Reflecting On Brock Lesnar's UFC Debut

Originally posted on the old DTM Blog on February 4th, 2008:

Managed to get myself past the Brock match to see the rest of the show, whom a friend of mine foolishly blew fifty bucks on and taped the event for me. Other than a few quick moments, I couldn't really get into the show. It just seems like after watching a bunch of sports-entertainers trying to make scripted entertainment seem real for a whole bunch of years, I'd expect a real fight to even more intense, only to be sorely disappointed as I watch two grown men in their boxers swatting each other like flies with about as much ferocity as a ball of cotton. Maybe I prefer my action to be scripted.

But let's get back to Brock for a minute. Obviously his first UFC outing didn't turn out too well, as after a minute of solid punches, he was caught in a leglock and forced to tap out. While I mentioned this already in a previous blog post, Brock is far from the next big choke. It's his first match and naturally, you can't win them all. But from the short time he was offensive, he didn't look like a complete idiot and may do very well in his new UFC career.

So best of luck, Brock.

The Modern Take:

As is probably known, Brock Lesnar recovered from his first UFC loss and eventually became UFC Heavyweight Champion. And then he lost the title and came back to WWE in 2012, where he sporadically remains to this day... at least, as of this recording.

Unfortunately for the world of real fights and MMA, I never could find the enthusiasm to enjoy watching two people beat the crap out of each other. I can certainly respect the toughness of these individuals in regards to the training and endurance required to participate in such intense contests, but when it comes to actually sitting down and watching the fights, I find myself falling asleep faster than if I were to watch a HHH promo.

This is perhaps why I prefer the wrestling shows. Sure, the fights are all phoney-balooney and all that, but at its best, wrestling tell better stories and feature characters with larger than life (or at least very likeable) personalities that you can't help but take a liking to. So, MMA fans. You can have your real fights and stick 'em. I prefer my fights to be staged and pre-determined.