mir the Brock. Mir’s a dick and Brock refers to himself in 3rd person, anyone who does that needs an ass kicking. oh yeah i ment ass as in donkey so dont moderate me you junkyard watch dog.
THATS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT! Brock Lesnar, HW Champ and PPV King! How does that sit with all the “haters”???
I got one question: Kimbo gets some “hate” for not fighting top competition right! So why do people “hate” Brock for fighting nothing but top guys???
Because he never EARNED it
Many fighters got undeserved title shots!
At LW BJ getting one for beating Pulver?
At WW too, but I cant remember how exactly?
At MW Anderson getting one for beating Leben?
At LHW Rampage getting one for beating Eastman?
So whats your point? At least Brock is not taking the easy road! You got to respect that!
JV Do you realize that there is mma outside of the UFC? Mentioning Anderson Silva and Rampage as fighters who got title shots for just 1 win is ignorant.They both had lengthy careers with quality wins in other orgs. before competing in the UFC. Unlike Lesnar who draws so many ppv viewers because pro wresting fans buy UFC ppv’s that he’s on as well as UFC fans.
Just wait until he gets a solid ground game. You’re right abour Brock. There is a world of difference between him and Kimbo. Kimbo dodged true competition while Brock welcomes it.
Absolutly right JV, people never complain when they are a fan of the guy getting a title shot. Nate Quarry didn’t deserve one, a lot of people think Forrest didn’t deserve one. If you complain about one you should complain about all or just shut up and enjoy the fights.
OK BNF, so you say Quarry didn’t deserve one? Isn’t that conmplaining about the same thing you just told me not to? Maybe you should just shut up and enjoy the rest of this post, instead of twisting around the facts to suit your argument, which is a thin one at best.
JV, the rest is for you.
1-BJ was already widely regarded as a top LW, and had held a championship before
2-BJ stepped up to face Hughes, due to lack of a contender at WW
3-Anderson was already a Cage Rage champ and Pride veteran with an impressive record
4-Rampage had beaten Chuck once before, and Chuck wanted to avenge the loss, and Rampage had been fighting top competetion, and hadn’t lost in a long time
All these guy had impressive careers going into their title fights. They didn’t walk out of pro wrestling, and then get booted off a pro football team. Brock is a talent and a beast, don’t get me wrong. But he should have to pay his dues first. There are alot of HW’s out there that have been working and training alot longer, and have better records. By your logic, maybe Kimbo should get a title shot since he seems to be so popular and such a big money maker, even though he doesn’t deserve it.
If Kimbo started fighting top competition and winning, then sure I’d call for him to get title shot.
BTW, all 4 of these fights were won by the challenger, either by KO or submission.
Utap, you should be hating on Randy not Brock. Randy screwed up the whole HW division with his BS antics. He decide to come back and fight. Who would you suggest he fight? Nog and Mir were already doing the show. Should the UFC have put him agaisn’t Werdum who was 2-1 in the UFC or Carwin 8-0 at the time agaisn’t unknowns and was unknown himself? Who? That would have sold a bunch of PPV’s. Or maybe they should put together the biggest fight possible and Brock won so he obviously deserved to be there. UFC is a business. They are not here to please you. How do you not get it? They had the 2nd biggest PPV of the year behind De La Hoya/Pacqiuo. If they took your advice they would be out of business and you would have nothing complain about.
BTW, sorry if the “shut up” sounded confrontational, it wasn’t directed specfically at you.
BNF, I do agree that Randy’s antics are BS. It probably is more Randy and Dana’s fault. I’m just worried that its going to be come TOO MUCH about the money, and the PPV draw, which would ruin our sport. Randy/Brock was a huge fight, and I did enjoy watching it, but I think the whole thing was done wrong. I think Randy should have had his belt stripped for taking a whole year off. It seems like everyone is overlooking Nog, who I think will find a way to beat Brock, if he gets past Mir. And I think he will definitely get past Mir. IMO, Brock should have had to fight Carwin, Velazquez, or Kongo, or even a combination of two of those guys first. I know my argument looks weak because he beat Randy, but what if he loses to Nog or MIr again? What if he loses to Fedor whenever he does sign with the UFC? What if he ends up losing to Carwin, who has better MMA skills than Brock does? He will be exposed as a fraud, which is what I think he is. Again, kind of similar to Kimbo, but with more actual talent and credentials.
Got it… I just don’t like the hate for a hard working guy who seized an opportunity and made the most of it. I hate on guys like Koscheck and Hughes because their personalities are horrible. Brock was humble and respectful when he won the belt. I just hope if he does beat the winner of Mir/Nog you will give him his due. One thing we can agree on is BJ BJ BJ!!!!
