Early buy rate numbers are coming in for UFC 106, and they aren’t good. More shocking than the some of the UFC’s recent judging is the disappointing buy rate for UFC 106. Fingers are being pointed, blame is being shifted, and heads are spinning as skeptics are wondering whether these early numbers suggest the first chapter in the decline of the UFC.

It is amazing as to how quickly things can change in the sports and entertainment business. Just five months ago, UFC 100 set records with over 1.5 million buys and was the darling of the media. The UFC president, Dana White’s arrogance was at an all time high and he immediately started making claims about surpassing the NFL in terms of popularity in a few years. Five months later and UFC 106 is estimated to have sold a mere 300,000 pay-per-views. At this rate, Dana White would be lucky to keep pace with the UFL in a few years.

The numbers are truly shocking. For one, it was just a month ago that the UFC generated over 500,000 buys with UFC 104. The show featured a title match between Shogun Rua and Lyoto Machida that looked very unappealing on paper. Neither man had the star power that Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin carry to the mass MMA audience. Yet a fight with these two UFC superstars featuring a rematch of a classic fight did almost half as many guys as two non-American fighters in a one-sided match on paper? It just doesn’t make sense…or does it?

I have a few theories as to the huge decrease in numbers, and they are huge. The number one theory is something I wrote about right before the UFC 106 and it centers on the ridiculous decisions that have come down in recent main-events since UFC 104. Over 500,000 people paid $50 to watch a guy get robbed of a title and a win. Even worse, over 1 million people watched arguably the wrong guy win a fight on the judge’s scoring card again at UFC 105. Take recent fights on The Ultimate Fighter into equation, and you have a scenario where you are expecting people to pay $50 to watch fights that are coming down to bad decisions. More than exciting fights or star power, I firmly believe that credibility counts more than anything else when promoting your sport. The UFC has lost a ton of credibility recently and that is exactly why casual fans are passing on the UFC.

Another popular argument these days amongst fans and journalists is overexposure. Can too much of a good thing hurt in the long run? I definitely believe that the UFC is suffering a case of overexposure right now. Big shows are coming as little as a week apart, as UFC 105 aired on free TV the week before UFC 106. Add in the UFC Unleashed shows and The Ultimate Fighter, and there is just too much UFC going on these days to follow. The short timeline between shows is fine, when you are following great fights. The risk you take is that you run into a couple of bad decisions in a row and fans are going to be just as quick to turn it off as they were to jump on UFC 100.

Yet another argument has been the diminished star power of Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin. A lot of people are pointing the finger at Griffin, feeling his poor showing against Anderson Silva turned fans off to Forrest. I don’t believe that at all. Here is a guy that is on the cover of one of the most successful video games of the year. Tito Ortiz has turned into a mainstream celebrity between his appearance on The Celebrity Apprentice and his public romance with Jenna Jameson. In terms of star-power, these two guys should have easily sold 500,000 buys. Plus, this was a rematch that fans have wanted to see for years. I don’t buy the star-power argument, although it has to be humiliating for someone like Tito Ortiz who prides himself on being one of the biggest stars in MMA.

Dana White has also started a war with boxing that he is beginning to lose. White has been running his mouth since the UFC blew up a couple of years ago. White has constantly ranted about how bad boxing is, and how the UFC has taken over boxing’s place in combat sports. That may have been true in the short-term but times are changing, and boxing is fighting back.

White has purposely run UFC shows head-to-head with the two biggest boxing events of the year in recent months. To say that boxing slaughtered the UFC would be an understatement. White should be humbled and embarrassed after all of his ranting about how much better the UFC is than boxing. UFC 103 generated an estimated 400,000 buys going head-to-head with Mayweather-Marquez which sold over 1 million. UFC 106 also had a head-to-head, going head-to-head with Pacquiao-Cotto. While UFC 106 did a mere 300,000 buys, Cotto-Pacquiao sold 1.25 million buys. Ouch!

It gets worse for Dana White and the UFC. It is looking very likely that the much anticipated Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather match is finally going to happen. Chances are that the agreement between these two almost assuredly includes a rematch, and a third match if necessary. The first match is expected to shatter records and could sell over 2 million pay-per-views. Numbers like that will make Dana White look like a moron anytime he criticizes boxing in the future. Additionally, there are a lot of older sports journalists that hate the UFC and are openly rooting for boxing in this war. Once this super fight happens, it will dwarf anything that Dana White or the UFC promotes for a long time.

