All Hail Undisputed Heel, Brock Lesnar

Love it or hate it, Brock Lesnar is your UFC Heavyweight Champion. Upon winning in dominant fashion over Frank Mir, he then went on a tirade cutting a heel promo far better then anything he did when he was in the WWE. And, man, did it spark a firestorm. MMA purists hated it. Pro wrestling fans loved it. Dana nearly shit his pants when he dogged UFC's #1 sponsor, Bud Light. Me, I loved it. I am both a huge pro wrestling fan and a huge fan of the sport of MMA. I think MMA, UFC in particular, can learn a little from Vincent Kennedy McMahon and even Don King. MMA will remain a popular sport but will likely have growth potential without personalities to draw in the casual fan. Hero's and villains have always drawn in the casual fan. Look at a young Muhammad Ali or later year Mike Tyson. Hell the biggest drawing PPV of all time was people who wanted to see all time baby face Oscar De La Hoya beat all time big mouth Floyd Mayweather. Even in UFC, love him or hate him, Tito Ortiz drew as everyone wanted to see him get his ass kicked. The problem with UFC is other then the countdown specials and The Ultimate Fighter, there is no real forum to get over the fighters personalities, just simply their in ring personalities. I think Brock has gone out of his way in every after fight interview to get himself over as the heel. He doesn't hug or talk all nice nice about his opponent after talking shit about him for weeks (which seems to be an unwritten rule in MMA). He plays a role which is part character, part who he is.

The biggest issue with Brock Lesnar as champ will be his style as it is dominant but boring. It harkens back somewhat to the days of Mark Coleman and the ground and pound. UFC's real problem will be finding realistic opponents for him to fight that the public will pay to see and I don't think there is anyone under contract right now that fits that role. Could it be the hopes of UFC fans to see a dominant, obnoxious champion be defeated lie in the hands of a Russian and most dominant heavyweight ever, Fedor??

Ultimate Show

So, while I wasn't impressed with this season's T.U.F. I was totally blown away by the Ultimate Finale. The Nick Diaz/Joe Stevenson match was a joy for grappling/submission purists as there was very little stand up. Diaz never ceases to amaze me with his ability to escape even the tightest hold. Lytle/Burns was entertaining in a rock-em-sock-em sort of way. I love how Lytle has taken on the "gimmick" of going for one (or both) of the nightly bonuses every time he fights rather then looking for the win in a boring fight. And Sanchez/Guida? What can I say? I loved every minute of it. Diego looks back at the top of his game and Guida, well, seriously, it doesn't seem to matter if he wins or loses, he'll always have a spot in UFC, at least in free shows. This was the best top to bottom show I've seen in forever. Great job Dana White and company!!