Lol, very good point. And if he does beat Mir or Nog, I will definitely give him his due. Hell I see him as a force to be reckioned with already. I guess I’m just butthurt because giving Randy a fight with Brock instead of Nog was absolutely wrong IMO. I know that Nog was tied up, but that doesn’t mean that I have to like the circumstances. I also wish that Brock had as much skill as he has size, strength, and athleticism. Thats why I have always hated Tim Sylvia. He has very little real talent, but always skated on by because he’s huge and strong. Take either one of them and shrink them down to about 230 or 240, with the skills they possess, and theyre average at best. BTW, I do recognize that Brock has alot more skill, and a Sh*tload more potential than Tim.
so let me get this straight, if he got low level talent you’d be bashing him for not taking on top ranked talent. Instead he IS taking on top ranked talent and instead you are saying “he didn’t earn it”.
ok. you are officially an @sshat.
Ok I’m not sure what that is, but don’t put words in my mouth. I respect the fight game. I have trained in the fight game. Brock would deserve alot more respect if he put the time in, climbed the ladder, and earned it, like everyone else does. There are several other contenders he could have fought first, that wouldn’t be considered low rank. Besides, he walked away from a contract with the WWE because he got bored of it. He flopped at pro football. Who’s to say he wont drop MMA in a couple years to go and try out for pro boxing or world’s strongest man, because he got bored again?
Utap, Brock didnt just walk away cause he was bored! Do some research about why he left the UFC. Your (whos to say) words mean nothing. Whos to say BJ Penn isnt g@y? Whos to say Fedor isnt a p*ssy? See what I mean? People are just tripping cause hes a former WWE star. But what was he suppose to do? Take peanuts at the time in MMA? Or take millions at pro wrestling? (what would you do?) Phillipe Nover a former nurse! Franklin a former teacher! And there are many others! Brock was a wrestler! A martial art in MMA right? So Brock came from something fake, he has shown hes for real right???
JV, you make a very valid point, except you didn’t point out why he “actually” left the WWE. What research have you done to point to the contrary? To anmswer your question, he hasn’t shown me he is for real yet, at least not HW champion of the most important MMA promotion in the world for real. He beat an absolute nobody in japan, lost to Mir, decisioned, although dominated Herring(basically a very low level gatekeeper), and beat Randy, who IMO has always been overrated, and is too old and slow now. If he gets past a guy like Nog, then I’ll give him his due credit, but I don’t see it happening.
So if he didn’t earn it or deserve it, he would never have won it. He beat the best and that’s all he could do. Dana offered it to him…was he supposed to say ‘No, thanks Dana….I don’t deserve it ?’ You people bother me with this holier than thou rhetoric….the man won and won with authority….END OF TOPIC !!! He was gracious in winning as he was gracious with the opprotuinity. Get your heads out of your asses people.
I’m not just criticizing Brock. Dana never should have given him the opportunity. I think alot of it had to do with the fact that Randy wanted to fight a big name, and wouldn’t come back to fight a guy with a smaller name. And I still believe that he’s been ducking Big Nog the whole time. Randy just doesn’t have the right tools to beat him, and he knows it. Flame away, because I have a valid argument here. I can defend it. Bring it on.
a lot
not
alot
Jesus H Christ
Wow…go away
How can they call those 2.2 million buys his? He was on 3 big fight cards. At 81, there was the fight between Nog and Sylvia, which was also a big fight. Then at 87, he was on the card with Huerta/Florian, and of BTW, GSP/Fitch. 91 he shared the main event with Couture, which IMO, probably brought in just as many people as Brock. I understand that he’s a big draw, but come on. Other fighters on those cards deserve due credit. Besides, he only HEADLINED one of those cards, and that was 91, alongside one fo the most well known and respected MMA fighters in history. If this is the direction the sport is going to go, with guys like Brock and Kimbo getting all of the attentionm and money, MMA is going to turn out like celebrity boxing ior some stupid crap like that. Before you flame the sh*t out of me for comparing Brock to Kimbo, I only do it because they are both one dimensional fighters, with very little actual experience, who are being thrust into positions that they don’t deserve to be in. Whatever happened to starting at the bottom, paying your dues, and working your ass off to climb to the top?
is brock one dimensional as a wrestler, or a striker? whether he deserved to be there or not hes done well with it. pretty much no one is considering him the real champ right now. i would think everyone is thinking that whoever wins the mini 4 man tourney is the true champ in the ufc so if he wins that then he will of desevered it with wins over herring, randy, and nog/mir. as good as this division in the ufc has to offer. get over it already.
If he comes out of it beating Nog/Mir, I will give him respect. That doesn’t mean I’m going to like though. It will however, make me HOPE LIKE HELL, that Brock and Fedor hook it up, and I will be hanging from Fedor’s sack so much that all the Fedor haters will hate me even more than him. BTW, I cant wait for AA/Fedor next month.