There is really only one answer that the UFC has to answer Pacquiao-Mayweather and that is Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brock Lesnar. As of today, this is the biggest fight that can be made in MMA. While Fedor has never been a great draw on pay-per-view, Brock Lesnar has and this is a match that even the most casual MMA fans talk about. The big problem here for Dana White is that he has blasted boxing for years for not giving fans the match that they want to see (Pacquiao-Mayweather), and now it is he that can’t deliver the big match to his fans.  Pacquiao-Mayweather has to put a ton of pressure on Dana White to get Fedor vs. Brock done no matter what he says. He had the chance to get it done and he didn’t. Fans don’t want to hear his excuses about the Russian mafia or promotional deals. Fans are tired of excuses and just want to see the freaking fight. The fact that Bob Arum and Golden Boy can co-promote, completely dismisses just about all of Dana White’s excuses.

The bottom line here is that the UFC is facing a steep uphill climb in 2010. Even worse, a lot of this all comes back to Dana White writing checks with his mouth that he can’t cash. Sure, the UFC has been bit by injuries but they will get all of their top stars back at some point next year. Beyond the injuries, the UFC desperately needs to fix their judging methods and that needs to happen immediately.

More than anything, Dana White needs to keep his mouth shut and start delivering matches the fans want to see. Boxing is making a comeback and with no UFC super matches on the horizon, the UFC is in danger of being the “Fad of the Decade.” Fix the judging, spread out the shows, and deliver the fights that fans want to see, and the UFC will be just fine by the end of 2010.

Commissioner Goodell, I think you can sleep easy.

Thanks to Heavy.com for the UFC 106 numbers.

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They say timing is everything, and that is certainly true for Brock Lesnar. Four fights in, and Lesnar is an unequivocal success in UFC. The downside of his success is that he is too good at the wrong time in UFC.

I can’t think of another time in UFC history where every champion was the most dominant fighter in his division. Unlike Lesnar, all of those champions have potential big money fights on the table. The same can’t be said about Lesnar in the current UFC heavyweight division.

The heavyweight division in UFC has been the most cyclical of all in MMA. There have been times in UFC history where the division is stacked with elite fighters. There have been times where nobody in the division could draw a buy. Looking at the division today, there is nothing really to get excited about in Brock Lesnar’s future.

Frank Mir is still far and away the best heavyweight contender in the division. Mir was undoubtedly dominated at UFC 100 by Lesnar. However, a rematch could cement a historic trilogy between these two heavyweights. Out of all of Lesnar’s potential challengers, I think Mir would have the best chance of pulling an upset.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira would probably be second behind Mir in fighters capable of beating Lesnar. Nogueira was dominated by Mir at UFC 92. Personally, I think Nogueira is on the downside of his MMA career. A win over Randy Couture would likely set up a Lesnar match at some point.

Nogueira does likely pose the biggest challenge to Lesnar. As a well-rounded striker and grappler, Lesnar would definitely have to be cautious going into this fight. Mir did dominate Nogueira in the boxing game, but who knows. Nogueira does have the skills to land a lucky shot and turn the lights for Brock Lesnar.

I don’t think there would be a bigger Rocky story in MMA than a Couture win over Lesnar. People forget that Couture did give Lesnar some fits in the first round of their previous fight. Unfortunately age caught up with Randy and he didn’t have the reflexes to answer Lesnar’s speed throughout the fight.

Couture would likely be closing in on 47 if a rematch was to happen. If Dana White won’t Chuck Liddell fight, he can’t even fathom making this match. However, it would be hard to deny Couture if he was to beat Nogueira and possibly Mir in a #1 Contender’s Match. This would likely be an easy match for Lesnar and a sad night for Couture fans.

Mirko Cro-Cop is a very interesting name in this equation. Cro-Cop has signed a three-fight deal with UFC, reportedly for big money. After what Dana White said about him, UFC had to be desperate for heavyweights to acquiesce to Cro-Cop’s demands. I would also guess that UFC is paying Cro-Cop big money with a Lesnar match in mind.

Cro-Cop was brought into UFC originally to be the big money fight with then champion Randy Couture. He has been a huge disappointment since coming over. Cro-Cop would need a really devastating win to convince anyone he is ready for Lesnar. Should Cro-Cop get that win, the match with Lesnar is a given.

Be prepared to hear the biggest load of crap in UFC history in hyping this fight if it should happen. UFC will rightfully bring out the old PRIDE FC tapes and show Cro-Cop from his killer days. Unfortunately those days are long behind him. He is definitely capable of giving Lesnar fits with his kicks. However, he will be easy pickings for Lesnar on the ground.

Shane Carwin is undefeated in MMA and a name you don’t hear about too often in the mainstream media. Carwin physically matches up better with Lesnar than anyone else in the division. At 6’3 and 265lbs, he is the only challenger that Lesnar won’t be able to bully on the ground in a potential match.

Dana White dropped Carwin’s name in the pre-UFC 100 Press Conference. A win over Cain Velasquez at UFC 104 will earn him a title shot. Carwin has been brutal since entering UFC at UFC 84. None of his three fights have gone over 92 seconds and they have all ended with brutal punches.

