If UFC were more like WWE...

[IrishCanadian25]

When writing my opinion in the upcoming Machida vs Rua fight, I realized something. One benefit the WWE has over the UFC is the fact that, at any given time, the WWE can make their most popular / largest drawing wrestler the champion. They make that call. Outside of the world of kayfabe, there's no way anybody would believe Hulk Hogan to be as dominant an athlete as he was portrayed to be, but he was far and away the most popular, so Vince McMahon kept a belt on him. My point is that the champion and the most popular wrestler are often one in the same, by choice.

Since UFC is a legit shoot fight, the champion in a given division may not be the best draw. Take the light heavyweights, for example. Machida and Rua are not nearly the mainstream draws and household names that Forrest Griffin and Rashaad Evans are, or Chuck Lidell was, but since they are the best, they are the champion.

SO I ASK YOU...

If UFC could make the best drawing fighter the division champion, who would your champions be?

Safe to say Brock Lesnar would still be Heavyweight Champion...

 

[Mr. TM]

Well, It is safe to say that Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn are two of the most popular champions in their respected divisions, so it is safe to say that I would keep them as champions. Then again, if Hornswoggle were to enter UFC, he would probably defeat GSP, and there would be weeks of jobbing to him.

Lesnar is a hugely popular champion, so keeping the belt on him makes sense. As for the Light Heavyweight, I would again build up Evans to take on Machida in a comeback story.

 

[D-Man]

When writing my opinion in the upcoming Machida vs Rua fight, I realized something. One benefit the WWE has over the UFC is the fact that, at any given time, the WWE can make their most popular / largest drawing wrestler the champion. They make that call. Outside of the world of kayfabe, there's no way anybody would believe Hulk Hogan to be as dominant an athlete as he was portrayed to be, but he was far and away the most popular, so Vince McMahon kept a belt on him. My point is that the champion and the most popular wrestler are often one in the same, by choice.

Since UFC is a legit shoot fight, the champion in a given division may not be the best draw. Take the light heavyweights, for example. Machida and Rua are not nearly the mainstream draws and household names that Forrest Griffin and Rashaad Evans are, or Chuck Lidell was, but since they are the best, they are the champion.

SO I ASK YOU...

If UFC could make the best drawing fighter the division champion, who would your champions be?

Safe to say Brock Lesnar would still be Heavyweight Champion...

Once again, another incredible thread idea by IC25. Your brain never stops, does it??

Lightweight: BJ Penn
Not an extremely popular division to begin with, but BJ Penn is probably the most well-known fighter in the division. He is very exciting to watch and has been around for a long time. His longevity and clips of his feud with Sean Sherk would be enough to make him the greatest draw in the Lightweight Division.

Welterweight: Matt Hughes
There's a reason why he's the most dominant Welterweight fighter in UFC history. He's a well-known fighter because of his longevity, but his fighting style is very exciting. He's a short, jacked up, dominant wrestler that is most known for his slams, wrestling-brutality, and ground and pound. People LOVE watching this guy fight... and I'm one of them.

Middleweight: Rich Franklin
Rich Franklin is the male version of America's sweetheart. The guy is a spokesperson for the UFC because of his intelligence and normalcy. He is a former teacher turned pro-fighter and SO many people relate to him. That's why he's so popular. As dominant as Anderson Silva is currently, no one in this division draws a crowd like Rich Franklin.

Light Heavyweight: Chuck Liddell
This is arguably the most popular division in the UFC. It's stacked from top to bottom with the likes of Randy Couture, Anderson Silva, Tito Ortiz, "Rampage" Jackson, Forest Griffin, and Rashad Evans. But no one drew bigger crowds in UFC Pay Per Views than the Iceman. Whether he was defending his title or fighting for it, people knew who he was with his trademark mohawk and incredible striking skills.

