I originally was going to write about the MLB All-Star game but decided to come back from my 3 day lay off to talk some more about the UFC, in particular Brock Lesnar.
In case you didn't watch UFC 100 Brock Lesnar smashed Frank Mir and then had a celebration for the ages. After punching Mir in the face about 45 times the fight was stopped and Lesnar paraded around the ring and shouted into the camera while literally foaming at the mouth. He then went to a barely conscious Mir and started talking shit. He followed this up by flipping off the fans (who were booing), insulting Bud Light (a huge sponsor of the UFC) claiming, "they don't pay me" and finished it all off by saying that he was going to "go home and get on top of my wife."
Now after reading you may thing that Lesnar's behaviour was childish, rude, disrespectful, and an embarrassment. What I would call it however is hilarious and justified.
Last time I checked the UFC stands for Ultimate FIGHTING Championship. Not the Boy Scouts of America. The whole point of the sport is to fight another man and prove you are a better fighter. Not prove you are a good sport.
Leading up to the fight Mir called Lesnar a "joke", a "publicity stunt" and numerous other names which enraged Lesnar and created obvious hostility between the two men. In response to this Lesnar retaliated verbally but said that most of his talking will be done in the octagon.
Before I continue I am going to say that despite what many people believe Lesnar doesn't "talk trash." Yes he does appear in the Countdown shows and on the prefight interview talking trash but that is all. Many fighters use the Internet and magazines to try and slam their opponent before a fight but Lesnar shys away from that. For the most part he lets his fists do the talking for him.
After reading countless articles on what transpired on Saturday at UFC 100 here are what I believe to be the main complaints about what Lesnar did.
- He didn't shake Frank Mir's hand before the fight
- He flipped off the crowd
- He talked shit to Mir moments after the fight instead of embracing him which is customary
- He spoke ill of a major sponsor
- He said "get on top of my wife"
I will try and tackle these 1 by 1 which shouldn't be too hard seeing as these are all such douchey complaints.
- Where does it say the fighters need to touch gloves? People act like this is the first time this has ever happened. This is a common occurrence in the UFC and happens roughly once per pay per view. Why would you shake the hand of the man who has gone out of his way to belittle you and your accomplishments for the past 6 months? I saw no outrage when Marcus Davis and Dan Hardy didn't touch gloves. Be more consistent with your criticism instead of targeting Lesnar simply because he came from WWE and it's easy.
- If you boo somebody do they not have a right to react? It may not be the classiest thing to do but it is his right as a human being to flip people off so let him do it. For every action there is a reaction. These fighters aren't priests and choirboys. They are men who fight for a living. Obviously they are going to react in this way. Also it mist be mentioned that this isn't the first time an athlete has flipped off the crowd. Now obviously the reaction is always the same from the media and public but people need to lighten up. It is just a hand gesture and it's not as if he was giving the Nazi salute or something. People give each other the finger all the time and if you don't believe me go to downtown Toronto for 5 minutes and watch.
- Once again this is an easy complaint to argue against. Why must two fighters embrace after a fight is over? I personally do not enjoy seeing this happen. I like to it occur if the fight was amazing or if there is no bad blood (like the GSP / Alves fight) but if the guys claim to "hate" each other don't hug. It is like the Red Sox and the Yankees always being buddy buddy with one another. You are supposed to be rivals and enemies. When two guys hug at the end of a fight it usually means that any trash talk prior to the fight was all for show which cheapens the sport. What Lesnar did was show that he was genuinely pissed at Mir and truly hates him. I am ok with true emotion from athletes and I think Lesnar's trash talk was justified.
- Bud Light sucks
- Anyone who has a problem with a man saying "get on top of my wife" needs to go back to the 1930s. That is TAME by modern standards. He could have easily said much much worse. If what he says truly bothers you then you clearly never watch cable TV or go on the Internet.
I truly feel that people hate on Brock Lesnar because it is easy to do. I felt that way about President Bush too. Idiot people make jokes about these men because they are sheep who like to feel cool and follow the crowd. It is easy to make a George Bush joke but much harder to point out his administrative flaws and make constructive suggestions much the same it is easy to attack Lesnar rather than understand him. What I don't hear anyone talking about is how he DOMINATED a man who many people believed to be the best heavyweight in the UFC.
