Paid Members Carbomb Posted July 26, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 26, 2017 It seems to me the only guys who are "on the career path", as it were, for whom it would be worthwhile to match up with Lesnar would be either Derrick Lewis, Francis Ngannou, or, at an outside pinch, Ruslan Magomedov. All guys who would benefit from a high-profile win, but also who need to prove they're not just lucky. Lesnar is imposing enough to be a challenge, but sufficiently below elite level now that anyone who can't beat him shouldn't be rising up the rankings anyway. I wouldn't say Lesnar's a gatekeeper to championship contendership - he's more a gatekeeper to No.1 contendership contendership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Southworth Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Lesnar is the gatekeeper to superstardom for the right fighter. If the UFC are going to give 'the rub' to a heavyweight, it's going to one with the genuine potential to be both a star and a top fighter, and right now, the only heavyweight to fit the bill is Francis Ngannou. Ngannou is still in his prime, he hits hard, is showing improvement, and has a measure of a charisma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 18 hours ago, Noah Southworth said: Lesnar is the gatekeeper to superstardom for the right fighter. If the UFC are going to give 'the rub' to a heavyweight, it's going to one with the genuine potential to be both a star and a top fighter, and right now, the only heavyweight to fit the bill is Francis Ngannou. Ngannou is still in his prime, he hits hard, is showing improvement, and has a measure of a charisma. If Lesnar holds the keys to superstardom then why did they match him up with Mark Hunt last time? I think most observers expected Hunt to win, so where was the benefit in that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted July 28, 2017 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 28, 2017 In fairness, Hunt was one of Dana's favourite fighters, back then. Maybe doing his favourite a solid, or maybe they thought they could push Hunt into a title shot after the fact, it's not like the division has great depth to it. I think most expected Hunt to win, but they also realised that if Lesnar could avoid the stand up and keep it on the ground (a Hunt weakness), he'd have a chance. It turned it was mainly Lesnar doing just that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 3 minutes ago, ColinBollocks said: In fairness, Hunt was one of Dana's favourite fighters, back then. Maybe doing his favourite a solid, or maybe they thought they could push Hunt into a title shot after the fact, it's not like the division has great depth to it. I think most expected Hunt to win, but they also realised that if Lesnar could avoid the stand up and keep it on the ground (a Hunt weakness), he'd have a chance. It turned it was mainly Lesnar doing just that. But surely if Lesnar is the gateway to superstardom and gives fighters a "rub" then they would have put him in with a proper contender who required that kind of boost? At the time it was considered the Lesnar comeback was one & done? I wouldn't be so sure that if Lesnar comes back in a few months or whatever that they don't just put him into another "fun fight" like this one was supposed to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted July 28, 2017 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 28, 2017 I don't know their reasoning for it, but they maybe thought they could push Hunt into a title shot, if he won. Also, there is a fairly decent chance, given the timing of the deal, Hunt was the only decent HW name about that could face Lesnar. IIRC, Cain v Browne was first talked about in March, well before they had everything sorted out with Lesnar. Hunt was maybe the only realistic option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Really Big Shoe Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 Bones/Lesnar makes no logical sense to me. Its like out if left field prospect. I'd go Brock/Barnett or Overeem instead. Jones bulking up and potentially getting KOd damages him as a fighter. DC has a heavyweight type frame so that makes more sense. But again on paper its not a wow must see fight. UFC have paid the price of over saturation with too many shows and going to the well too many times. Outside of Conor they dont have a Chuck, Randy, Tito anymore. UFC needs to find new charismatic fighters who sell PPVs. Brock coming back does both sides no favors in the long run. It relegates the UFC to a sideshow attraction and they may as well bring back Chuck, Tito, Wandy, Rampage, Chael if they are relying on older stars. I guess its like WWE where they are finding it tough to make new stars and have to bring in old stars to pop the ratings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Bus Surfer Posted July 28, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 28, 2017 Jones does seem very open to it though (Unless he's completely on the troll). Aside from his pre fight presser stuff about it, he pushed it and proclaimed it as a Superfight in some radio dial in I watched earlier. It's an absolute metal picture in my head, but it really has me salivating. In a landscape where we're one month away from McGregor boxing Mayweather, and the fact that Jones mentioned recently that Conor has opened his eyes as to what money there is to be made, added to Jones' supreme confidence in himself, it's not out of the question for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted July 30, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 30, 2017 On 26/07/2017 at 1:45 PM, David said: and he's not fighting Jon Jones. All of this has sprung from some interviewer asking questions and ~DA MELTZ~ blowing smoke. David, care to comment after last night turn of events? