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Former WWE Champ, Brock Lesnar, Loses UFC Debut by Submission..

Sun, 02/03/2008 - 13:34 — J.R.

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Wrestling

Saturday night in Las Vegas before a sell out crowd in the Mandalay Bay Events Center, former WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar made his long awaited UFC debut losing to former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir by tapout via an ankle lock in 1:30 of the first round. Lesnar was impressive early in the first round, easily taking down Mir, but Brock’s inexperience showed when he carelessly left his ankle exposed and the veteran Mir capitalized on the mistake to make the former NCAA Heavyweight Wrestling Champion submit.

The WWE’s Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Undertaker, along with former WWE Champion Kurt Angle were among the many celebs on hand to witness Lesnar’s debut, as it was obvious that it was Lesnar who created the “buzz” for the pay per view event. This was the first UFC PPV I have purchased in quite some time and I ordered the event simply because of Brock Lesnar’s much hyped debut. It will be interesting to see how the UFC PR machine spins Lesnar’s loss and equally interesting to see how Lesnar handles the loss and regroups. Lesnar reportedly made a huge payday for the event and I would speculate that the PPV buys will be strong largely because of the former WWE Champion. Lesnar can still be marketed as the UFC’s “Next Big Thing” but one would assume that Brock’s second UFC fight becomes a “must win” for the former Minnesota Golden Gopher in order for those marketing plans to become a reality. Don’t count Lesnar out as he is too talented, too big and strong, and too proud to not work to improve and become the box office sensation the UFC envisions and needs.

J.R.

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Comments

Wed, 02/06/2008 - 15:03 — Josh (not verified)

Lesnar was indeed quite impressive in the fight. He was destroying Mir, and only lost due to lack of experience. He literally gave Mir his foot, and it was over. If he would have backed up, tackled him once more, and laid on a few more punches, it would have likely been over in favor of Brock.

Tue, 02/05/2008 - 12:12 — Dale (not verified)

That is why I am not a hufe fan of UFC, a huge fight comming up with alot of hype, pay $50.00 bucks and then BAM Fight over in 1minute and 30 seconds....BOO...but anywhoo, Brock did beat the crap out Mir but Brock rookie mistake and TAP.

Mon, 02/04/2008 - 20:18 — gr33nd3vil (not verified)

Hey JR, Nice blog, I have to admit, you are very true, Lesnar is a monster, and has come to accomplish many things, and I believe this is where he will be for the rest of his life, till he retires. Everyone loses one time or another, I mean look at the Patriots, look @ John Cena, Triple H, Jeff Hardy, no matter how talented you are, you have to lose one time or another, and this was Lesnar's first REAL MMA fight. I believe we will see him grow to be a superb fighter, and one of the best to come. Nice to see WWE and yourself saying nice things about Lesnar, and helping boost his rep on the UFC circuit. CHEERS!

Mon, 02/04/2008 - 12:58 — tim thornburg (not verified)

brock's future is very bright indeed based on what was witnessed saturday night!!! his shooting is extremly fast as frank mir testified, mix that with his power (he did drop mir with a nice crisp punch) and i have wathched ufc for years now and have never seen anybody toss somebody around the way brock did! lack of experience was the defining factor, but when it comes done to raw talent (no pun intended) brock will be ufc heavyweight champion, it will all come together for him, and good lord when it does, he will dominate like nobody else has!

Mon, 02/04/2008 - 11:32 — Eric Jones (not verified)

JR, I totally agree with your assessment of Lesnar. Rumor has it that he is to headline UFC 85 in England...so the UFC PR machine is running well!

Mon, 02/04/2008 - 11:10 — Steve (not verified)

Dear J.R.: I wasn't rooting for Brock, but I wasn't wishing him ill, either. I had a feeling he was going to lose, but he would make a game out of it. Transitional, or "catch-as-catch-can", wrestlers are tough to defend against. Mir's technique in transition was too much for Brock. However, I agree that this isn't the last we've seen of "The Next Big Thing". As far as wrestling goes, I think my friends and I no longer think it's "cool" to boo John Cena. We boiled down the demographics of Cena "haters": they are "smarts" 25-32 whose girlfriends, IF they have any, think Cena is good-looking and cool and HATE that; OR, they are non-demographic fans who have no generational connection to him. I skew closer to the latter. However, I won't boo him anymore. He is improving in the ring every match. His mike skills are great. Finally, he is making his "gimmick" work much longer than anyone expected. I am of the opinion that haters are making up excuses to hate him, which ends up being no reason at all. Steve

