Is it put up or shut up time for Lesnar?
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@Oklahoman.com
Pretty slow times here in the fight game. After HBO and Showtime ONCE again went head-to-head with shows Saturday, there will be no major competitive fights until September.
MMA will give us our fix, and this Saturday provides an intriguing attraction. I don’t want to say the fight is all that intriguing, but the consequences could be.
Former WWE star, failed Minnesota Vikings lineman, legendary University of Minnesota wrestler (am I forgetting anything?) Brock Lesnar returns to The Octagon for UFC 87 in him home state. He is looking to rebound after losing his UFC debut.
Lesnar is a household name at this point. Amateur fans know him from the Gophers. Pro wrestling fans know him as one of the few big guys who could deliver a solid 20-minute match and not be gassed. NFL fans know him as the guy who thought he could just make a smooth transition from WWE to NFL. MMA fans know him primarily as a joke right now, after losing to Frank Mir his first time out in the UFC.
The Boneman will always be a Lesnar fan. I’m hoping he can bounce back in fine form Saturday, but what if he can’t? Where would he go from there?
It’s an interesting topic of discussion, actually a lot more so than if he is able to win. With an 0-2 record, would UFC cut its ties with him? Knowing full well if they do, EliteXC has a money-making Brock-Kimbo Slice match just waiting?
Anytime your tagline for an opponent is “rugged,” well, you know he’s supposed to lose. Heath Herring is being fed to Lesnar in front of the hometown crowd. This is supposed to be Lesnar’s big day.
If he loses, would Lesnar swallow his pride and work on his craft at smaller shows? Akin to a big time HBO boxer being “demoted” to ESPN2. Sometimes, you’re not ready for the big stage and need some seasoning.
Lesnar has all the tools to be something special. To go with it, he’s a marketer’s dream. He’s a natural freak of nature. It will be interesting to see how much he’s learned from his first foray into the UFC. Will he have an improved ground game?
All those hypotheticals mean jack squat if Lesnar is able to go out there and make a statement. Here’s to hoping he does. UFC 87 will be on PPV this Saturday night.
A difference a week makes…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@Oklahoman.com
Sometimes, things just don’t make sense. EliteXC puts on a better card with more absolute finishes. It’s a good atmosphere. Ratings come out and, eh. The OKC market did a 3.5, which isn’t horrible but not what people thought.
Three reasons (in my opinion) for the lack of success: 1) Scheduling this head-to-head with Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto. If you’re a fight fan, Margarito-Cotto had you buzzing for months leading up to the bout. 2) A network broadcast a week after UFC’s live event on Spike and the Affliction PPV. A quality card takes a hit when you just feel you’re burned out on everything. 3) No recognizable star. The biggest cheers were for Gina Carano and Kimbo Slice. Neither was fighting. Devout MMA fans know who Jake Shields and Robbie Lawler, etc. are but not your common man.
Three days after said event, Doug DeLuca and Gary Shaw are out at Pro Elite in official capacities. Both will stay on as “consultants,” whatever that means. Though only around two years, we may be at the end of EliteXC. The company drained many of its resources to get these top-notch spots on CBS, but doesn’t have the stability to keep doing it. As one MMA site said (I forget which one): “DeLuca and Shaw are getting off the sinking ship.” That’s sad but also appears to be true.
On the other side of the coin (trademark Teddy Atlas), you have Joshua Clottey and Zab Judah. The two will fight for a welterweight scrap Saturday on HBO. Broadcast starts at 8:30 CT as HBO will replay the Margarito-Cotto fight first. It’s Clottey’s first major bout where people actually know him and have expectations. He’s fought Margarito and Diego Corrales, but he was still a young pup. Maybe that’s the wrong term, he was an unknown quantity at the time is a better description. If you don’t know who Judah is, well, you just don’t follow boxing. He’s been around over a decade and has been in more infamous moments than anybody else in recent memory. If he wins, I’ll give a detailed list of Zab being Super and then his other not-so much moments.
That aside, Zab can crack. He gave Cotto an excellent run last summer before wilting under the pressure (hmm, sounds familiar from last week). If Judah wins, I expect a Judah-Margarito fight for either the fall or early ‘09. If Clottey wins, hmm, not sure where he’ll go. Financially, it wouldn’t make cents for Margarito to follow his career-defining win with another bout against Clottey.
The Boneman is on a roll lately, picking Margarito over Cotto and Lawler over Smith. Official prediction this week: Clottey unanimous decision over Judah. I’m not daring enough to say KO, but I think Clottey will have little difficulty with Zab. Zab will have his moments, but he doesn’t have the consistency to get it done.