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Southworth Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 You'd think after all this time, people would have twigged that Meltzer might actually know what he's talking about. I get that the guy isn't everybody's cup of tea, and sometimes he can be salty enough to add to your chips, but it's weird that people still think Meltzer makes shit up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members lambyUK Posted July 31, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 31, 2017 12 hours ago, Egg Shen said: David, care to comment after last night turn of events? To be fair to David Egg, there's still nothing more to it than rumours. Even White and Jones admitted that the Lesnar talk was new to them. Jones' comments after the fight is the guy trying to gain some good PR, irrespective of whether the fight happens. David's points still stand, are the UFC willing to risk their light heavyweight champion, whilst holding up a division? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 31, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 31, 2017 Realistically, how soon could Jones vs Lesnar happen? Like what's the earliest they could do it? I know when Brock retired his time served on his suspension was frozen so how much time is left to go on that? I guess it's too optimistic to get that fight on the MSG show in November, right? Imagine a double-header of Jones vs Lesnar and Bisping vs GSP! Would've made sense as well with Jones being a New Yorker. Oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Southworth Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 1 hour ago, lambyUK said: Even White and Jones admitted that the Lesnar talk was new to them. Dana also denied that Brock was coming back to the UFC the day before it was announced that Brock was coming back to the UFC. White's 50/50 at best when it comes to the accuracy and truthfulness of anything he says. 1 hour ago, lambyUK said: are the UFC willing to risk their light heavyweight champion, whilst holding up a division? For the kind of money a Jones/Lesnar fight would make, with the mindset of the current management when it comes to wanting and needing the big money fights, absolutely they are. 30 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said: Realistically, how soon could Jones vs Lesnar happen? Like what's the earliest they could do it? Theoretically, the earliest Brock could fight would be January, but that's contingent on Vince McMahon agreeing to let Lesnar fight because Lesnar is still under contract to WWE. Lesnar's current contract runs out in March, but there are options in the contract that both sides can exercise to extend that contract, so even after March, it could still be up to Vince to decide whether Brock fights again or not. Ultimately, I believe that if Brock wants the fight he'll get the fight, either by waiting out his contract with WWE or by renegotiating a new contract and as part of those negotiations, getting Vince to sign off on one more fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members lambyUK Posted July 31, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 31, 2017 20 minutes ago, Noah Southworth said: For the kind of money a Jones/Lesnar fight would make, with the mindset of the current management when it comes to wanting and needing the big money fights, absolutely they are. This is just a guess though Noah. Again, it doesn't make David's questions and points any less valid as it will only be known whether he's right or wrong once the fight was announced and once the outcome happened. 20 minutes ago, Noah Southworth said: Theoretically, the earliest Brock could fight would be January, but that's contingent on Vince McMahon agreeing to let Lesnar fight because Lesnar is still under contract to WWE. Lesnar's current contract runs out in March, but there are options in the contract that both sides can exercise to extend that contract, so even after March, it could still be up to Vince to decide whether Brock fights again or not. Ultimately, I believe that if Brock wants the fight he'll get the fight, either by waiting out his contract with WWE or by renegotiating a new contract and as part of those negotiations, getting Vince to sign off on one more fight. This is another reason why the fight is difficult to make. I not sure the UFC would be willing to shelve the light heavyweight division whilst these contract disputes and negotiations continue. I think Jones would have to face one more fight before he even considers Lesnar and who knows what would happen then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 31, 2017 Paid Members Share Posted July 31, 2017 Thanks for that. Is WrestleMania in March next year? Vince is going to want him on Mania, isn't he? It's probably going to be a while then. Also @lambyUK that leaves plenty of time for Jones to do something stupid again. Oh well it was a nice idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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