Does any1 remember what was the talk before Lesnar MMA debut?

[Lyoto Jackson]

Nobody will admit it, but folks actually thought Herring was going to crush Lesnar. Then they thought Couture was going to kill him. Then they thought Mir was going to kill him. Then they thought Carwin was going to kill him.

Now, the Shertard concensus is that Lesnar beat a bunch of overrated has beens, and cans, and then got humiliated once he "stepped up" in competition.

I thought he would win all those fights, except for Carwin, especially after the first 4 seconds of the Herring fight.

Maybe I just hoped Carwin would win. I was hopeful until the end of round 1. When he couldn't punch anymore, I knew it was over. It was funny watching Cain coach him from the stands on how to finish an arm triangle.

 

[HHJ]

Oddly enough, the thing that truly decided the fight, was the punch that nearly sent Herring into the front row in the first five seconds. Brock was fighting half a man after that shot.

Herring wasn't any more of a favorable opponent than Mir though. Nobody really knew what to make of Lesnar. The biggest myth on Sherdog, is that the UFC booked Lesnar favorably. A 1-0 fighter getting Mir, Herring, and Couture in their first three fights is the opposite of favorable booking. I actually believe that back then, the UFC wanted to make an example out of Lesnar, by having this huge ex-Pro wrester get his ass kicked in real fighting.

I dont know. I tend to think differently because,say if James Toney had beaten couture,it wouldnt have really done the UFC much good...the general consensus would have been that oh all those boxing shit talkers were right,boxing is superior. Wheras UFC had alot to gain from a guy like lesnar staying strong and winning...if he lost,they could still do something with him,unlike toney. Look how long they used Chael sonnen after he kept losing...i could see them using lesnar in this way. I think they wanted him to win. They saw how he handled himself against mir and said "this is a bad motherfucker.." and put him against a guy they thought he might win against...Herring had kinda been washed up by then but he was still a vet,a tough guy who wont die easy,but wasnt the greatest off his back where lesnar was gonna put him. I wouldnt say it was "favorable" but they saw the possibilities of a lesnar victory against a guy like that,to fast track him to the title. If they wanted to make an example out of him they wouldnt have put him against couture based off a win against herring imo.

 

[HereticBD]

I dont know. I tend to think differently because,say if James Toney had beaten couture,it wouldnt have really done the UFC much good...the general consensus would have been that oh all those boxing shit talkers were right,boxing is superior. Wheras UFC had alot to gain from a guy like lesnar staying strong and winning...if he lost,they could still do something with him,unlike toney. Look how long they used Chael sonnen after he kept losing...i could see them using lesnar in this way.

Yeah, but Lesnar wasn't an arrogant shit talking heel, until after he beat Herring. He was rather humble in defeat when he lost to Mir, and his attitude heading into the Herring fight was win or go home because "Nobody likes a loser". He wasn't kept around for his promo skills, like Chael was. I think if Lesnar had lost to Herring, that would've been the end of the experiment.

I think they wanted him to win.

I don't think they really cared. It was just a fight that made sense.

They saw how he handled himself against mir and said "this is a bad motherfucker.." and put him against a guy they thought he might win against...Herring had kinda been washed up by then but he was still a vet,a tough guy who wont die easy,but wasnt the greatest off his back where lesnar was gonna put him.

If they truly wanted him to win, they wouldn't be putting him against the who's who of the HW division at the time. They'd put him against bums. It was just a match up that seemed to make sense. He failed against Mir, so they put him against a slightly lower guy. If Kongo had beaten Herring, I imagine he would've got the fight.

I wouldnt say it was "favorable" but they saw the possibilities of a lesnar victory against a guy like that,to fast track him to the title. If they wanted to make an example out of him they wouldnt have put him against couture based off a win against herring imo.

The Couture situation was just weird. Obviously the UFC warmed up to Lesnar after he beat Herring, and caused a bit of stir with his post-fight antics. The title situation was fucked up though. Nog had been crowned interim champ, and a fight with Mir had already been set up. The rest of the HW's weren't doing anything notable. Lesnar got the shot based on star power, but I don't think there was too much motivation to get him the title. If it happened great, but they were still putting him up against another guy with drawing power who they'd have no problem promoting if he had won.

