Was Brock's WWE antics to over the top for MMA?

[Mad Dog]

I'm curious what you guys think. I admit that when I saw it live I didn't care for it. It just looked stupid and felt like the fake sport was bleeding over into the real sport. I'm curious what you guys think.

Apparently ESPN didn't like it and they wrote an article about it; Daniel Cormier's magical moment tarnished by Brock Lesnar.

I guess I'm most bothered by Lesnar even getting a title shot but it's all about money now.

 

[TheEmperorRises]

I guess I'm most bothered by Lesnar even getting a title shot but it's all about money now.

So when Tito Ortiz went into what would be his final fight with the UFC with Forrest Griffin, he was on a streak of 1-6-1 in his last 8 fightss over the course of 6 years. Which made you ask 'Why the fuck is this guy still getting fights??' The sobering reality is that rankings aren't as important in MMA as buy rates and Twitter followers are.

MMA has more in common with pro wrestling than they'd ever like to admit. I hated what they did, letting Brock in to act a fool. But if that's the fight they wanted to sell (it is) then that's what needed to be done to hype it.

 

[SensoriaUtopia]

I hated it, and I expected it. I honestly would not really give that much of a fuck until the part where Brock called Lewis and Stipe pieces of shit. Everythign else was whatever, but that part really made me irritated. Are these writers at WME that fucking inept that you can't figure out a way to script trash talk wtihout calling real fighters pieces of shit. Lewis at least won, but I really felt sad for Miocic. Imagine you are Stipe, classy guy, super honorable guy, a fireman, you just gave it your all, you just lost your title, your heart is heavy, you are walking back to the locker and you hear Brock calling you a piece of shit.

WME are a disgusting lot, and Brock is classless.

Again, it's not so much the antics, that is cheesy but I can deal with it, it is specifically the fact that Stipe was called a piece of shit, how is that justifiable?

 

[SensoriaUtopia]

So when Tito Ortiz went into what would be his final fight with the UFC with Forrest Griffin, he was on a streak of 1-6-1 in his last 8 fightss over the course of 6 years. Which made you ask 'Why the fuck is this guy still getting fights??' The sobering reality is that rankings aren't as important in MMA as buy rates and Twitter followers are.

MMA has more in common with pro wrestling than they'd ever like to admit. I hated what they did, letting Brock in to act a fool. But if that's the fight they wanted to sell (it is) then that's what needed to be done to hype it.

They could have easily done all that wtihout calling Lewis and Stipe pieces of shit.

 

[TheEmperorRises]

They could have easily done all that wtihout calling Lewis and Stipe pieces of shit.

I seriously doubt they knew what Brock was going to say.

 

[SensoriaUtopia]

I seriously doubt they knew what Brock was going to say.

Then that is twice as bad. You would think, since they are doing this WWE style stuff, they would have gone over that with him beforehand, WME are just beyond inept in MMA.

 

[TheEmperorRises]

Imagine you are Stipe, classy guy, super honorable guy, a fireman, you just gave it your all, you just lost your title, your heart is heavy, you are walking back to the locker and you hear Brock calling you a piece of shit.

Here's Stipe after the fight-

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/BlBkOaeFUgM/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=hh9zzxbglw4i


Not defending Brock- he is a classless piece of shit. But Stipe is iron willed. I mean, when it's Brock talking shit, consider the source.

 

[benjo0101]

I absolutely hated every second of it.

Especially the forced part about "so n so is a piece of shit". That's just not true or necessary or nice to watch.

The whole thing ruined an intriguing match up and a great mma fight aftermath

 

[La Paix]

Then that is twice as bad. You would think, since they are doing this WWE style stuff, they would have gone over that with him beforehand, WME are just beyond inept in MMA.

So you don't like the WWE angle but you'd prefer that shit talk was scripted? If you found out DC and Brock were muzzled by Dana or WME would you be happier?

I personally didn't mind it. It made me do the "AWWWWWW SHEEEEIIT!" even though I knew it was a business move for both guys. It injected some emotion and had me a little excited and that's a big reason I tune in. I agree about calling guys POS is a bit overboard for my liking but that shit sells tickets whether we like it or not. I'll tune into Brock vs DC for the chance to see Lesnar get smashed up by a smaller guy, I fucking love that shit.

 

[SensoriaUtopia]

Here's Stipe after the fight-

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/BlBkOaeFUgM/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=hh9zzxbglw4i


Not defending Brock- he is a classless piece of shit. But Stipe is iron willed. I mean, when it's Brock talking shit, consider the source.

Stipe is a Man's man, and is iron willed, but trust and believe he was probably disgusted , also Stipe's family in attendance did not deserve that either

 

[SensoriaUtopia]

So you don't like the WWE angle but you'd prefer that shit talk was scripted? If you found out DC and Brock were muzzled by Dana or WME would you be happier?

