Last weekâ<80><99>s column celebrating the victory of â<80><9c>fake wrestlerâ<80> Brock Lesnar over so-called MMA legend Randy Couture drew some ire in the MMA community. This ire was best exemplified by a 31-page thread of hate at the sherdog.net message board. But fanboy opinion canâ<80><99>t change the result. Lesnar is UFC champ, Couture old news.
The hypocrisy displayed by MMA â<80><9c>expertsâ<80> in the wake of Lesnarâ<80><99>s comprehensive triumph is laughable. Only now are the â<80><9c>expertsâ<80> trotting out Lesnarâ<80><99>s â<80><9c>qualificationsâ<80> to be UFC champ, his NCAA wrestling championship, etc., in a vain effort to embrace Lesnar after the fact. This after making fun of Lesnarâ<80><99>s WWE background and lamenting his supposed lack of credibility.
You donâ<80><99>t need â<80><9c>qualificationsâ<80> to be UFC champ. You just have to whip some egg-sucking dogâ<80><99>s ass, and Lesnar did. Your approval doesnâ<80><99>t matter.
Frankly, itâ<80><99>s a shame to see an athlete with Lesnarâ<80><99>s abilities involved in something as seedy as UFC. A noted MMA expert appeared on my radio show this week, and he outed UFC as nothing more than thinly-veiled homoeroticism, what with the cage, the biker shorts, the fingerless gloves and the bare feet. The late Freddie Mercury would have loved it.
Look, thereâ<80><99>s nothing wrong with that â<80>” weâ<80><99>re all as God made us â<80>” and anyway, opinion doesnâ<80><99>t matter. Lesnar is UFC champ. If youâ<80><99>re a rabid fan of MMA, you should respect that, and respect where he came from, too, because it all brought him to this point.
Pro wrestling requires toughness. Itâ<80><99>s a different kind of toughness, true. But when Lesnar was with WWE, he worked 200-250 days a year, taking a pounding every day. Itâ<80><99>s a demanding regimen. If you donâ<80><99>t think it strengthened Lesnar physically and mentally, thus helping him to be the fighter he is today, youâ<80><99>re wrong.
Nobody is saying Chris Jericho could beat Fedor Whatzisname. (Although how could Fedor counter the Codebreaker?) But I am saying that MMA fans should consider that certain elements of pro wrestling figured positively in Lesnarâ<80><99>s development.
â<80><9c>Respectâ<80> is an overused term. Everybody wants unconditional respect, but few want to give it. This concept originated in Compton, then spread to rap and later the NBA. Not enough MMA fans respect Lesnar. It seems that none respect where he came from. But if the champion doesnâ<80><99>t have respect, it weakens the credibility of your belt and your company. Itâ<80><99>s the same in UFC as it is in pro wrestling.
Itâ<80><99>s funny to see MMA fans treat Lesnarâ<80><99>s title win like pro wrestling fans treat a title win by someone they donâ<80><99>t see championship-caliber, like Ronnie Garvin in 1987. â<80><9c>Oh, he doesnâ<80><99>t deserve it.â<80> â<80><9c>Oh, heâ<80><99>s not worthy.â<80> Earth to marks: Lesnar beat the champ. That makes Lesnar deserving and worthy, especially considering it was obviously no fluke.
This is a golden opportunity for MMA to take another step toward being huge, a major sport right alongside the NFL. Hereâ<80><99>s hoping UFC impresario Dana White isnâ<80><99>t as stupid as most MMA fans and that he openly uses Lesnarâ<80><99>s WWE background to build rivalries with so-called â<80><9c>realâ<80> fighters. The heat for Lesnar-Couture was UNREAL. That match had more tension than any bout in UFC history, and that was solely because of Lesnarâ<80><99>s WWE past. Thatâ<80><99>s a good thing. Thatâ<80><99>s a money-making thing. Thatâ<80><99>s opportunity knocking.
