Turd Ferguson
DA-DA Da Da Da Bah Da Da DADADA
I think a series of threads discussing whether or not a fighter is worthy of making the UFC Hall of Fame could be really interesting.
The first in this series of threads:
Credentials:
5-3 Record, 1 Time UFC Heavyweight Champion
W - Heath Herring (UFC 87)
W - Randy Couture (UFC 91, Became UFC Heavyweight Champion)
W - Frank Mir (UFC 100)
W - Shane Carwin (UFC 116)
TUF 13 Winning coach
Brock retired following a loss to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141. Despite his abbreviated run in the UFC, and his record that on paper, isn't too impressive, Brock did a lot for the sport in his short time as a competitor in the UFC and his induction to the UFC some day is a no brainer.
Brock was the first big-time crossover star to MMA. When it was announced he was going to fight for the UFC, it was met with skepticism by MMA fans, WWE fans, and the general sports media. His signing had "freakshow" written all over it. And for his first fight, he was given an extremely stiff challenge in the form of former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Frank Mir. People forget this about Mir, but at the time, he was just about left for dead career-wise. He had suffered a devastating loss to Brandon Vera, and following that, picked up a meaningless win against Antoni Hardonk. He was still trying to find his footing after returning from the motorcycle accident that nearly ended his career. It was an extremely close fight to call at the time. For the first 40 seconds or so, Brock showed he was for real, until he may or may not have landed an illegal strike to the back of Mir's head. From there, Mir caught Brock in a kneebar. Brock lost the fight, but it showed he could very well be a force with more discipline.
His next fight was a stiff challenge in Heath Herring. Herring was a veteran of PRIDE, and was coming off of a close loss to Big Nog and a win over Cheick Kongo. Lesnar bumrushed Herring at the very beginning and dominated him en route to a dominating decision victory. Herring hasn't fought since, and the win was impressive enough to earn Brock a title shot at Randy Couture.
Let's not kid ourselves, Brock only got the title shot due to his immense popularity and the UFC wanted to capitalize. UFC 91 cracked over a million buys. This is when it became clear that Brock was a bonafide PPV draw and the biggest star in the company. Brock dominated Couture and became UFC Heavyweight Champion in only his third fight with the company. And in the perfect storyline, Frank Mir won the Interim Heavyweight Title from Big Nog at UFC 92, setting up the rematch at UFC 100 between Lesnar and Mir.
In the biggest grudge match in UFC history, at UFC 100, Lesnar and Mir's feud meant big bucks to the UFC. UFC 100's buyrate was an extremely impressive 1.6 million. Lesnar dominated Mir en route to becoming the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Then the health problems took the forefront. Brock was diagnosed with Diverticulitis, and didn't return until UFC 116, one year later, against Shane Carwin. Brock was thoroughly manhandled by Carwin in the first round, and only won the fight in the second due to Carwin's gassing out. Still, UFC 116 did 1.16 million buys. Brock was still the biggest star in the company.
Then came the fight against Cain Velasquez, in which Brock was thoroughly manhandled again, and this time, there would be no comeback. Brock would lose the title. Despite this, he still helped the company earn a 1.05 million buyrate.
Brock had another bout with Diverticulitis, and didn't fight again for another year, on December 30th against Alistair Overeem. Despite this fight taking place on a Friday and around New Years, Brock still helped the company pull in 800,000 buys in what was a down year for buyrates. He retired after the fight, but it seems clear that the door is open for a return.
Is Brock Lesnar Hall of Fame worthy? I believe he absolutely is. He brought in a new wave of fans for the UFC, helping the company reach massive growth and getting all sorts of new eyes on the sport. He won the UFC Heavyweight title in his 3rd fight with the company. Every card he headlined was an absolute success. People will point to his record for not being impressive on paper, or the fact that he had a relatively short career with two one year gaps. I would point to the list of names he's beaten, who are all top fighters, and the fact that he only ever lost to Mir (which he avenged), Velasquez and Overeem (depending on who you ask, both those guys are #2 in the division).