I personally didn't mind it. It made me do the "AWWWWWW SHEEEEIIT!" even though I knew it was a business move for both guys. It injected some emotion and had me a little excited and that's a big reason I tune in. I agree about calling guys POS is a bit overboard for my liking but that shit sells tickets whether we like it or not. I'll tune into Brock vs DC for the chance to see Lesnar get smashed up by a smaller guy, I fucking love that shit.

Bro, what I am saying is they could have done everything they did without the POS comment. They could have still had the same cheesy antics and not have to call Stipe and Lewis pieces of shit, that was beyond acceptable to me.

Of course I am watchign the fight, I am focusing on the POS remark.

 

[Limpy]

Bro, what I am saying is they could have done everything they did without the POS comment. They could have still had the same cheesy antics and not have to call Stipe and Lewis pieces of shit, that was beyond acceptable to me.

Of course I am watchign the fight, I am focusing on the POS remark.

He called Ngannou a piece of shit, not Lewis. Lol

 

[lueVelvet]

Someone on the MMA roadshow had an interesting thought...he suggested that they shouldn’t have let him into the cage at all and just let DC run his mouth. This way DC would have still been the centerpiece of the show and it would have caused all sorts of talk in the media etc. instead Brock is getting most of the headlines and made the UFC look silly IMO.

 

[member 603]

This all happened by design..... DC wanted a money fight with someone he could actually beat.... Love him or hate him, DC CANNOT beat Jon Jones, so that wouldn't be a fight he'd push for. No other HW or LHW offers the cash grab, EXCEPT Brock Lesnar.

Brock has great wrestling, and actually offers a "with his size and wrestling ability, can he beat DC?" argument in this fight, but you still needed a angle for this fight to happen.... If it were let's say Fedor, with his name and resume, you can make this fight happen no problem.. but it's not, it's Brock. Enter Brock, no fights in a couple of years, failing his last drug test, no real reason to really have him there, so what do you do? You let him come in and play the WWE heel role... Shove DC, insult Stipe and Ngannou, general act in a cartoon villain manner, then sit back and watch the internet drone on about it, the fight outcome, and MMA 'purists' all cheering for Brock's head.

This fight will happen, and will break all the PPV buys.... And short of Conor coming back and fucking a Conor clone in the middle of the octagon, it'll stay tops for a while.

 

[Howard Moon]

This all happened by design..... DC wanted a money fight with someone he could actually beat.... Love him or hate him, DC CANNOT beat Jon Jones, so that wouldn't be a fight he'd push for. No other HW or LHW offers the cash grab, EXCEPT Brock Lesnar.

Brock has great wrestling, and actually offers a "with his size and wrestling ability, can he beat DC?" argument in this fight, but you still needed a angle for this fight to happen.... If it were let's say Fedor, with his name and resume, you can make this fight happen no problem.. but it's not, it's Brock. Enter Brock, no fights in a couple of years, failing his last drug test, no real reason to really have him there, so what do you do? You let him come in and play the WWE heel role... Shove DC, insult Stipe and Ngannou, general act in a cartoon villain manner, then sit back and watch the internet drone on about it, the fight outcome, and MMA 'purists' all cheering for Brock's head.

This fight will happen, and will break all the PPV buys.... And short of Conor coming back and fucking a Conor clone in the middle of the octagon, it'll stay tops for a while.

I think most of us understood why this is happening. The question is, do you as an MMA fan think this is what MMA should be?

Personally, I stopped the vid when I saw DC smiling after the 2-hander from Brock. I don't need this in my MMA and if this is the future, it won't include me.

 

[La Paix]

I'm curious what you guys think. I admit that when I saw it live I didn't care for it. It just looked stupid and felt like the fake sport was bleeding over into the real sport. I'm curious what you guys think.

Apparently ESPN didn't like it and they wrote an article about it; Daniel Cormier's magical moment tarnished by Brock Lesnar.

I guess I'm most bothered by Lesnar even getting a title shot but it's all about money now.

Should we add a poll?

 

[Mad Dog]

Should we add a poll?

I thought about that when I made the thread. I ended up not doing it in the hope of getting more of your guys thoughts instead.

 

[La Paix]

I thought about that when I made the thread. I ended up not doing it in the hope of getting more of your guys thoughts instead.

Fair enough.

Imo MMA needs fighters like Brock, Rhonda, Conor, Chael and so on. I get not everyone likes thier antics but they bring all kinds of attention and hype and that can generate dollars for everyone on the card, plus it's fun. I like to have some sort of emotion invested in a fight as it makes it so much better to watch just like betting. I love watching two high level dudes fight but if one of them has me rooting for or against them to the point I'm screaming for blood that's a great viewing experience as far as I'm concerned.

