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UFCs big 'gamble' on Brock Lesnar at UFC 81

Brock LesnarProps: Yahoo!Sports.com

Quoteworthy:

"I'm going to stay in his face and control him. I can guarantee I'll be in better condition than Mir.... Frank Mir is a black belt in jiu jitsu. I've been training a lot in jiu jitsu, and a lot of jiu jitsu defense and a lot of striking and defense. My wrestling workouts have taken a back seat because I did that for 18 years.... Anybody can get knocked out in this sport if you get hit with the right punch with the size of the gloves. I don't have a weak jaw, but if you get hit in the right spot, anybody can lose. You just try to lower the odds of being in that situation. If I can avoid that, I can win a lot of fights."

Dave Meltzer does a fine job outlining the match up between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir at UFC 81: "Breaking Point" on February 2 and what it could mean for business if he wins or loses. Lesnar apparently signed a very large contract, which means that the UFC is not going to waste its time (or money) building him up against cans if the experiment doesn't work out. Right now the sportsbooks favor Lesnar (-145) to win in his Octagon debut -- get in on the action now over at BetUS.com before that line tightens if you think Mir can pull this one out.

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dana is so cheap. I always wondered why they gave him such a tough opponent in his first fight. Now I understand.

by dana's cheap on Jan 22, 2008 10:35 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

mir armbar…bye bye brock

by Jakizzle on Jan 22, 2008 10:35 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

OFF TOPIC: do we get to see the fighter pay outs …. joe daddy was sounding like he didnt get enought money to fight pj…he said it in the video.. “if you lose in this sport you lose half the money and you need it for your family and food”.. i dont know but if he only gets 14.000 to show… im gonna LMAO

by kickinthehead on Jan 22, 2008 10:42 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

I think brock is going to win a boring 3 round lay and prey session. He will be able to power out of submissions and Mir’s standup is poor.

Brock will take him down quickly and that’s where it will stay.

Oh and more to the point how pissed off must Nog and Timmy be that they are not the main event! 1-0 and headlining a big card WTF?

by Nick J on Jan 22, 2008 10:42 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

sorry i meant bj

by kickinthehead on Jan 22, 2008 10:42 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

I really don’t know what to expect. How the hell do the bookmakers come up with odds for a fight like this where one guy is a relative unknown, could be great or could be useless. As for Frank, it’s tough to know whether he’ll be back to best and in shape or whether he really was that good in the first place.

Loads of people are saying Mir by armbar. But surely Brock is training non-stop on his sub def. I can’t call this one.

by RobH86 on Jan 22, 2008 10:48 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Mir 1st round KO or sumbmission

Mirs standup has improved. Watch the Vera fight. Yeah he got knocked out but it has improved greatly.

You wait. Mir will be reborn. And Sandy loves MMA will go down! lol. wuddup sandy!

by DJ Pullout on Jan 22, 2008 10:49 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Nick: I’m sure the title fight is the main event. Dana always puts title fights as main events over non title fights. Even if the non-title fight has more star power. See GSP vs Hughes II over Liddell/Silva

by jd on Jan 22, 2008 10:50 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

OFF TOPIC: do we get to see the fighter pay outs …. joe daddy was sounding like he didnt get enought money to fight pj…he said it in the video.. “if you lose in this sport you lose half the money and you need it for your family and food”.. i dont know but if he only gets 14.000 to show… im gonna LMAO

He got $32000 ($16000 to show $16000 for win) for his last fight. That means unless he just signed a new deal between now and then he only made $16000 for this fight. That just isn’t right.

by dana's cheap on Jan 22, 2008 10:56 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

I can’t believe it, but I am actually genuinely excited to see this fight!

How the hell do the bookmakers come up with odds for a fight like this where one guy is a relative unknown, could be great or could be useless.