Carwin has already begun hyping the potential match. Carwin blasted Lesnar on his website after UFC 100. “The flipping off of the fans that just lined your pocket with millions of dollars is just LAME. He may be a Champion but he has a long ways to go before he earns the respect of a Champion. The fans are why we do this Brock, this sport is not about fat paychecks and drama it is about hard work and sacrifice for a shot to do what you did last night. ”

Carwin would test Lesnar like no other fighter currently in UFC. This won’t be the juicy fight that a Couture/Mir/Nogueira-Lesnar fight would be. However, Carwin would be Lesnar’s most difficult opponent. He is a great standup fighter and was dominant NCAA Division II wrestler in college. I don’t know if Carwin would win, but he’d be a great bet as an underdog if the fight were to happen.

Bobby Lashley is an appealing name for pro wrestling fans. Since the Lesnar-Kurt Angle MMA match is likely out, this is the next best thing. Lashley’s performances in MMA have been mixed. However, Lashley was very convincing in his toughest test yet against Bob Sapp.

Lashley in UFC is going to happen at some point. Lashley is in a good financial position and doesn’t need to rush anything. It is possible that Lashley would fight Lesnar on his first fight in UFC. As good as Lashley looked in dominating the bigger Bob Sapp, he was gassed midway in the first round. Lashley needs to improve his conditioning before anyone takes him seriously against Brock Lesnar.

Fedor Emelianenko could change Brock Lesnar’s timing overnight. Until proven otherwise, Emelianenko is the best heavyweight fighter in the world period. This would be the ultimate Dream Match for MMA fans at this stage of the game. Yet we have been begging for Fedor in UFC for years now.

Dana White seems to be coming closer to a deal with Emelianenko. After UFC 100 he said he is confident that Emelianenko will be in UFC at some point. I can’t ever recall hearing White sound that confident about signing Emelianenko so that is a great sign. Of course a loss ay Affliction Trilogy would take a lot of bloom of Emelianenko’s rose.

This is the ultimate heavyweight match right now in UFC’s future. Whether Brock Lesnar is upset or not by someone else and goes 0-3 in his next few fights, this is the fight everyone wants to see. Lesnar would make himself a definite UFC Hall of Fame fighter with a win over Emelianenko. However, until someone beats 30-1 Emelianenko, I’ll take the Last Emperor any day of the week.

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MMA and UFC fans have got to be the biggest bunch of babies I have ever seen. I haven’t seen fans this sensitive in my life! The double standards that these fans have applied to Brock Lesnar are a joke. UFC and its fans should be grateful to have Brock Lesnar.

I have heard nothing but non-stop whining and complaining from MMA fans, journalists, and talk show hosts since UFC 100. I never realized what a bunch of uptight snobs MMA fans are until now. Get over it! This absurd outrage has to be the biggest piece of hypocrisy I have ever heard.

MMA Fans and journalists are upset over Brock Lesnar’s antics at UFC 100. It all started when Brock refused to touch gloves. Then, Brock got in Frank Mir’s mauled face immediately after winning the fight. Lastly, Brock went on a tirade following his fight in an interview with Joe Rogan. Oh no, anything but this!

What a joke! These are the same MMA fans that worship Randy Couture. This is the same Randy Couture who walked out of UFC at the height of his popularity as UFC champion. This is the same Couture that sent UFC into a tailspin and tried to strong arm his way out of his contract for a big money fight with Fedor. This is the same Randy Couture who tried to hurt UFC to get his way. Yet Randy Couture is given a hero’s welcome whenever he enters the octagon. You tell me whether Brock Lesnar or Randy Couture has done more to hurt UFC?

These are the same UFC fans that love Quinton Rampage Jackson. This is the same Rampage Jackson that recently humped a stunned reporter. This is the same Jackson that started a fight in the crowd at UFC 100. This is the same Rampage that was involved in a hit and run incident and a high speed police pursuit that resulted in a woman losing her unborn baby. Jackson isn’t ruining UFC, but Brock Lesnar giving fans the finger is unforgivable?

These are the same UFC fans that cheered wildly for Tito Ortiz in his final two fights against Ken Shamrock. This is the same Tito Ortiz that walked out of the company as champion trying to strong arm UFC. The same Tito Ortiz who put on a t-shirt degrading Guy Mezger after defeating him. This is the same Tito Ortiz who routinely gave the one-finger salute following fights. Yet the same audience disgusted at Lesnar, would love to see Tito back in UFC. Say what you want but you know it is true.

If there is anyone deserving of all of this outrage it is Dan Henderson. I find it ironic that Dan Henderson’s actions at UFC 100 are celebrated by the same people killing Brock Lesnar. I have heard several MMA fans say they loved seeing Bisping receive the second punch, yet thought Lesnar’s actions were a disgrace. Are you kidding me? Dan Henderson admitting to punching a man that he knew was knocked out will ruin UFC a hell of a lot faster than Brock Lesnar talking trash. Now that was a disgrace!

