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411 Fact or Fiction MMA: Should Brock Lesnar Have Been Saved for UFC 205?

July 6, 2016 | Posted by Lorenzo Vasquez
Brock Lesnar USADA Image Credit: UFC

Welcome back to another edition of 411 Fact or Fiction MMA! I’m your host, Lorenzo Vasquez III, but before we move on I want to thank you for your comments and votes. It is always appreciated. I hope everyone had a great fourth of July. It’s a big week for mixed martial arts with International Fight Week taking place and three big UFC events coming to you over a three day period. UFC Fight Night, The Ultimate Fighter Finale, and UFC 200 will give us plenty to digest and three championship title belts will be decided in addition to an interim title belt.

And now, let us get back to the fact and the fiction in world that is MMA. Last week, Dan Plunkett and Mark Radulich locked horns and threaded the needle through subject dealing with Joanne Calderwood and fighter compensation, CM Punk making it to UFC 203, and Georges St-Pierre taking a tune fight in addition to other topics. With exception to one statement, Dan and Mark similar convictions but it was Mark who took the lead and never turned back. Congratulations Mark for earning the 8-to-10 victory and thank you both for you exceptional efforts.

This week, one of the best in the game, Dino Zucconi, tangles with your host, myself, Lorenzo Vasquez III as I’ll be stepping in for Robert Winfree on short notice. This should be a fantastic affair as both men take a jump into subjects like Brock Lesnar originally looking to return at UFC 205, Jon Jones deciding to stay at light heavyweight, number one contenders not earning a title shot, and much more! It’s time, folks. Grab some grub and strap in because it’s time for another edition of, 411 Fact or Fiction MMA! Let’s get the ball rolling…

TALE OF THE TAPE
RED CORNER
Dino “Salad Bar” Zee
Contributor, 411 Wrestling Zone
1-0-0

VS

BLUE CORNER
Lorenzo “Corpse Grinder” Vasquez III (#2 Seed, East)
Contributor, 411 MMA Zone
1-1-0

Saving Brock Lesnar for UFC 205 instead of booking him in a last minute, hail-Mary, bout with Mark Hunt at UFC 200, would have been a wiser choice and given the promotion more room for marketing the return of the beast incarnate.

Dino Zee: FICTION Yes, it definitely would have allowed for more marketing, but I don’t know that keeping Brock off what is perceived as “the biggest card of the year” would have been “a wiser choice.” Yes, we the fans (and they the promoters) put too much stock into round numbers, falsely propping up 200 as some mega event, while others, like the fantastic 199 card, barely got much attention. That’s on everyone involved. Still, that is how it is, and keeping Brock off for 205 would have been seen as silly. Maybe- MAYBE- if this wasn’t a one-off, I could see the logic in wanting to hype this up for a bit, and you find him a proper opponent for his return. But it’s a one-off. Brock’s doing this to see how if he can still hang. In that sense, Mark Hunt is the right opponent, and 200 is the right card. Eyeballs were already on this event, and Brock’s inclusion only guaranteed that anyone on the fence about ordering had their mind made up. Brock’s return is a summer blockbuster, so having him fight on the summer blockbuster card is/was the right way to go.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FICTION If Brock Lesnar was in it for the long haul I’d say fact. In that case, it would be unwise for the UFC to throw the behemoth in the octagon on short notice with a heavy hitter like Mark Hunt. Hunt’s power is a force and I don’t think he’d blow himself out like Shane Carwin. Unlike Carwin, Hunt will be dangerous for as long as the fight last. The UFC wouldn’t want to ruin or drown the financial machine Lesnar is. Again, in that case, it would be wiser to setup Lesnar’s return at a slower pace and choose the right opponent, etc.

But, because Lesnar’s return is a one-off kind of thing, it is absolutely fine to throw him to the wolves for the utter sake of increase revenue and entertainment. UFC 200 is a big deal, as will be very hundredth UFC PPV, and it calls for huge stars and fights. Lesnar fits the bill and this may be the last opportunity to get him in there, so why not. Mark Hunt was available and we love him because he is always waiting for the kill and he won’t freeze up in cramps like Carwin. Like I said, Hunt will be constantly dangerous and Lesnar may not be able to ride out this storm, but since this may be a one and only appearance, let’s have it.

It is nonsense for Michael Bisping to call Georges St-Pierre a “lesser man” for leaving the sport because of his perceived knowledge of a high level of performance enhancing drug use among the fighters.

Dino Zee: FACT Of course it’s nonsense – that’s what Bisping does. I should also mention, begrudgingly, that Bisping (in his nonsense) has a bit of a point in that he did stick around and kept fighting the cheats while GSP took his ball and went home. That is a factual piece of information. Still, him staying and/or Georges leaving has nothing to do with measuring how much of a man the other is. I mean, I’ve never seen GSP spit at corners, so I’d have to say he might be the greater man between the two.

<Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT This is nonsense for the pure and simple reason that GSP not only left because of PED usage in MMA but for a multitude of other reason with emphasis on feeling burnt out and worm out from his obsessive compulsiveness in training for a fights. I don’t GSP was afraid of fighting other fighters amped up on a PED. He hates the unfair advantage they tried to get but it wasn’t a deal breaker. He really tried to step in there with the best welterweights of his era and for the most part he did and never back out of a challenge. All Bisping is doing is bringing up noise, much like he has always done and why he finally got a crack at the middleweight title. This is about drumming up interest and not calling out someone’s manhood.

Jon Jones is making the correct decision to stay at light heavyweight and not tread the waters of the behemoths.