Mon, 02/04/2008 - 10:05 — MIchael F. McDonough (not verified)

JR. I watch WWE alot and always love your insight on things. You are not onesided and in this world today that is important. For the Brock Lesner fight he did dominate the fight however that is what is amazing about the UFC one mistake can turn the tide. I would like to point out however that the Ref stood them up after an accidental blow to the back of the head. I was suprised by this as there was no warning and also a point was deducted. I do believe this influenced the fight taking some momentum away from Lesner. You are right however his inexperience did show with letting his ankle be volunerable. Mike

Mon, 02/04/2008 - 09:04 — Leon Bradley (not verified)

JR, sorry to say.. But i don't think Brock has much chance in the UFC. He has lost all the hype losing in 1:30. If im wrong then im Wrong, But remember both Ken Shamrock & Dan 'The Beast' Severn came from there when they entered the world wrestling federation. and they had a different intensity than your average wrestlers in the world wrestling federation. and really did utilize thier submission styles to a different level.

Mon, 02/04/2008 - 08:44 — Scott N, (not verified)

J.R, big fan, I was at Hooters To watch the fight ..pretty much for the same reason you ordered it. Im guessing it drew much more WWE fans then one would have expected, that is due to the huge pop heard when the showed angle, austin, annd Undertaker. UFC turned out to be pretty entertaining and a I may start to watch The Ultimate Fighter.

Mon, 02/04/2008 - 05:37 — collie (not verified)

Frank mir was very lucky, for a winner he sure looked very beat up. Lesnars takedown is something else and its very clear his striking is not to be messed with, in the end though, it was most likely the fact it was only his second mma fight, and he was up against a very tallented ju jitsu practitioner who very luckily managed to expliot his inexperience. i would go all out and say, if lesnar had got his ankle out in time that match would have been over about 10 seconds later via TKO , as lesnar completly dominating with his weight and striking! Dam that ankle!

Mon, 02/04/2008 - 02:55 — Mistervader (not verified)

I take it that there's no personal bad blood between you and Lesnar despite his abrupt decision to leave the company a few years back? I'm actually happy for him. Though he may have lost, he still looked good.

Mon, 02/04/2008 - 01:33 — RJ Daniels (not verified)

Lesnar had nothing to be ashamed about in this outing. He needed to lose. He can be a dominate force in UFC if he can gain more experience. But, to see him toss Mir around the octagon like that...a former UFC Champ none-the-less...was quite impressive on his part. Mir was in trouble from the first 5 seconds until he caught Lesnar's ankle. For someone like Mir to have almost no offense against Lesnar...and Lesnar to be so green...I personally think speaks volumes about the potential that Lesnar has for a future in the UFC!

Mon, 02/04/2008 - 01:28 — Daniel (not verified)

Hey JR JBL was there as well. I do believe Brock, with BJJ training he will be the Next Big Thing for the UFC.

Mon, 02/04/2008 - 01:14 — John (not verified)

Hit the nail on the head J.R. Keep up the good work sir.

Sun, 02/03/2008 - 17:09 — chris (not verified)

I think he did well. It was tough for him to face such a big competitor in only his second bout. I think he'll improve as he goes on. He definitely has what it takes.

Sun, 02/03/2008 - 16:52 — Susan Flores (not verified)

I voted for Lesnar on that WWE poll last week, he will win the next one, just knowing your buddies are watching you is enough pressure , he also had many fans expecting him to perform. It is like homeboy from Dallas Cowboys seeing Jessica in the audience. Distracting indeed. [; Brock should not worry, loyal friends don't leave if you lose a match or game, only shallow aquintances do that. Better luck next tome dude!

Sun, 02/03/2008 - 16:34 — matt (not verified)

now you can correct me if im wrong but i feel alot of insiders wanted brock to lose! Maybe some insiders feel he betrayed the wwe a few yrs back. i think brock can be a legitate contender but hes got a long way to go. Its not like wrestling there is so many techniques he must master!

Sun, 02/03/2008 - 15:48 — Kyle H (not verified)

I think brock will inprove over time. He was off guard and he will learn from his mistakes.

Sun, 02/03/2008 - 15:13 — bill zettler (not verified)

JR, MYSELF I AM SURPRISED BY THE LOSS OF BROCK. HE SHOULD BE REALLY FIRED UP FOR A WIN NEXT TIME OUT. BILL

Sun, 02/03/2008 - 13:58 — BJ (not verified)

I would love to see an Angle vs. Lesnar match!Kurt could do well if he can keep from getting hit by Brock to many times.