Putting together the Couture vs. Lesnar fight for the UFC from a business standpoint is absolutely huge. The number of pay per views will probably be record breaking for the UFC on November 15 no doubt.
We know Lesnar can draw a lot because ratings at UFC 87 were through the roof (my countryman St. Pierre's match vs. Fitch played a big role in that as well). Now throw in Randy Couture who is coming out of retirement for a title defence, the sky is the limit.
However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, the draw power of this fight will be great, but this fight is a very high risk affair for both fighters.
Lets face it, Brock Lesnar has shown MMA followers that he is big, he is strong and he is extremely quick for such a big guy. Putting two MMA veterans to the ground with one solid right hand in the Mir and Herring bouts is no easy feat for any fighter. He has quick heavy right hands and he can wrestle extremely well.
Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves either though. Lesnar has only three fights under his belt and a 2-1 record so far. Lesnar’s wins were dominant ones. He made Min Soo Kim tap out due to strikes in the first moments of Round One.
In his last win he dominated Herring from start to finish after a strong right hand landed early in the first to crack Herring’s ocular bone.
However, Lesnar was unable to finish Heath and pretty much rode the fight out by maintaining side control and not going for much.
Not going for a finish in the Herring fight was probably the smartest thing Lesnar could have done in that fight. Fans were shown in the Mir fight that although Lesnar can completely overwhelm an opponent with his sheer size and athletic ability, he is a green fighter and he can get caught in a submission.
Lesnar knew he had hurt Herring and that if he used his strength and wrestling abilities to maintain a dominant position while protecting his limbs he would cruise to a lopsided decision in his favour. Going for a finish and then being submitted or caught by Herring would have been a big step back for Lesnar.
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3 months ago
good article! i think Couture will win because he's been there and he knows how to win. I think Brock got as far as he did as quickly as he did because of his WWE background and not on what he has accomplished in the UFC. Gonna be agreat fight but i think Brock is gonna go into the fight with the big head and loose!
3 months ago
Yeah - I give that one to Couture as well! But its not going to be easy, and hopefully will not go to 3 rounds. If it goes the distance then Lesnar has the advantage (SIZE!).
3 months ago
knee bar, not a heel hook.
woof!
from 3 months ago
Thank you for pointing that out. I was about to. It WAS a knee bar.
3 months ago
I preach that people should never ever count Couture out, but I do see Brock winning this fight!
I am the kind of MMA fan who would be psyched for a Fedor-Couture fight regardless of the outcome of Lesnar-Couture!
3 months ago
It truly is a tuff call. Brock has proven nothing other than he is big fast and strong with a deep wrestling background. That is a great base for a succesful MMA fighter. Not so much when your talking about a guy in his fourth fight, for a title no less, against one of the best the sport has ever seen. Next we have Couture. A legend, a constant underdog who loves to put the odds belly up every chance he gets. On sheer flipping of odds alone he is a miracle. He wasnt SUPPOSED to win half of his fights. That may be an exaggeration but he always proves the nay sayers wrong. At some point though you have to imagine they will get one right. I hope Couture puts Brock in his place and the UFC treats him accordingly there after. With proper training and time spent climbing the ladder he can prove a truly great fighter. If he beats Couture it will spoil him, he may contend for or retain the title but he wont have earned it, not as Randy or the men who came before him had to. Someone on another post wrote if he wins then he deserves it. I disagree. Any man can be beat on any given day given the right circumstances. A champion is born, a champion endures the climb to greatness, a champion isnt paid to show up with his weapons, he hones them over time and asserts them and proves his greatness. Brock has done none of that. Hes just getting started. I wont be surprised either way this goes. Brock looks like the bigger stronger faster man, and Randy has all the tools necessary to negate that. I will NEVER bet against Couture, and Brock is a bit of a wild card. Should be very interesting.
from 3 months ago
Lesnar didn't deserve the shot I agree to that. However, Dana White decided to offer it to him. What is Lesnar going to do? Turn it down. There are many fighters who early on in their career would not want to take that fight, so I commend Brock for taking it. It is not in any way, shape or form Lesnar's fault that he was offered this fight or that people for some reason or another like tuning in when he is on the card.
