Falls Count Anywhere

07/20/2009

Put your hands in the air like you just don't care...

UFC 100 is proof that pro wrestling’s mentality is the way to draw big numbers. I know that’s been proven before, but the antics of Brock Lesnar really brought it all home.

You see, UFC has been trying for something for a long time: mainstream respect. They wouldn’t bend over backwards, so they lost out on getting on CBS, which would have really helped.

They’re still seen as Human Cock-Fighting among many journalists, and even though there are solid rules and it’s much safer, that’s how the mainstream press reports on it. There are still many athletic commissions around the country that refuse to sanction MMA. UFC is a big fish, clearing tons of ducats, but they’re still under something of a shadow. It’s a shame because the UFC has a lot going for it.

Yeah...NOW UFC will make money...

And more now that Brock Lesnar’s there.

The fact is, the most important thing is to make money. That’s the only thing that’ll keep UFC going. If there aren’t guys who can draw, they’re done. Brock has proven that he can draw and draw big. Even after his loss to Frank Mir, he still drew big ratings. After that, he got a title shot at Randy Couture very fast, which was the wrong choice for those who look at it as a sport, but absolutely the right choice for business as there’s no knowing how many more fights Randy has left in him and Brock vs. Randy was worth way more than any other fight they had at Heavyweight. He won the title, got himself into a big fight on the biggest night in the history of MMA.

Brock had all the tools to be a huge money draw. He’s got that freakish physique, is amazingly fast, has tons of charisma, big shot power, and he can talk. He’s everything that would make for a good pro wrestler, which he was, and he has everything he needs to be a champion in MMA and draw big money. People want to see him get KOed, but alas, he is too big, too powerful, and disregarding the hell hook that Mir got on him, has been unstoppable.

Why should we hate him? Let us count the ways...

Then he went and gave the biggest money interview in the history of UFC. He had just beaten Frank Mir’s face to a bloody pulp and jumped up totally amped. He then got in Frank’s face before he had even come up to his feet, yelling at him that he had been talking trash and he got beat. Then he flipped off the crowd, called out to the crowd saying that he loved the boos, went on the mic, said he was going home to bust open a Coors Light because show sponsor Bud Light wouldn’t pay him, and then said he was going home to get on top of his wife, Sable.

That’s right, he’s married to Sable, Rena Mero. That’s awesome!

That made him the greatest heel in the history of MMA. No one has ever had the crowd more into seeing a guy get beat than Brock. Previously, it was either Kimbo or that fellow Tito Ortiz. No one was ever been as hated as Brock, and traditionally, you need a top-notch heel to turn a good draw into a great draw.

Look at Freddy Blassie. He was a good draw in LA after he turned face in the late 1960s, but when the late John Tolos came, he was a great heel and that made for the biggest draw in the history of California wrestling. It was the same with Hulk Hogan. Yeah, he drew huge with Roddy Piper, and surprisingly they didn’t have as many matches as you’d figure, but when Andre turned Heel, they drew a massive crowd.

Brock has made himself into the biggest star in MMA by giving the most important interview since Steve Austin did his Austin 3:16 speech at the 1996 King of the Ring. Every match he’s in from here on out will be the hated one, the one who gives the interviews that make you want the other guy to win. That’ll make bank.

In case you missed reason #1 above....

Now, Dana White, was not happy and pulled Brock into the bathroom to chew him out. Now, he’s an idiot…well, kinda. If he was dressing him down for the Bud Light comment, then he was absolutely right; you don’t run down a sponsor. If he was saying to keep it clean, make it nice and tidy so that they could get serious people looking at them and taking them seriously, then he was a fool and didn’t realize the big thing: you draw more money with a bad ass who doesn’t play by the rules.

No matter what, they’ll make most of their money off of the beer-swilling jocks kind of crowd. Yes, they’d like to have a wider appeal, but boxing, despite the classic image of the little old ladies in the front row, always drew most of their money and ratings from guys. Ali crossed over, largely because he could talk and drew massive numbers of African-Americans. His ratings on Wide World of Sports were amazing, and he sold out all the major arenas within minutes of the fights being announced. Brock can do the same thing, but only if they let him stay the monster.

And I think they’ll realize that.

Chris Garcia