08-11-2009, 03:23 AM
Alright.Let me clarify a few things (in defense of my Fedor-bashing/Brock-promoting).First of all.........Just to alleviate any notion that I might be a couch potato who knows nothing on the subject, I have studied martial arts since 1990 and have a firm understanding of fight styles and pragmatics. I have watched UFC live on TV since it's inception in 1993 (unlike many who only discovered it much later)...I never meant to infer that Brock Lesnar is some awesome grappler with sharp submission skills. My defense of Brock stands on the notion that he outweighs and can out muscle almost any fighter in the sport. Yes, someone can say, "Geez, all he's got is huge muscles and massive power....but he has no refined ground skills"...but it's like saying "All Brett Favre has is a great arm and pinpoint accuracy, but he can't run the ball like a tailback." People use what they got. The point of football is to score TD's. Favre is horrid at running the ball down the field, but he's great at throwing it. We don't judge him on what he <i>can't</i> do, we judge him on how well he does what he <i>can</i> do. We know what the goal of a UFC match is and Lesnar accomplishes that. It might not be submissions, but KO's and submissions weigh the same, both in the sport and on the street. If you're as big as Brock Lesnar, you don't <i>need</i> to refine your ground skills. (Although he would better if he did...) However, Brock throws out such massive power that I think many fighters know the chance of catching him being sloppy for a few seconds (like Mir's first fight against him) depends on that fighter somehow evading Lesnar's hulking attack long enough - to capitalize on it. However, that has certainly been proven difficult to achieve. Lesnar and Mir's recent match is evident of that. And don't weigh too much on Lesnar's inexperienced record. There's a reason why the Best Pound-for-Pound list still ranks him at #7 in the world in any weight class. Just like Lebron in high school, experts don't need to see it too long before they can see the potential threat of an athlete.Don't get me wrong, I f'n can't stand Lesnar. I just think many fighters are fearful of their chances against him.After his horridly ridiculous WWE-style statement after the Mir win, I think most Lesnar-haters wanted to see him get his a s s kicked. I was dying to see Fedor come to the UFC. I just think when you walk away from a Dana White deal to bring you to the NFL of fighting leagues where a fighter will ultimately get the most world exposure in his life, I just think you're not simply holding out for money....<i>there has to be something else going on.</i>