UFC doesn’t want to lose Brock! I guess they pray He keeps winning,so that “the PPV king” is gonna fill their wallets.
Brock will lose,whether it’s Mir or Nog.They both got the key.
I think Nog beats him, but I doubt Mir does again. Brock will be more conservative this time out, and Mir will gas by the end of the 2nd round, and be ripe for the KO.
I don’t care what people say, I,m a Tito fan and would like to see him back in the UFC…
Me too…
The only time i’d like tito back is if he had to fight Brock….
Seriously i know what you mean but that was the old Tito that we all loved to watch and he is now a shadow of the fighter he used to be. Unfortunately for Tito he believes he’s still one of the top fighters which he obviously isn’t.
I doubt that we will ever see Tito fight again in any MMA org.
Saying Tito will never fight again is complete lunacy.He had a deal with Elite all worked out then they obviously have some issues to work out to say the least.As for this bullshit that he’s a shadow of the guy he used to be.I don’t buy it he beat the current UFC Champ and had a draw with the current #1 light heavyweight contender then lost to an undefeated fighter that no one has figured out.So I don’t understand the Tito is washed up nonsense when the guy has only lost only to top fighters.If he starts losing to mid level guys that’s one thing but Tito beats 90% of the light heavyweights out there.
Please tell me where he’s going to fight? Elite – Nope!
Affliction – Nope! (they’ll stop showing by the time he mends from his back op), Dream – Nope! Strikeforce – nope (he’d rather retire than fight for 50K per fight)
That only leaves a return to the UFC which I can’t see happening.
Lets face it Fighting is not Tito’s main priority anymore.
You’re out of your mind.To say Tito is not going to fight ever again is insane.
Tell me where he’s going to fight then. Only the UFC have the money to pay him what he wants.
I’m a big fan of the old Tito (befor the porn star showed up) but his dedication to the sport was his main strength and without that he is well outside the top ten LHW’s in the world.
Why would Tito fight Brock? Tito has never fought at HW, and Brock making 205 is simply impossible. That firdst sentence makes no sense.
when I put …..seriously. after a comment it tends to mean I was making a throw away comment in jest!
Love or hate guys like Lesnar, Tito, and Kimbo… they bring the $$.
The UFC needs to get Tito back, and bring even more people to the table… even if to just hand him loss after loss.
Kimbo didn’t bring money. Why do you think Elite went under? They were iving him more than what they brought in.
FACT!!
Kimbo brought EliteXC a nationally televised program with an product vastly inferior to the UFC – hence why it failed.
That’s not why it failed you imbecile!
So they didn’t go bust because they spent more than they earned? Wow you must have a really good theory that I can’t wait to hear! Tell me more…..
EliteXC cards had very good ratings, the issue is that they went into 60 million in debt overspending and also buying up many MMA competitors like Cage Rage
Money is power as are Lesnars arms…The more he trains, money will then double by circumstances…
Hope Lesnar enjoys it because he wont make it past Mir or Big Nog!
In a rematch, Lesnar will beat Mir. He dominated Mir the first time and just made a rookie mistake. On top of that, the ref kinda screwed Lesnar too in their first fight.
If Lesnar fights big Nog, I would have to give the edge to Nog.
Never under estimate the red neck factor
look at rogan eye lesnar like a teenage girl
Put Brock against a guy his size…270+ he is big and strong,he can wrestle…did I mention he is big and strong.
If he can beat MIr or Nog it will be a shock. Skill wise ..they are light years ahead of him( no shame in that he is learning). His advantage is size and strength at this point…not skill.we shall see!!! And rogan did look a little smitten with Brock!
Time to create a new weight class 250+…Brock is big,strong… did I mention big and strong…and he can wrestle. Having said that, skill wise he still needs to develop to be a true MMA/fighter. It will be interesting to see if he can keep his title against Mir or Nog. I think putting him up against guys his size with skills he probably wont fair as well. Just my thoughts.
The weight class issue is silly.
1. Not enough HW’s as it is.
2. If you are a 220 lb HW drop to LHW. You don’t see fighters in the lighter weight classes coming in way under the limit do you? Sheesh.
“You don’t see fighters in the lighter weight classes coming in way under the limit do you?”
uhh, maybe it’s because there’s a 60 pound difference between 205 and 265, where the largest difference between classes anywhere else is 20 pounds (185-> 205) it’s 15 pounds between 155-> 170, 170->185, and 10 pounds between 135->145 and 145-> 155
Geez….Thank you Mr. Obvious. Irregardless of the “range” between classes the FACT remains that virtually all fighters weigh in at the max possible weight.
Damn Rogan is lookin at lesner like..”God DAMN! i wish i was with sable!”