Rather than give Brock his credit people chose to attack what he did after he won. I think Lesnar is a true champ and a great MMA fighter. I feel like if he beats Shane Carwin than he will dominate the UFC Heavyweight division for a long time. I think that Fedor is the only man who would can beat him. What I don't think is that showing emotion is wrong. I don't feel that refusing to shake hands and hug is a bad thing. I don't get offended if an athlete I am booing flips me off (Trot Nixon flipped me off at a Jays game one time).
It also needs to be said that Lesnar appologized for his actions at the Press Conference immediately following the fight. He said that he was sorry and that his emotions got the better of him. He also went on to say that he loves Bud Light and all beers.
People need to get away from this whole condemnation of athletes when they act like normal people. I can tell you that a lot of people who are disparaging Lesnar would probably have done some of the same things he did if they had been in his situation. I know for a fact that is some pretty boy karate kid called me a joke and then went to shake my hand he would getting the same treatment Lesnar gave Mir.
What I am really trying to say is that people need to climb down off Mt. Pious and stop at taking Lesnar for what he did and said and start acknowledging his great accomplishment. Plus Brock Lesnar is the MAN.
Random Youtube Video
9 comments:
1) Lesnar can't trash his opponents on the internet because he doesn't have it.
2) Lesnar should have told his wife to get on top, he'd already had enough ground and pound for one evening.
3) Bud Light does suck, but Coors Light seems like a pussy beer for a gorilla like Brock.
Also, Art of the Slam is a sweet video, especially love the first two slams (Rampage nearly killing Arona and Frank Shamrock destroying Zinoviev's collarbone).
Is it a rule that you have to support/like every asshole athlete in every sport? Lesnar is a tool, and he might be champ, but hiring him and promoting him was a publicity stunt. If it wasn't a publicity stunt, explain to me how a guy who had 3 mma fights under his belt, only 2 in the UFC and one being a loss, should have gotten a title shot? Because Dana white knew he would attract the fans. hence publicity stunt.
Tell me someone else who deserved a title shot instead of Lesnar? It's not as if the division was stacked with real contenders. Both Carwin and Velazquez had yet to emerge meaning Lesnar was the only real option. He did beat Heath Herring who is a great heavyweight in his own right and if not for Steve Mazegatti interfering he probably would have beaten Mir the first time. Signing him may have been a publicity stunt but it turned out to be legit seeing as how Lesnar as now beaten top tier competition, easily.
99.99% of the time Draper > Sports informer, but this day the nod goes to the sports informer. Lesnar is legit. Too legit to quit.
Why did Lesnar get a title shot before Mir? And I am sorry, but beating Heath Herring, and losing to Frank Mir does not earn you a title shot in my opinion. Why hasn't Kongo had a title shot? Why did Lesnar get a title fight against couture before Nogueira, despite the fact Noguera had the interim belt? Wouldn't it have made more sense to give him the fight against Couture first?
Granted he has taken advantage of his shot, and won the belt, and he is a legit fighter, I am just saying that everything about him was a publicity stunt. Just because he has made the best out of it, doesn't make it any less true.
And not shaking hands when your opponent reaches out, and getting in the face of a guy you just knocked out, while he is pretty much still unconscious, makes you a tool.
the reason nogeura didnt fight couture was because dana white wanted to have a little mini tournament in which mir fought nogeura and lesnar fought couture. this would mean more fights and more ppv main events.
Exactly, so for Lesnar to say that Mir's belt was a fake, and for him to take credit for being the real champ because he beat Couture, makes him a tool.
No, Couture won the legit title from Tim Sylvia making the title Lesnar won real. Mir beat Nogeura for the INTERIM title meaning that his title wasn't legit.
but according to you, the only reason lesnar got a title shot before the guy who beat him and the guy who was holding the interim belt, was to set up a mini tournament. Noguera was the real number one contender and should have had a title match before lesnar. Lesnar didn't have to do anything, he didnt have to earn his shot, or beat anybody good (heath herring is shit..) to get his shot.
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