The odds are all based on what fighter people are betting on. Brock is the favorite because so far, the majority of people are betting on him to win – I would assume that its mostly WWE fans. And if the majority of the bets keep getting placed on Lesnar, the odds of him winning will go up even higher. Brock is -160 and Mir is 135 on a site that I just checked. If people keep betting on Brock, can you imagine betting money on Frank Mir in this fight getting 400 odds? On the other hand, if Frank Mir starts getting the majority of the bets, than the odds would be closer to even.

by ViolentMike on Jan 22, 2008 11:00 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Oh, and by the way, HOW ABOUT THEM GIANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey John, I know you were predicting the Giants to make the super bowl, right? I was barely even able to watch as Tynes went for the field goal in overtime… I was certain that he was going to miss, and what do you know – Giants are going to the Super Bowl.

This popped into my head just now, well actually, the Giants is almost all I’ve been thinking about, but I REALLY want to put money on the Giants RIGHT NOW. The spread is currently 14 for the Giants. Did these oddsmakers not watch thier game from Week 17? Did they not see the Patriots ‘squeek’ by in thier playoff games? And by ‘squeek’ by I mean, they weren’t winning by 30 points like at the beginning of the season. This is just going to be another bet that I was going to make, but didn’t because I don’t want to get addicted to gambling. If I made my last 6 UFC bets, I would be 6-0 right now. And the Giants WILL hang in there with the Patriots. The only way the Giants will lose by more than 14 is if Eli throws a catchable pass that goes off of the recievers hands, and right to the defense….

I CAN’T WAIT FOR NEXT WEEKEND.

Honestly though, if I were the UFC, I would NOT hold a PPV the same weekend of the Superbowl, plus they consider this anual event to be one of their biggest and best. Well, I got a suggestions. The weekend in between the NFC and AFC championship games and the Super Bowl is the WORST weekend of the year for sports fans. That is the weekend that the UFC should have this event.

by ViolentMike on Jan 22, 2008 11:07 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

LOL, I meant to say “I am looking forward to the weekend after this one”

by ViolentMike on Jan 22, 2008 11:07 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

maybe the smartest quote i have ever heard from brock

by lee on Jan 22, 2008 11:09 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

We wont see any of the fighter pay outs for last event. I dont think any fighter salaries of events that took place in England were ever made public, and I dont expect for last weekends to be made public either….what a shame….I love seeing how rotten Dana treats 2/3 of the fighters on the cards

by john on Jan 22, 2008 11:16 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Mir 1st round KO or sumbmission

Mirs standup has improved. Watch the Vera fight. Yeah he got knocked out but it has improved greatly.

You wait. Mir will be reborn. And Sandy loves MMA will go down! lol. wuddup sandy!

im going with Mir – submission – 1st minute

by Insain on Jan 22, 2008 11:18 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

ViolentMike: U need to check these out:

Check out these bloody pics of BJ Penn vs. Stevenson fight. These are some of the best fight pics I have ever seen and at the end there is the video of after the fight when BJ Penn is licking Joe stevenson’s blood off of his own gloves…sick bastard, and we thought Florian was a vampire..

Please check out these pics and scroll down for more, u will all enjoy them

www.sherdog.net/forums/showthread.php?threadid=716655

by john on Jan 22, 2008 11:25 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Oh, and by the way, HOW ABOUT THEM GIANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey John, I know you were predicting the Giants to make the super bowl, right? I was barely even able to watch as Tynes went for the field goal in overtime… I was certain that he was going to miss, and what do you know – Giants are going to the Super Bowl.

This popped into my head just now, well actually, the Giants is almost all I’ve been thinking about, but I REALLY want to put money on the Giants RIGHT NOW. The spread is currently 14 for the Giants. Did these oddsmakers not watch thier game from Week 17? Did they not see the Patriots ‘squeek’ by in thier playoff games? And by ‘squeek’ by I mean, they weren’t winning by 30 points like at the beginning of the season. This is just going to be another bet that I was going to make, but didn’t because I don’t want to get addicted to gambling. If I made my last 6 UFC bets, I would be 6-0 right now. And the Giants WILL hang in there with the Patriots. The only way the Giants will lose by more than 14 is if Eli throws a catchable pass that goes off of the recievers hands, and right to the defense….

