Damn, I'm Good

Sometime during the year, I kinda quit the whole UFC Picks thing since I wasn't getting out to watch most of the PPVs anymore. But damn, after tonight, maybe I should've stuck with it.

Earlier today, when asked my thoughts on a winner for Brock vs Randy, my text message answer was:

"I think Randy will be suffering from cage rust, make a mistake, get caught with a big punch and then get GNPd to a stoppage."

Wow. I basically nailed that one, right?

So, what's next for both the new champion and the former champ?

Brock gets to wait for the winner of Mir and Noguiera in a unification fight. I really like Nog but part of me is rooting for Mir to see the rematch. But after that... hrm. The UFC Heavy division isn't exactly overflowing with top contenders after those four.

Randy? Well, I can't imagine he'll stay at heavy. Unless they sign Fedor, there doesn't seem to be much there for him. Light heavy? Maybe. There'd probably be money in Forrest/Randy, Silva/Randy, Rampage/Randy, maybe even another Chuck/Randy. I'd see that as more likely at this point.

Brock needs to channel that inner heel though. Now's the time. Buyrates could explode with people paying to see who can take the title off the hated champion - it's the Ric Flair Syndrome.

I didn't get to see the rest of the show since I got home from work just in time to see Ken Flo choke out Joe Daddy - a result that pleases me muchly. But the Main Event was a lot of fun and had that "big match" atmosphere.

Is Brock Lesnar once again "The Next Big Thing?"

Time will tell.

Lesnar vs Couture: Let's Get It On!

Hooooo boy.

Dana White sure does know how to make a splash. You've got to wonder just how long he's been holding that in his back pocket. Just when Quinton Jackson had been formally charged and there was a nice-sized black eye on the UFC's rep - BOOM! - Dana puts y'all in check.

So, Randy Couture is officially back in the UFC and is still UFC Heavyweight Champion. And apparently he's back on a multifight deal as Dana says the winner of Randy/Brock will meet the winner of Noguiera/Mir for a unification fight in 2009. Now that's how you stir up interest in your heavy division. And if that wasn't enough, Dana drops the teaser that he wants to do the Fedor fight and as soon as Fedor is clear of contractual obligations to Affliction, they'll try to put it together.

Hoooooo boy.

At first, the Randy/Brock fight seemed a poor choice to me but the more I think about it, the more I start to like it. After his last fight, I saw dollar signs all over Brock Lesnar. The showboating after the win, the crazy near KO at the beginning, the total domination [boring as it was] of a legit heavy contender - all good signs for the UFC. If Brock can improve as much between Herring and Randy as he did between Mir and Herring, this could be an interesting fight. After all, even Randy can't harness the Flux Capacitor and make himself ten years younger. With this long of a layoff, will he have ring rust? If he does, this could get interesting. Randy's whole fight strategy is usually based around getting people down, dirty boxing, and ground-and-pound. I don't think you want to get that close to Brock for any of that so I think it could be a serious style clash for the champ.

And if Brock loses? Well, he's losing his first title fight to Randy Couture. No shame in that. That's an easy rebuild. If he wins? He beat Randy Couture! Oh, and if he beats Randy, you can bet that Dana's praying for Mir to upset Noguiera. Mir/Lesnar 2? I can smell the cash from here.

Dana is predicting that Lesnar/Randy will be the biggest fight in UFC history and do over a million buys. How much of that is promoter hype, I just don't know. But I do think that if Lesnar gets a chance to show his natural personality before the fight - and I mean shoving a mic under his face EVERY possible chance until then - people will want to pay to see him lose. And that's where the money is. The money is in people wanting to pay to see the heels lose - just like in pro wrestling - no matter how many people want to deny it. It worked for Tito. It would work for Josh Koshcheck if he'd embrace his inner dick. It'll work for Brock.

Biggest fight in UFC history? I guess we'll all know soon enough.

Top Five Friday

Ay yo!

It's time for the second edition of Top Five Friday... and in honor of it being a big MMA weekend [the first IFL show of the year is tonight & the UFC PPV is tomorrow night] I've decided on an MMA-themed Top Five and thus...

My Top Five MMA Dream Matches Of The Moment

5. Kimbo Slice vs Bob Sapp
Let's start with the Mother of All Freak Show Fights. Bob Sapp, the man who has made a living off being a freak show fighter in Japan, who incidentally got his ass knocked the fuck out last weekend in no time flat, taking on the YouTube King, Kimbo Slice. So, Kimbo vs Sapp... it soooooo needs to go down in Japan. For one, it'll draw the best there since they love the freak show fight, they love Sapp, and I can't imagine they wouldn't adore Kimbo. For two, since it'd require a weight class change that would probably be a bad idea for both [although Kimbo could probably do it] so you'd need the "relaxed" rules of Japan. It'd be over in no time flat probably but it'd be a fun first round.

4. Chuck Liddell vs Forrest Griffin
This would be better if Chuck was the champ as you'd have the great story of the heavily favored champ taking on his former student, the huge underdog, in what would be a great brawl. Forrest shows no fear and would stand and throw with Chuck. The UFC screwed this one up by booking Forrest vs Rampage but... oooh, fantasy booking hat on! Forrest vs Rampage... Forrest takes Rampage to the limit but ends up losing by controversial decision. In the match, Rampage hurts Forrest pretty bad at some point... maybe a tweaked neck or something from a big slam. Chuck takes up his former student's mantle to go after Rampage... and wins the title. Forrest comes back but instead of being grateful to Chuck... he immediately challenges him for the title. It's beautiful!

3. Mirko CroCop vs Brock Lesnar
I said it a month or so ago... this really is a fantastic dream match but only if it goes down in Japan. This match has lost some luster for me since Brock lost his first fight and CroCop's heading back to Japan to get back in the groove before his UFC return. If CroCop can string together some wins and Brock gets on track, this could be a fantastic match sometime in '09 though.

2. Fedor Emiliananko vs Randy Couture
Couldn't go without everyone's favorite dream match, right? Arguably, the two top heavyweights in the world going toe to toe for the undisputed World Championship. Of course, with Noguiera stopping Sylvia while Randy could only take him to the limit [and with Sylvia having a bad back during the fight], there probably is some "dispute" to it. This fight may happen this year... depending on how the UFC contract scenario shakes out. It's got a limited shelf life though so it needs to happen quick. And preferably before Fedor ends up fighting real competition and loses.

1. Wanderlei Silva vs Anderson Silva
Okay, Wanderlei made a little noise recently about dropping down in weight class if Hendo wins the title tomorrow night... so he could do the same to face Anderson. Two of the best strikers in the world colliding would make for one of the most exciting fights in ages. This is a long shot because I believe they are on the same fight team but it would be awesome.

Okay, that's that. UFC Picks to come tomorrow.