 

[HHJ]

I don't think they really cared. It was just a fight that made sense.

of course they cared. They were paying him alot of money.They knew with a win he WOULD talk shit. They knew what they had,and the kind of audience he brought with him wherever he went.

 

[HHJ]

The Couture situation was just weird. Obviously the UFC warmed up to Lesnar after he beat Herring, and caused a bit of stir with his post-fight antics. The title situation was fucked up though. Nog had been crowned interim champ, and a fight with Mir had already been set up. The rest of the HW's weren't doing anything notable. Lesnar got the shot based on star power, but I don't think there was too much motivation to get him the title. If it happened great, but they were still putting him up against another guy with drawing power who they'd have no problem promoting if he had won.

hahah i dunno man,to me it seemed like they had this in mind all along,and did their damndest to make sure the way was clear. They couldnt get in the ring with him but they gave him the ball and he ran with it. Same with Mcgregor.

 

[HereticBD]

of course they cared. They were paying him alot of money.They knew with a win he WOULD talk shit.

They did? How would they know that? Did he tell them this?

They knew what they had,and the kind of audience he brought with him wherever he went.

Yet they threw this cash cow at a former champion in his first fight. A fight that he lost in just over a minute. Yeah, they knew Lesnar was going to be the biggest MMA star after that.

If anything, they were thinking big risk, big reward. They certainly weren't thinking of giving him an easy ride though, as his list of opponents should be enough proof of that.

 

[HHJ]

Yeah, they knew Lesnar was going to be the biggest MMA star after that.

they did! if he could do what he did to mir in his 2nd fight,they were gonna make so much green. they hitched their wagon to him,and it was the right move. Belive what you want but there was no "ho-hum whatever" opinion about Brock Lesnar.

 

[MisdemeanorMMA]

I am a brock hater and I respect everything he's done and see him for more then a wwe actor. However I feel ufc gave him ideal matchups. I felt Carwin was his biggest threat because of his background but mir his biggest win. I know its what was best available at the time and randy was champ but herring and courture were old. herring retires after that fight and at that point I think a lot of people could have beat courture at Hw. Brocks biggest weakness was his hands but you couldn't tell in those fights he scored knockdowns in both. Mir has more skills then brock but at the time his stand up wasn't as great and was weaker physically. brock out muscled both fights and made mir bulk up so that couldn't happen to him again by anyone. Then the Carwin fight, he got so lucky that carwin swung himself tired. Carwin was unstoppable at the time but i thought he was involved with peds. It explained why he could work full time and train part time to become the interim champ. some thing happened with brock and Carwin involving hgh if I remember right. Just like A Silva brock lost via tko/ko to the best they have ever faced in there careers

again I respect brock but I thought they gave him a easy path to the title. why did jr have to Ko so many people to finally get a shot and win. Jr at that time would have ko'd randy , he ko'd the current champ around that time.

 

[James L]

It was funny watching Cain coach him from the stands on how to finish an arm triangle.

That happened? Cain Velasquez? It almost rings a bell. Would you kindly, jog my memory abit? Sorry if someone already had asked you to elaborate, I like most people on Sherdog, don't read entire threads.

 

[TallGHunter]

Does any1 remember what was the talk before Lesnar MMA debut against that asian guy?
Anyone hyped him much?

I told people at the time, right here on Shertard, that Lesner has a good shot. Lots of "top posters", people that thought they knew everything, said no way. I guess they'd never seen Lesner do a standing Gramby.

 

[ticho123]

Cant believe people are actually claiming the UFC gave Lesnar an easy road. Look at his record for Christ's sake! All but one opponent is a name guy

 

[cmw43]

Hong Man Choi?

I would've liked to see it, it was before HMC got his pituitary gland removed and was still a super strong 360lbs.

 

[Thrawn33]

Lots of people were shitting on him due to the WWE background without even bothering to look up his wrestling credentials.

 

[Lyoto Jackson]

That happened? Cain Velasquez? It almost rings a bell. Would you kindly, jog my memory abit? Sorry if someone already had asked you to elaborate, I like most people on Sherdog, don't read entire threads.

I don't recall if it was on during the live broadcast or not. Cain was just yelling from his front row seat, but it seemed like Brock could hear him. I think it just bothered Cain so much that he was doing it wrong that he started yelling "go the other way!"