Heavyweight: Brock Lesnar
Do I even have to explain this one? This guy is one of the sole reasons for the UFC's dominance in pugilistic sports over the past 3 years. Besides the fact that he's still a sight to see (considering his size and agility), his notoriety has grown quicker than any UFC fighter in history.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

I agree with much of your list, D-Man, though I have to say that BJ Penn would be out. I think Diego Sanchez is gaining steam, though the most popular / biggest drawing guy in that weight class would likely be Clay Guida. He's charismatic, explosive, has a great look to him, and connects to a crowd. His matches have been very exciting, and if he were just a little bit of a better fighter he'd be a great champion.

 

[INDYjon22]

Nice topic.....

Lightweight
My pick for the guy who would be best atop the ufc lightweight division would have to be Clay guida. Going strictly from a kayfabe stance this guy would be the equivalent of any great cruiserwieght in wrestling history. People love watching this guy cause they know they are in for a fun, exciting fight. He always delivers his A game.

Welterweight
Georges St-Pierre is my pick here. The man has name value already and draws huge. his abilities are unmatched by anyone in the division right now and the fans love him. He would be like the John Cena of the ufc.

Middleweight
This is a tough one but I would have to go with Rich Franklin as well. Franklin can wrestle, Franklin can brawl, Rich Franklin can do it all. He has huge name value even for todays standards even though he hasnt been champion in like 2 or 3 years and hasnt been in a title fight for about that same amount of time. However, he is one guy who could beat anyone at any time in a dominate fasion, other then Anderson of course. He was the face of the ufc middleweight division for a long time and I still consider him the most recognizable of all middleweights in the ufc.

Light Heavyweight
My pick here would be Rampage Jackson. He has an attitude just like The Rock and he can back it up like The Rock as well. The man is funny and all of his fights are exciting. He draws huge, at least bigger then Rua or Machida. Tito Ortiz would be a close second for this pick.

Heavyweight
Brock Lesnar......what else can be said about this man. He is the ultimate heel in the ufc and people love to hate him. His fights draw much bigger then anyone else in the ufc. Fans want to see him get his ass kicked but also love seeing him kick other peoples asses just to see what he does in the post fight interview.

 

[D-Man]

I agree with much of your list, D-Man, though I have to say that BJ Penn would be out. I think Diego Sanchez is gaining steam, though the most popular / biggest drawing guy in that weight class would likely be Clay Guida. He's charismatic, explosive, has a great look to him, and connects to a crowd. His matches have been very exciting, and if he were just a little bit of a better fighter he'd be a great champion.

You named the two guys that I was on the fence about before I chose BJ. Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida really just MADE each other after their epic battle on Spike TV. That fight was absolutely SICK. I had never seen Diego so psyched up before a fight before and Clay is missing that part of the brain where a normal person would get intimidated by someone of Sanchez's caliber.

However, BJ's feud with Sean Sherk really put him on the map. Their fight was one of the most anticipated fights on that card. Real-life feuds between fighters draw ratings. The Penn/Sherk fight was one of the original proofs of this.

Understand that people love Clay Guida, but they don't go to fights to see Clay Guida. When he's already on an undercard with another big main event, people are excited. But people actually buy PPV's to see BJ Penn fight somebody.

Diego Sanchez is actually one of my favorite fighters right now. However, he still doesn't have the notoriety that he shyould've gotten when he was overshadowed in the finale of TUF 1. It's a shame, too.

BJ is the most reliable choice here.

 

[INDYjon22]

I have never in my mma watching life bought a ppv to watch bj penn......i have watched most of Guida's fights though. Guida is much more entertaining a fighter especially for that weight class. Penn is the best but I dont think he has much of a personality outside of him being a ******** and a little bitch when he loses.....I would chose a Guida fight over a Penn fight any day of the week especially if I was spending what little money I had on a ppv.

 

[D-Man]

I have never in my mma watching life bought a ppv to watch bj penn......i have watched most of Guida's fights though. Guida is much more entertaining a fighter especially for that weight class. Penn is the best but I dont think he has much of a personality outside of him being a ******** and a little bitch when he loses.....I would chose a Guida fight over a Penn fight any day of the week especially if I was spending what little money I had on a ppv.