I didn't like the GSP vs Bisping fight at all until they started holding pressers. Mike was the perfect guy to welcome Georges back and have clearly defined heel/face rolls going into the fight.

 

[Dick Niaz]

I loathed every part about it. If Brock had just come in and they did a stare down and handshake, that would have been all the hype they needed. I don’t know whether it was fully staged, but I hate the idea that DC/Stipe may have known it was coming if they won. It tarnished the historic moment and the sport.

 

[SensoriaUtopia]

This all happened by design..... DC wanted a money fight with someone he could actually beat.... Love him or hate him, DC CANNOT beat Jon Jones, so that wouldn't be a fight he'd push for. No other HW or LHW offers the cash grab, EXCEPT Brock Lesnar.

Brock has great wrestling, and actually offers a "with his size and wrestling ability, can he beat DC?" argument in this fight, but you still needed a angle for this fight to happen.... If it were let's say Fedor, with his name and resume, you can make this fight happen no problem.. but it's not, it's Brock. Enter Brock, no fights in a couple of years, failing his last drug test, no real reason to really have him there, so what do you do? You let him come in and play the WWE heel role... Shove DC, insult Stipe and Ngannou, general act in a cartoon villain manner, then sit back and watch the internet drone on about it, the fight outcome, and MMA 'purists' all cheering for Brock's head.

This fight will happen, and will break all the PPV buys.... And short of Conor coming back and fucking a Conor clone in the middle of the octagon, it'll stay tops for a while.

I agree wtih everythign you said, but they still could have done all this without calling Stipe and Ngannou pieces of shit

 

[La Paix]

I agree wtih everythign you said, but they still could have done all this without calling Stipe and Ngannou pieces of shit

It wasn't "they" it was Brock. Disrespectful no doubt but thats what Brock does whether it be in WWE or UFC and people will pay to see him win or lose.

GSP is my all time favorite but if the vast majority of the roster acted Iike him it would be boring and stale. Good guys like George need bad guys like Bisping and Koscheck, Meisha needed Rhonda, Silva needed Sonnen and DC needs bad guys like Jones and Brock to keep things interesting and make good money. The contrast of these characters is what makes people emotionally invested in fights and open up their wallets.

 

[kneeblock]

Where is the evidence that these tactics actually work besides McGregor? UFC PPV sales and TV viewership has been at historic lows over the past couple years. Not sure how ticket sales are faring, but last event I was at there were plenty of empty seats. People talk about the fake drama and loud talk as if it actually improves the revenues, but other than Conor, there's zero evidence that it does anything significant. Brock could have just walked in there and said "I can't wait to test myself" and would have gotten the exact same buzz the next day and subsequent buyrate just because he's Brock Lesnar.

 

[SensoriaUtopia]

It wasn't "they" it was Brock. Disrespectful no doubt but thats what Brock does whether it be in WWE or UFC and people will pay to see him win or lose.

GSP is my all time favorite but if the vast majority of the roster acted Iike him it would be boring and stale. Good guys like George need bad guys like Bisping and Koscheck, Meisha needed Rhonda, Silva needed Sonnen and DC needs bad guys like Jones and Brock to keep things interesting and make good money. The contrast of these characters is what makes people emotionally invested in fights and open up their wallets.

Good Lord, I keep saying something simple, are you saying that Brock could not have hyped it WWE style without resorting to "pieces of shit' I keep saying my issue is with that

 

[La Paix]

Brock could have just walked in there and said "I can't wait to test myself" and would have gotten the exact same buzz the next day and subsequent buyrate just because he's Brock Lesnar.

How can you possibly make that claim? Look at this list of biggest PPV and tell me what they all have in common?

Lesnar, McGregor, Rousey, Sonnen and Jackson, Tito... All the biggest talkers in the game.

 

[kneeblock]

How can you possibly make that claim? Look at this list of biggest PPV and tell me what they all have in common?

Lesnar, McGregor, Rousey, Sonnen and Jackson, Tito... All the biggest talkers in the game.

I mentioned McGregor as the exception.

Ronda didn't do much smack talk at all leading up to the Holm fight other than saying she was fake like twice. Ronda sold because she finished people with brutal quickness.

Lesnar sold because he was Lesnar and brought the accompanying WWE heat. In fact, in all of his UFC career besides the Mir fight, he was always fairly humble in the lead up and said little. What smack did he talk to Cain, Carwin or Randy? None.

Liddell/Ortiz was two of the most popular fighters of all time finally facing off after years of build up and none of the drama was forced.

Rampage/Rashad I'll give you. That was all forced bs built up over a TUF season that led to a total disappointment of a fight.

This notion that fake drama sells has no basis in reality.