I CAN’T WAIT FOR NEXT WEEKEND.

Honestly though, if I were the UFC, I would NOT hold a PPV the same weekend of the Superbowl, plus they consider this anual event to be one of their biggest and best. Well, I got a suggestions. The weekend in between the NFC and AFC championship games and the Super Bowl is the WORST weekend of the year for sports fans. That is the weekend that the UFC should have this event.

Best thing that ever happened to the Giants was that they took Pride in themselves, and played all their starters in the last game of the season against New England. That built up their confidence which they rode all the way to the superbowl.

Looks like Eli is finally becomming a Manning!

by john on Jan 22, 2008 11:30 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

I really don’t know what to expect. How the hell do the bookmakers come up with odds for a fight like this where one guy is a relative unknown, could be great or could be useless. As for Frank, it’s tough to know whether he’ll be back to best and in shape or whether he really was that good in the first place.

Loads of people are saying Mir by armbar. But surely Brock is training non-stop on his sub def. I can’t call this one.

Odds don’t reflect who the oddsmakers think will win; it’s about getting an equal amount of money on each fighter. Right now there is more money coming in on Lesnar, so the odds will move to encourage more people to bet on Mir. If the books get the same amount on each side they will make money no matter who wins, and that is all they want.

by pw on Jan 22, 2008 11:30 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Mania, if you aren’t going to make a thread about the Marcus Davis news, then stop erasing my post. There is no need for erasing my work. I do not curse, nor to I attack any one.

Marcus Davis will be fighting a top 10 or maybe even a top 5 welterweight at UFC 86 June 14th.

by john on Jan 22, 2008 11:33 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Thanks for the info about payouts guys!!!!

by kickinthehead on Jan 22, 2008 11:36 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

I’d really like to see Mir win this one, and I think he will. I am not looking forward to seeing Lesnar for any more than this fight. He’s a giant, yes, and a meat-head, yes, but really not looking forward to watching him compete. I hope this experiment fails.

by GodDamnMike on Jan 22, 2008 12:01 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

so he basically is saying that he can lay and pray forever and win alot of fights. cant wait to see Mir “hit him in the right spot”… or fucking sub his ass round 1 baby

by hector on Jan 22, 2008 12:21 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

imagine if Mir takes brocks ass down and controlls the wrestling and submitts him from the top, damn what will be brocks excuses oh i didnt train in my wrestling lol damn “Mir out him on his back and then get an armbar” just like gsp did to hughes

by hector on Jan 22, 2008 12:23 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

How the hell do the bookmakers come up with odds for a fight like this where one guy is a relative unknown, could be great or could be useless. As for Frank, it’s tough to know whether he’ll be back to best and in shape or whether he really was that good in the first place.

The betting action determines the odds. The betting line is gonna move depending on who people start putting money on.

by Pat on Jan 22, 2008 12:37 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

A 1 fight rookie – great scott!

What’s next? Hulk Hogan vs. Tim “The Lamiac” Sylva?

by sal costello on Jan 22, 2008 12:43 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

mir armbar…bye bye brock

You don’t know what you’re talking about. Brock is not human.

by Lycan on Jan 22, 2008 12:43 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Brock Lesner will pick Mir up over his head (WWE style) and throw him onto Joe Rogan’s lap rendering him unconscious.

by pete on Jan 22, 2008 12:50 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

He pounded the guy out when he was hugging his chest in his first fight, so he must have some mean power behind his throws. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him pound out Mir. But, I do think Mir will submitt him if/when Lesnar makes a mistake.

by Toms Bombs on Jan 22, 2008 12:53 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Brock Lesner will pick Mir up over his head (WWE style) and throw him onto Joe Rogan’s lap rendering him unconscious.