UFC needs Brock Lesnar a hell of a lot more than Brock Lesnar needs UFC. Where would boxing be today without Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson? Those were the two most controversial fighters in the history of the sport. Yet it is likely that boxing would have died years ago if Mike Tyson wasn’t around. You tell me the UFC heavyweight title fight that was going to sell out UFC 100 without Brock Lesnar around? Is Cain Velasquez vs. Frank Mir going to sell 1.5 million pay-per-views?

MMA fans need to grow up and grow a pair. MMA fans need to be honest with themselves. The real issue here isn’t what Lesnar did and said after his fight at UFC 100. The real issue here is that MMA fans are upset that an ex-pro wrestler walked into UFC and has dominated their sport in short time with little training. Hey, I’d be embarrassed too if I were you.

It took Brock Lesnar over two years to become successful in the WWE. It took Brock Lesnar less than a year to dominate in UFC. Yeah, you should be embarrassed.

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Have you ever wanted to have a staredown with UFC fighter Rampage Jackson? Well I haven’t either, but this guy must have some kind of a death wish. Check out this video of Rampage Jackson slapping the stupid out of a fan from the UFC Fan Expo.

The slap didn’t look too hard, but man is Rampage a loose cannon or what.

Bonus Video – Rampage Jackson attacks Cheick Kongo at the UFC Fan Expo ECW style!

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Headlocks and Eye Gouges – I will be back on Pro Wrestling Radio Wednesday July 15 at 7 PM/EST. I will be joined by wrestling’s Living Legend, Bruno Sammartino uncut and uncensored for one full hour! I will take questions for Bruno directly from the chat room. Listen live and join the chat room clicking here. Check out Prowrestlingradio.com for more information on the radio show and archived show downloads.

How close was Frank Mir to catching Brock Lesnar at UFC 100? Well if you listen to Frank, you’d think he was seconds away from winning. I think Frank is looking back at that fight with swollen shut eyes.

Frank Mir spoke to the Las Vegas Review-Journal after the fight. “I basically was (within) a half-an-inch of catching him. I knew he was hurt, but he had good leverage, with my shoulder against the cage. I made a stupid mistake. When I stood up, and he’s screaming, it took me a few seconds to realize (what Lesnar was doing). ESPN showed him spitting and hollering. My children are looking. I’m shaking my head, pointing at my kids and going, ‘That’s not how you want to do it, guys. We’ll be cocky, especially before a fight, to help sell it. I didn’t degrade him [when I beat him at UFC 81] and say he was an idiot. There was no point to kick the guy while he was down. OK, I beat the guy. What, am I going to spit on you, too? If I can just nail that (weight) gap to even 10 pounds, it’ll be a different fight next time. Hopefully next time, I’ll show him how somebody is supposed to act in victory.”

He’s got to be kidding right? I am a Mir fan, but I will be the first to tell you he was mauled by Lesnar at UFC 100. The picture of Mir’s face says it all. For Frank Mir to come out now and say he was “half-an-inch” from catching Lesnar just makes him look like a joke.

All of the fallout following Lesnar’s win centered around Lesnar’s post-fight interview. As I said before, like it or not at least he kept it real. I would take a fighter keeping it honest than a guy who just got annihilated telling me he was within seconds of a win. Has Mir looked in the mirror lately?

I didn’t think Mir was in terrible danger in the first round. He did get some offense in on Lesnar momentarily in the second round. However, once Lesnar got him against the cage it was over. Lesnar had Mir trapped and there are no two ways about it. Not that I am a big Lesnar fan, but give the guy some credit at least for schooling you.

Frank Mir was half an inch away alright. Frank Mir was half an inch away from dying at UFC 100.

Thanks to MMA News.com for the quote.

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UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar continued talking after UFC 100. Instead of taking shots at one of UFC’s big advertisers, he apologized. Check out this video from the UFC 100 post-show press conference with Lesnar. It sounds like it was Dana White and not Frank Mir who wound up taking the big man down on Saturday night.

Unlike some people, I really had no problem with Brock Lesnar’s post fight actions. Taking shots at a UFC sponsor is just downright stupid and embarrassing. However, there was nothing wrong with the rest of his rant. I don’t think he was a pulling a WWE stunt at all. We were just getting the real Brock Lesnar following an emotional win.

It is funny how people how assume it was Brock being a WWE wrestler. Ironically, his range of emotions was probably the most real thing a “real fighter” has said in a long time. I find it more ridiculous when Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock hug after trashing each other for six-months or Nick Diaz admitting he was just hyping a fight than Brock’s real emotions. You can’t knock a man for being honest.

Bonus Video – Rampage Jackson Humps Reporter

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