The announcement that Lesnar would coach opposite Junior Dos Santos with #1 contendership on the line angered some fans.Michael Cohen/Getty Images
Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter” is under fire from MMA fans yet again. Zealous devotees have long questioned the UFC’s reality show claiming it has gone from an inside look into professional MMA training to…well…a reality show. One that prioritizes ratings over scruples and one that highlights immaturity and petty conflicts over the commitment, dedication, athleticism and strength a great mixed martial artist must have.
Each season draws questions about the show’s relevance and the image of mixed martial artists it transmits, but rarely does it directly spill over into the UFC’s title picture. The upcoming season, “TUF13”, does exactly that, promoting a match between Junior Dos Santos and Brock Lesnar that will decide the next opponent for current Heavyweight Champion, Cain Velasquez.
This turn of events shocked MMA followers, and irked many of those who already questioned TUF’s role in the sport and loathe the way the UFC handles its fighters and matchmaking. However, the accusations of wrongdoing by some jaded MMA fans are unfounded.
The conflict lies in the fact that Cain Velasquez fought Brock Lesnar in one of the highest-grossing PPV events of 2010, October’s UFC 121. Velasquez won handily in a first round technical knockout that left Lesnar bruised and bloody. There was no question about who was the better fighter that day.
It’s incredibly rare that a fighter have the opportunity to win back a title so soon after losing it. In fact, it’s rare to see this at any level in the rankings. While there have been immediate title rematches following controversial decisions (as was the case with Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, BJ Penn vs. Frankie Edgar, and soon Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard), other deposed champions typically have a long road back to the belt.
Dos Santos is 6-0-0 in the UFC, and was in line to duel Cain Velasquez for the Heavyweight Championship before Velasquez was shelved due to injury.Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
It is difficult to identify a consistent pattern when it comes to UFC champions climbing to the top of their division, falling and then climbing back to the top. This isn’t made any easier by the fact that current Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre and current Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva have had a tight hold on their belts for years on end. There are other fighters to take a look at, however.
BJ Penn had a grasp on the UFC’s Lightweight Championship for a long while. Many put him in the same league as St-Pierre and Silva after completely dismantling strong lightweights like Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez. When he lost to Frankie Edgar in a moderately controversial decision during the UFC 112 event in Abu Dhabi, that air of dominance dissipated. When Edgar beat Penn again in a stunningly one-sided fight at UFC 118, his pound-for-pound rating plummeted and his place in the division was in question.
After time and soul-searching, he moved up a weight class and battled former Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes, who was coming off a three-fight win streak. He beat him by TKO in twenty-one seconds. In spite of this, and in spite of the fact that he likely remains one of the best in a stacked division, he is nowhere near the front of the line for either of the two lightweight belts floating around (the UFC-WEC merger brought another champion into the mix in Anthony Pettis).
Meanwhile, the Light Heavyweight division has had a revolving door on top of the division, with Chuck Liddell, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua all holding the belt since 2007. Liddell never reentered the championship picture after losing the belt. Griffin has remained a safe distance from the top contender mix, and is penned to fight Rich Franklin in a battle to remain relevant. Machida is presently slated for something of a “lose-lose” bout against Randy Couture, in what is sure to be a fun fight, but not one that will help him back to reclaim the title.
BJ Penn, 12-6-1 in the UFC, was a dominant champion, but seems very far away from getting another chance at the belt.Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
In May 2010, Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans fought at UFC 114 to decide ‘Shogun’ Rua’s opponent as champion. Both fighters, however, had high-profile victories separating them from their title defeats.
By comparison, the upcoming number-one contender match between Junior Dos Santos and Brock Lesnar is shocking. However, the reasoning behind the move is obvious.
Lesnar has cemented himself as the UFC’s biggest draw. Featuring him as often as possible will generate huge amounts of buzz and will draw throngs of viewers. Lesnar has headlined four UFC events, all of which are estimated to have generated over a million buys each.
While putting Lesnar front and center makes financial sense for the UFC, putting Lesnar against Junior Dos Santos was certainly not something the UFC was planning to do, even a month ago. UFC 117 featured a main card bout between Dos Santos and TUF10 winner Roy Nelson to decide who was in line for a title shot. Dos Santos did everything short of knock Nelson out, unanimously winning all three rounds of the bout, and earning a title shot.
However, after Champion Cain Velasquez suffered a torn rotator cuff that is estimated to put him out of commission until late Summer 2011, a matchmaking nightmare popped up for the UFC. The top of the Heavyweight division is a small bunch, made up of Velasquez, Lesnar and Dos Santos, with Roy Nelson and former Interim Champion Shane Carwin on the outside looking in. Unfortunately for UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, there are few compelling bouts that can be made from that bunch…at least, few that are yet to be done.
Shortly after the injury to Velasquez became public, Dos Santos made it clear that he did not want to sit and wait on Velasquez’s recovery. “I'm five months without fighting, fighting is my life, not just because I love doing it, but also because I need to fight for a living. I don't make as much money as the top fighters, so I really need to work.” Dos Santos reportedly made between $60,000 and $80,000 for his three wins in 2010, however this would have been substantially lower if he hadn’t won all these bouts.
Dos Santos is obviously eager to get back in the ring and his growing resume has made him a main event fighter. The division is short on others that fit this bill, however. He has already beaten Nelson, and Carwin has not fought since being submitted by Lesnar at UFC 116. Getting matched against other heavyweight notables like Frank Mir, or up-and-comer Brendan Schaub would be poor moves for Dos Santos, as neither of them would come close to producing the buzz or buys that Lesnar could. Additionally, losing to either of them would likely pull Dos Santos well away from another chance for the belt.
So while it is unusual, the Brock vs. Dos Santos TUF season is the best option for all involved parties. Dos Santos will be half of the main event for what will surely be one of the biggest MMA events of 2011, Lesnar instantly gets back into title contention, and the UFC will have millions of viewers tune in each week to watch TUF13. It’s a win-win-win situation, even though nobody saw it playing out this way.
Source: www.bleacherreport.com
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