The Ground and Pound: 07.19.09: Understanding Good and Bad

Posted by John Curry on 07.19.2009

This week the Ground and Pound takes a look at UFC 100 and explains the need for Brock Lesnar’s antics.

The Ground and Pound: 07.19.09: Understanding Good and Bad



Well the 100th UFC Pay-Per-View has come and gone and about everything that can stand to be said about it has already been said. However, as I read the opinions of everyone who has some connection to the event are on both sides of the spectrum. From those who thought the PPV was everything that was right about MMA, hard fought action, excellent sub stories, well produced. To others it was exactly what MMA did not need to have happen, controversial decisions, horrible antics, and biased commentary. The truth of the matter is that UFC 100 was everything it needed to be.




Controversy sells and Dana White and Brock Lesnar are both aware of that. Regardless of what Dana says or the so called "chastising" that he gave Lesnar about his behavior or antics regarding their sponsors, White knew exactly what he was going to get from Lesnar and quite possibly requested it considering the $400,000 pay check he took home. While many of the fans and fighters in the UFC have said that Lesnar's behavior is exactly what needs to stay out of Mixed Martial Arts. I am conflicted in regards to how to feel, part of me feels as if the UFC sold a bit of its soul by allowing this kind of theatrics to infiltrate what Zuffa has worked tirelessly to rid MMA of.

The honest fact though is that this is what the UFC needs. Mixed Martial Artists have very few ways of distinguishing themselves in the Octagon in ways that sponsors focus on. Sponsors do not go after and offer big marketing contracts to the guy with the best BJJ or the guy with the cleanest punches. Sponsors want the guys who fans will pay to watch and those guys are the ones we want to see have their asses whooped. By the time Brock Lesnar fights again, the hatred he has gained will multiply. This isn't anything new, it is just new on a different level. Just as Tito Ortiz knew how to push the buttons in the Octagon as well as the fans, as Kimbo brought MMA to mainstream television, even as Andre Arlovski wears "fangs" on his mouthpiece, Brock Lesnar has opened a more in your face and abrasive style of self-promotion. As a result of this, Lesnar has been pushed into two MMA main event Championship fights in his first 5 matches which attests to not only his strength in the cage but his marketability .

Before fans start calling for blood from Lesnar or the UFC they have to understand that Lesnar's behavior is good for business and if they don't believe it they should ask themselves why they are pissed off. Everything in life needs a good a guy and a bad guy. Why should MMA be expected to be different? Yeah it does reek of the WWE the way the Brock Lesnar behaved, but the WWE grew into a billion dollar industry with that kind of behavior. In a way Lesnar learned from the best. While MMA is thought to be a more civilized and "real" form of entertainment compared to the WWE, we still have the same guys playing the same roles. Lesnar plays the old Rock style of the fans need him and he doesn't need them and the guy the company wants to succeed a la HHH. The UFC has to admit at some point that they have molded themselves after the WWE. Their fighters cut promos just like the scripted ones wrestlers cut, they have commentators like Joe Rogan who is MMA's Jim Ross, pyrotechnics, eccentric "owners", long running storylines and more. They milk the fact that celebrities are in attendance and they hold themselves to be above the need for media.

In the end, maybe they are right. Maybe the only marketing they really need is from the fighters themselves. If that's the case maybe Brock Lesnar is the smartest fighter in MMA.

Kimbo will win The Ultimate Fighter

I really hate to say this but if you don't think Kimbo will win The Ultimate Fighter then you sir are a moron. Kimbo's involvement in TUF is Dana's way of bringing Kimbo in to the UFC without having to deal with the backlash of "he hasn't earned it." I am sure that the addition of Roy Nelson may have people believing this is not a fixed event, but I am having a hard time imaging that Dana White sees "Big Country" as more marketable than Kimbo. Kimbo is just like Brock Lesnar. He is a theatrical fighter. Again the proof is in the name. Kevin Ferguson is not a fighter, Kimbo Slice is. That's the mentality of it. Kind of reeks of Mick Foley/Cactus Jack mentality. Now that he has fallen back to earth, Kimbo should be more accepting of help especially from Rampage Jackson. Again, maybe I am just on the bandwagon of MMA conspiracy but I think there is a fix in for this year's TUF.



Threads of the Week: Monarch Clothing

I picked Monarch Clothing because of the Tattoo styling that they employ and the shirt I chose matches one of my tattoos.