Why? Sable is an old dried up shrew. Her glory days were 10 years ago, and I’m sure Rogan has no trouble getting ladies on his own. For anyone who has ever seen or heard him do standup comedy, you know he is absolutely hilarious, and also has alot of very interesting insights.
Exactly right Sable must be in her forties now and looks extremely worn out,also I’m sure Rogan has no problem getting a date.
I think it’s ridiculous that some UFC fans LOVE Brock, but HATE Kimbo. They say things like, “Kimbo gets recognition from YouTube, he’s done nothing in the fight game” or “He doesn’t deserve to be getting paid all this money”. However when it comes to Brock, another popular guy who was completely unproven, it’s all good. “Way to go Brock, make that cheese!” I’ve never had a problem with Kimbo or Brock making money, and getting the opportunities they have gotten, but it does piss me off that UFC nut-riders bash Kimbo and praise Brock. They are both making money in mma from previous popularity. You can’t really knock one and praise the other.
brock at least beat some very good fighters in herring and randy. you know randy. that hall of famer 3 time champ this and 2 time champ that or whatever. who did kimbo beat, oh ya that hall of famer tank abbott. do you see why now?
I don’t really care about the title. It moves around pretty fast anyways. Brock will get exposed. If he fights Nog he will lose. If he fights Mir, he will lose. Then what? Gonzaga? He gets tooled again.
Sure you can,
One is spoon fed cans and the other asks to fight the best.
Brock’s CV is light years beyond that of Kimbo!
Brock and Tito the biggest PPV draws. That says it all. It represents, in a perfectly succinct manner, the frustrations I have as a fan with this sport and with Dana White.
The reason why Brock sells is because some want him to win and some want him to lose so it sells. the same reason that Tito sold. Just all of us UFC lifers need to let the wrestling fans know that this is real over here. BTW, Junie needs to get drunk before the fight tonight. He seems so much meaner when he is drunk…..and dumber, braver…….
For the record Brock said he didnt deserve or earn the title shot, but of course he is gonna take the opportunity when it knocked. Alot of the Captian Chump and Brock fight was due to the fact that the Heavyweight division is so Weak right now. I know Carwin and Cruz are out there, but come on Randy vs Brock, well all knew that was gonna be a huge ppv for the UFC and well we see the numbers it was. Brock might not have earned a title shot, but he seized the moment, stepped up to the plate and took it. He beat Randy so give him some props. Only your 4th MMA fight and your fighting a Legend. He has alot of work to do and a ton of tuning on his game to work on, but this guy is a beast he will learn jits and sub defense and maybe some subs. Only time will tell but I think he will be in the UFC and a force for awhile
No one has explained how you can argue a guy didn’t deserve a title shot after he won the belt?
To assume Brock’s win means he deserved the shot is a blatant non sequitur. There are plenty of people out there who could beat Randy who wouldn’t have deserved a title shot. And let’s not forget, Randy didn’t really even deserve his.
Mir wins by majority decision!
pfffft ! Mir wins an all expenses paid trip 2 the hospital
Exactly. If Brock lost to Randy then it could be argued that he didn’t deserve the title shot. Seeing that he won, and quite handily, he proved he deserved it.
You can’t “deserve the fight” merely from retrospect. That’s just silly. You can say it’s irrelevant whether or not he deserved it based on his win, but that’s about it.
i hate brock lessner he just mulls people he has no talent he is a wrestler not an mma fighter lay and pray cant work forrever
that punch to Randy’s face didn’t look like a lay and pray maneuver. neither did the punch that laid out Herring. or the knees the body of herring.
Exactly. If Brock lost to Randy then it could be argued that he didn’t deserve the title shot. Seeing that he won, and quite handily, he proved he deserved it. Yes maybe he’s too new to the game, but he’s proving he’s a force and is asking for the big fights, so Danas not giving him cans to make him look good, like Kimbo was given. Brock will be around a long time. He’ll lose some fights, like everyone else, but he’ll learn from his mistakes and become a great fighter IMO.
Why do some of my comments not show up for hours? Is it archaic moderation, clunky servers or something?
welcome to mania
whats the big deal!! they just got wwe world champ and add the mma pay per view audience than they get huge ppv numbers….its not the rise of mma or ufc and dana getting brillant..so who.s next triple H?…pathetic..it actually solidifies the WWE more than anything else..and the mainstream media worldwide..would not treat the sport as mainstream… cant imagine boxing having hulk hogan as the world champ.sure it would make huge ppv back in the day..but mainstream media would have laughed at it…if LOrenzo fertita is smart then he should be able to save station casinos..with the latest news this december that its going bankrupt
Brock is rated #2 behind Fedor by the MMA. He’s upset the UFC but he deserves to be there. Afterall, he is winning. He’s the villan everyone wants to see beat. The exciting thing is who can beat this guy? His power is unreal. Needs to work on his technique to stay on top.