Dino Zee: FACT Sure, if you’re a fan of his, you may wish that he’d challenge himself or whatever by taking on the heavyweights, but at the same time, if Jones moves up and gets beat by less than the very top heavyweights, what does that do for his legacy? As it stands, he’s the guy that absolutely no one could beat. If he moves up and loses a few times, he just becomes “the best light heavyweight ever,” and that’s it. Which, to be clear, is hardly something to be ashamed of, but Jones seems to want to go down in history as the all-time greatest. Keeping that mystique in his own class is a good way to try. And who’s to say he doesn’t take a heavyweight fight here or there, in the same way that Anderson flirted with 205? That’s still possible, but the idea of Jones moving up (and staying up) was probably a dream at best. I think Jones is making the right call.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT Jon Jones may be a tall and long light heavyweight, and he may hold a reach advantage over a large number of heavyweights, but this does not mean he’ll be as successful at heavyweight as he was at light heavyweight. In fact, Jones would be at a strength and power disadvantage and would be more inclined to be bullied around, smothered, and knock senseless against the behemoths roaming the heavyweight landscape.

A jump to the heavyweight division every now and then could work; but still, if Jones lacks power at light heavyweight, I don’t think he’ll get close to the power the heavyweights are know for carrying. I just don’t see him finding much success against the top five and maybe even the top ten heavyweights in the UFC. Jones is better off cementing his legacy at light heavyweight than tarnishing it with an uninspiring run at heavyweight.

SWITCH!

Considering, many studies show meldonium many aid athletes performance by increasing endurance levels and reducing recovery times, the UFC should take the lead and suspend, or at a minimum hold Daniel Omielanzczuk back from competition, until WADA and the USADA conclude their studies and research of the drug.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT If there are studies showing meldonium many aid athletes performances by increasing endurance levels and reducing recovery times, and a fighter under the promotion has a positive test for the substance, which by the way is a ban substance, you have to pull the guy. I understand there is some controversy about how long the substance stays in your system, which means it could have been taken before it was banned, but there is still a chance it was taken after the ban. Thus, you have to play it safe and stop the fighter from competing until the matter is resolved. I mean, there is a potential Daniel is trying to one-up the competition. You can’t take that chance if you are trying to clean up the sport. Let the issue come to a resolution, and if he checks out, bring him back into active competition.

Dino Zee: FACT I’m playing this one safe because I’m not completely up to snuff on meldonium, outside of knowing it’s popped up in the headlines a bit recently. But yes, I think it’s fair of the UFC to act and suspend anyone found using this until a definitive statement is made on it one way or the other. He doesn’t need to be cut, but he should probably be kept out of competition while he’s a known user. Like I said, I’m not the expert on this one, so I’m just playing it safe.

With verbal agreements in place, according to Brazilian MMA news site Combate, for Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson for the middleweight title, it is safe now more than ever to say we are in the midst of an era in MMA where earning the number one contender slot no longer means earning a title shot.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FICTION Is it happening a little more often these days, sure. But this has always been the case with the UFC. In fact, their ranking system has always been flaw and tailored to the likening of those running the show. Remember, the UFC is ultimately about making money and going by actual and truthful rankings means some big fights just aren’t going to happen. So, sometimes they need to push their weight and change the rankings or just flat out book a fight that makes no sense; hence, you have Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson or Georges St-Pierre, or Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz II.

Dino Zee: FICTION Anyone who thinks otherwise is overreacting. Brock Lesnar earned a title shot in his fourth fight after losing to Frank Mir and beating Heath Herring. Carlos Condit got a title shot for sitting out with an injury for a while and then beating Thiago Alvez. Chael Sonnen got a title shot for talking trash to Jon Jones. This idea that “now more than ever” we are in this era where shots aren’t earned is a bit silly. The UFC has shown consistently over the years that if a title shot can make money, then the rankings can be damned. And while Hendo’s recent record isn’t that great, at least he actually fights in the division, unlike when Chael got in a completely different division.

There’s at least a feud here, and Bisping wanted this fight as much as Hendo. It’s not the best look, no, but I’m not going to pretend that THIS is the time the UFC made a title fight that made no rankings sense. These things sometimes happen in MMA!!

The latest inductee to the UFC Hall of Fame, Don Frye, is really the first well-rounded fighter, who could grapple and box, in the era which saw mixed martial arts transcending from a side show blood sport to a sport trying to ground roots into becoming a professional sport.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FICTION Before coming to the UFC Don Frye was a wrestler who excelled in freestyle and Greco-Roman styles of wrestling. He wrestled for Arizona State University and Oklahoma State University in Stillwater and found success in an Olympic qualifier. He also trained in boxing and Judo. He was able to mesh his skills together and win UFC 8 Tournament, the UFC Ultimate Ultimate 1996 Tournament, and be the runner-up at the UFC 10 Tournament.

It wasn’t until he met a stronger wrestler in Mark Coleman that Frye was unable to produce a victory in his first run in MMA. He was well-rounded for those days and it lead him to great success in the UFC tournaments; but, he wasn’t really the first well-rounded guy. Marco Ruas beat Frye to punch. Ruas was trained in Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, capoeira, and Luta-Livre (submission wrestling) when he debuted for the UFC at UFC 7. In this tournament he used his grappling and submission skills with his striking to climb the bracket. In his last fight of the tournament, he won by relying on his Muay Thai to ground Paul Varelans and ground and pound him to defeat. Although, his career ended with not nearly the number of fights Frye’s did, credit must given where it is due.

Dino Zee: FACT Only because I’m not ever going to say anything that doesn’t paint Don Frye in the best light possible. He rules the world, and I know better. Congrats on the induction, Mustache!

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