In my opinion, if he wins and succesfully defends against Mir or Nog he deserves to be where he is. Whether he will be a true champion like Randy, well that will come down to how long he can hold on to the title for, how long he is planning on staying in mma and whether or not he gets better as his career goes on.
I reserve judgement on Lesnar's future for now because as we have seen with the WWE and NFL, when the going gets tough he usually quits and moves on to something else. I think this is a bit different because he likes the real competition and the fact that he gets to stay close to home most of the year. But, only time will tell.
That being said I can't predict a winner here. I hate betting against Couture though as I am sure many people who put real money down hate doing as well.
from 3 months ago
I agree with you Leon. Good point stating that Lesnar is only doing what is right for Lesnar. I dont hold any ill will against the man, he does have a lot to learn especially in the class dept, but other than that he seems like a hard worker with a lot of promise. I wont pass judgement on him as much as the organization for putting him there so fast. That being said, I always point to them giving Anderson Silva a shot at the title after spending less than two minutes in the octogon. I thought it was wrong and man was I mistaken. Maybe Brock will wind up a great champion, I just dont feel the shot has been earned yet. Take care sir, thanks for the comment on my opinion.
3 months ago
A very good article. I hope that Couture comes out on top and Dana learns a lesson in investing in an unknown quantity like Lesnar while ignoring the welfare of his tried and true fighters. Using a WWE ex as a draw felt like a slap in the face of every legitimate MMA fighter who has trained and fought to get where they are and has not been paid the big bucks the WWE guys are used to getting. When Dana speaks down on Kimbo Slice, he should be ashamed for his use of A WWE name to go exactly in the same direction--marketing a fad.
from 3 months ago
I agree to a certain extent, but it is not as if Lesnar has no credentials whatsoever. He was in the WWE, but that doesn't represent what he has done in amateur wrestling or his unique size, strength and speed. There are plenty of MMA guys who went Pro Wrestler and vice versa in the past and Lesnar isn't the first, he is just the one that has the most hype around him.
Ken Shamrock started off his professional career in pro wrestling before going to the UFC. Kazuhi Sakabura started in pro wrestling and had a great career in MMA beating some big names. Kazuyuki Fujita also started out in pro wrestling, but holds MMA wins over Ken Shamrock and Mark Kerr.
Clearly this isn't an end all list and it doesn't mean professional wrestlers are all going to dominate MMA. But, what it does show is these guys were real athletes and competitors in amateur wrestling or some other sport before going to pro wrestling and many people seem to be forgetting that in the process.
Don't get the wrong impression here either, I never watched fake wrestling and I have never been a fan of it. I just think a lot of people pass judgement on certain pro wreslters credentials when in reality all the wresltler did was follow the money after college.
3 months ago
you know who else followed the money...........wait for it.......kimbo "im too black to market properly" slice
3 months ago
HONESTLY..I DIDNT READ YOUR ARTICLE BEFORE I WROTE MINE ..OR I WOULDNT HAVE WRITTEN IT (RESPECT)...SORRY ,IT MAY LOOK THAT WAY BECAUSE WE BRING UP SOME OF THE VERY SAME POINTS..GOOD JOB..KEEP ON TRUCKIN../.STOKER
3 months ago
I hate the people that hate on Brock or Dana (trust me there are better reasons) for Brock being in the WWE. First of all to the writer, Shamrock fought in the UFC first then went to wrestling and back, just for the sake of knowledge. Shamrock left because there was no future in that time as we all know UFC was in a financial windfall. The same goes for Tank Abbott and Dan Severn and these are just from the American wrestling orgs. There are alot that went to Japan to crossover and vice versa.