His time with the company was short, but his impact with the company is still long-lasting, as he helped the company reach growth that without him, could have taken years to realize.
The first in this series of threads:
Credentials:
5-3 Record, 1 Time UFC Heavyweight Champion
W - Heath Herring (UFC 87)
W - Randy Couture (UFC 91, Became UFC Heavyweight Champion)
W - Frank Mir (UFC 100)
W - Shane Carwin (UFC 116)
TUF 13 Winning coach
Brock retired following a loss to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141. Despite his abbreviated run in the UFC, and his record that on paper, isn't too impressive, Brock did a lot for the sport in his short time as a competitor in the UFC and his induction to the UFC some day is a no brainer.
Brock was the first big-time crossover star to MMA. When it was announced he was going to fight for the UFC, it was met with skepticism by MMA fans, WWE fans, and the general sports media. His signing had "freakshow" written all over it. And for his first fight, he was given an extremely stiff challenge in the form of former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Frank Mir. People forget this about Mir, but at the time, he was just about left for dead career-wise. He had suffered a devastating loss to Brandon Vera, and following that, picked up a meaningless win against Antoni Hardonk. He was still trying to find his footing after returning from the motorcycle accident that nearly ended his career. It was an extremely close fight to call at the time. For the first 40 seconds or so, Brock showed he was for real, until he may or may not have landed an illegal strike to the back of Mir's head. From there, Mir caught Brock in a kneebar. Brock lost the fight, but it showed he could very well be a force with more discipline.
His next fight was a stiff challenge in Heath Herring. Herring was a veteran of PRIDE, and was coming off of a close loss to Big Nog and a win over Cheick Kongo. Lesnar bumrushed Herring at the very beginning and dominated him en route to a dominating decision victory. Herring hasn't fought since, and the win was impressive enough to earn Brock a title shot at Randy Couture.
Let's not kid ourselves, Brock only got the title shot due to his immense popularity and the UFC wanted to capitalize. UFC 91 cracked over a million buys. This is when it became clear that Brock was a bonafide PPV draw and the biggest star in the company. Brock dominated Couture and became UFC Heavyweight Champion in only his third fight with the company. And in the perfect storyline, Frank Mir won the Interim Heavyweight Title from Big Nog at UFC 92, setting up the rematch at UFC 100 between Lesnar and Mir.
In the biggest grudge match in UFC history, at UFC 100, Lesnar and Mir's feud meant big bucks to the UFC. UFC 100's buyrate was an extremely impressive 1.6 million. Lesnar dominated Mir en route to becoming the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Then the health problems took the forefront. Brock was diagnosed with Diverticulitis, and didn't return until UFC 116, one year later, against Shane Carwin. Brock was thoroughly manhandled by Carwin in the first round, and only won the fight in the second due to Carwin's gassing out. Still, UFC 116 did 1.16 million buys. Brock was still the biggest star in the company.
Then came the fight against Cain Velasquez, in which Brock was thoroughly manhandled again, and this time, there would be no comeback. Brock would lose the title. Despite this, he still helped the company earn a 1.05 million buyrate.
Brock had another bout with Diverticulitis, and didn't fight again for another year, on December 30th against Alistair Overeem. Despite this fight taking place on a Friday and around New Years, Brock still helped the company pull in 800,000 buys in what was a down year for buyrates. He retired after the fight, but it seems clear that the door is open for a return.
Is Brock Lesnar Hall of Fame worthy? I believe he absolutely is. He brought in a new wave of fans for the UFC, helping the company reach massive growth and getting all sorts of new eyes on the sport. He won the UFC Heavyweight title in his 3rd fight with the company. Every card he headlined was an absolute success. People will point to his record for not being impressive on paper, or the fact that he had a relatively short career with two one year gaps. I would point to the list of names he's beaten, who are all top fighters, and the fact that he only ever lost to Mir (which he avenged), Velasquez and Overeem (depending on who you ask, both those guys are #2 in the division).
His time with the company was short, but his impact with the company is still long-lasting, as he helped the company reach growth that without him, could have taken years to realize.