I'm right there with you and couln't agree more. Trust me when I say that Clay Guida and Diego Sanchez are both of my favorite lightweights. Truth be told, I strongly dislike Penn and I want someone to knock him off his pedestal. But, the truth can't be denied. The guy sells PPV's... granted, they are PPV's that are dogshit-garbage (except for his fight), but he still sells them.

 

[jmt225]

Honestly, the only champion I would change is Lyoto Machida to Kimbo Slice.

There is no Lightweight in the World better than BJ Penn. There is not a Lightweight who can also draw like him. It's as simple as that. Diego Sanchez is a good fighter, but he hasn't proven himself to be a draw. While I'm sure the Clay Guida fight gave him a lot more fans, it was still nothing to rival BJ Penn's fanbase, which is humongous.

GSP is perhaps the most popular athlete in Canada. Not just MMA fighter, but athlete period. He's the Bret Hart of MMA. People in Canada love him, and so do people in the U.S. as well. Moreover, he's probably the most popular fighter with the ladies as well.

Anderson Silva... look, most Middleweights under the UFC contract just suck, and none of them are house hold names. While Anderson may look like the weakest drawing person on my list, as time goes on and he continues to destroy people the way he does (you have to make sure to put him in there though with someone who will actually fight him), the bigger draw he will become. And Anderson Silva will be a huge draw once it's all said and done. Mark my words.

Kimbo Slice is perhaps the biggest draw in MMA outside of Brock Lesnar. If you have him as a champion... my God, there's no telling what kind of numbers he would draw on pay-per-view. However, of course... this will never happen.

And Lesnar, easy choice. Biggest draw in the history of MMA, and his numbers actually pass boxing's numbers on pay-per-view. It's unbelievable what he has accomplished in his short career as an MMA fighter, especially considering he wasn't really a big draw in WWE.

 

[OIL]

Why is Kimbo Slice so highly regarded by you?

He can't fight for shit. This has been proved time after time. He got punked out by some skinny guy with red hair if I remember correctly. Hardly so dominating now, is he? Sure, he's semi-famous because of what he did on YouTube, but that's it. Even then, he's nothing to the world. If he was champion, I'm not sure the interest would go as high as you're making out. Sure, it would improve but nothing to the level of Brock Lesnar.

 

[D-Man]

Why is Kimbo Slice so highly regarded by you?

He can't fight for shit. This has been proved time after time. He got punked out by some skinny guy with red hair if I remember correctly. Hardly so dominating now, is he? Sure, he's semi-famous because of what he did on YouTube, but that's it. Even then, he's nothing to the world. If he was champion, I'm not sure the interest would go as high as you're making out. Sure, it would improve but nothing to the level of Brock Lesnar.

This couldn't be more wrong on so many levels.

Kimbo is solely responsible for the biggest ratings season of TUF reality show on Spike. His fight with "Big Country" raised a ton of awareness. Half of the other fighters were saying that Kimbo's first fight should've been a PPV. These factors make it plain to see that Kimbo is a little bit more than "semi-famous."

 

[jmt225]

Why is Kimbo Slice so highly regarded by you?

He can't fight for shit. This has been proved time after time. He got punked out by some skinny guy with red hair if I remember correctly. Hardly so dominating now, is he? Sure, he's semi-famous because of what he did on YouTube, but that's it. Even then, he's nothing to the world. If he was champion, I'm not sure the interest would go as high as you're making out. Sure, it would improve but nothing to the level of Brock Lesnar.

Did you read the rules of the thread? IC said pick the champions who you would feel draw the most for the UFC. Obviously, Kimbo Slice is one of the people Dana, and surely I if I ran the company, would LOVE to have as a champion because he would draw masses upon masses of pay-per-view buys and ratings.

No one is saying this guy will be champion, or that he is even a very good fighter; what I'm saying is that if I ran the UFC, I would hope and pray that this guy would become a good fighter, so he could become legit and continue to bring in good business for my company. Who with any sense wouldn't want that for their business?