Besides how can you hate on Dana for signing him. He carried his first PPV as a first time fighter. He carried the last 2 as well, unless you believe Franklin/Luter was that big of a draw. I will give it to the second PPV with GSP/fitch. But I would argue more people watched for the Lesnar match. Why is it when Lesnar crosses over and gets a big name everyone wants to hate on him. Yeah he's a dick sometimes, but whether anyone wants to admit it or not, that helps to sell. So just leave the man be if you hate him, hate for being a Dick, not just because he is physically gifted and taking advantage of it.
from 3 months ago
The pro wrestlers/mma fighters I mentioned were in pro wrestling before MMA. Yes there are also a bunch of guys who were MMA first and then went pro wrestling.
Secondly, I wasn`t trying to put Lesnar down and I don`t think that the jist of my article imparts that feeling that at all. I gave a balanced view of the two fighters. I`m not going to sit here and bill Lesnar as the coming of god and say Couture has nothing going for him here. Read my other articles you will see that I respect Lesnar`s abilities and that I think he will be a great heavy weight.
As for Dana White, I am not a big fan. You got me there.
3 months ago
"Some of those opponents include Tim Sylvia, Gabriel Gonzaga, Ricco Rodriguez and Josh Barnett all fighters who weigh in at over 250 pounds and have had strong careers fighting in mma events around the world.
What makes Randy a winner in all of these matches is his heart and his ability to come up with a fight plan and execute it. "
Couture lost to Josh Barnett - TKO, 2nd round.
Couture lost to Ricco Rodriguez - TKO, 5th round.
Just thought I'd point that out. He has trouble with big guys (historically, not lately).
from 3 months ago
I understand what you were saying. But, my point was that he can beat guys that have a sizeable weight advantage and that was all.
3 months ago
At this point all I can say is good article. War Randy!
3 months ago
Ah, Jesus, make it stop. Comparing Kimbo Slice and Brock Lesnar is laughable.
Brock Lesnar is an NCAA heavyweight champion wrestler with unprecedented size, speed, and agility. He has been training full time in MMA for over two years. He quit the WWE because he wanted real competition, he wanted to test himself against other fighters the way he did in college. He also dominated a former heavyweight champion for all but 6 seconds in his UFC debut. That former UFC heavyweight champion has said time and time again after the fight that Lesnar is for real, and that if he hadn't caught him in the kneebar he's not sure what he would have survived. Then he dominated Heath Herring, a longtime PRIDE favorite, from bell to bell, using superior technique. He went the full three rounds without tiring, proving that his cardio is outstanding.
Kimbo Slice is a street fighter who is famous because of YouTube. He can punch, but has no other skills. His opponents have a combined losing record in MMA. He's a freak show.
Look, I understand that you don't like WWE. It's fake, it's scripted, whatever. But Brock Lesnar's time in WWE doesn't discount the fact that he has the SAME FIGHTING BASE as many of the top fighters in MMA today: high-level collegiate championship wrestling. If MMA had been a viable way to make a living when Lesnar completed college, he would undoubtedly have gone into it. He explored it, and knew there was no way he could make a living. WWE offered him a ton of money, so he did it. I
But he also walked away from pro wrestling to try and make the NFL, and made an amazing showing for himself despite not having played football since high school. He wanted competition. When the NFL didn't work out, he went into MMA, and devoted himself full time to it. And whether you like it or not, he is improving as a fighter, and in 2 years it will be tough for anyone to beat him. Frank Mir has said this, Joe Rogan has said this. He has all the tools to be a dominant heavyweight, yet those tools somehow don't count because he was in pro wrestling for a few years? That makes no sense.
I can't wait to see what kind of excuses people come up with if he beats Randy.
3 months ago
Also, regarding Brock's pay: if you make the company lots of money, you are going to get paid a lot of money. It's pretty simple. Chuck Liddell draws huge PPV buyrates, so he gets paid a lot. Randy Couture draws a lot of PPV buyers, so he gets paid a lot. Tito Ortiz draws lots of PPV buyers, so he gets paid a lot.
Brock Lesnar is one of the biggest PPV draws in the company, so he gets paid a lot. It's not that tough to understand.
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