LMAO!!!!

by STUNNALATOR on Jan 22, 2008 12:54 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Mir deff. has the advantage wit all of his skill. He has fought big tough guys before ( look at him tim fight). Brock i think is going to go in there and try to bully him around with all of his strength but in my opinion skill over fights strength!!!! i like frank mir and i really hope he pulls this one through!

by Winner By Strikes! on Jan 22, 2008 12:57 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I really don’t know what to expect. How the hell do the bookmakers come up with odds for a fight like this where one guy is a relative unknown, could be great or could be useless. As for Frank, it’s tough to know whether he’ll be back to best and in shape or whether he really was that good in the first place.

Loads of people are saying Mir by armbar. But surely Brock is training non-stop on his sub def. I can’t call this one.

I can’t call this one either but I will say that training in submission defense doesn’t mean Lesnar won’t be submitted. Travis Lutter is great w/BJJ and we saw him get caught in a triangle by Silva. I’m sure many of us were surprised to see Forrest tapout Shogun w/the rear naked choke. I’m actually kind of hoping for something like what Mir pulled on Tank Abbot(I know Tank isn’t that impressive, but the submission put on him was awesome).

by Greggo on Jan 22, 2008 1:27 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

so he basically is saying that he can lay and pray forever and win alot of fights. cant wait to see Mir “hit him in the right spot”… or fucking sub his ass round 1 baby

uh no. he was saying that wrestling isn’t everything and he’s focusing on the other aspects of the MMA game and NOT his wrestling because he realizes just being a wrestler isn’t enough to succeed. so basically the opposite of what you said.

by KitsuneX on Jan 22, 2008 1:56 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

i really , really hope the mir of old comes to fight on ufc 81. that would be great!!!!!a couple of wins and he could be back in title contention. how sweet would a sylvia/mir fight be, or even a mir/arlovski fight(if aa doesn’t leave)

by Bass on Jan 22, 2008 2:24 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Brock’s demeonor has seemed to me to have changed since he just came to UFC. He started as a trash talker who wanted an immediate title shot, ot sounding like a humble respectful veteren. I think this is the work of his manager, but anyway, I will be rooting for Mir all the way, no offense Brock.

by The Anomaly on Jan 22, 2008 2:49 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I saw the only lesnar fight, have to say as powerful as he is supose to be, i wasnt impressed, i think mir will have an answer were ever the fight goes, i see mir winning 1st rd tko

by jsoph on Jan 22, 2008 3:02 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

im not jumping on the brock band wagon just yet but this guy can wrestle no dout and slam the hell out of anyone i dont know if anyone saw him wrestle in college but i did and he is a hoss and another thing is mir is not the fighter he once was and his cardo is just as bad as bj’s so i see why brock is a favorite to win

by dru on Jan 22, 2008 3:41 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

How the hell do the bookmakers come up with odds for a fight like this where one guy is a relative unknown, could be great or could be useless.
The odds are all based on what fighter people are betting on. Brock is the favorite because so far, the majority of people are betting on him to win – I would assume that its mostly WWE fans. And if the majority of the bets keep getting placed on Lesnar, the odds of him winning will go up even higher. Brock is -160 and Mir is 135 on a site that I just checked. If people keep betting on Brock, can you imagine betting money on Frank Mir in this fight getting 400 odds? On the other hand, if Frank Mir starts getting the majority of the bets, than the odds would be closer to even.

Cool. That explains things. I don’t bet but I just wanted to know how they initially came up with some of those odds. So it doesn’t matter too much if they’re off at the beginning as they just adjust so more people bet on the other guy right.

by RobH86 on Jan 22, 2008 3:56 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I can’t call this one either but I will say that training in submission defense doesn’t mean Lesnar won’t be submitted. Travis Lutter is great w/BJJ and we saw him get caught in a triangle by Silva. I’m sure many of us were surprised to see Forrest tapout Shogun w/the rear naked choke. I’m actually kind of hoping for something like what Mir pulled on Tank Abbot(I know Tank isn’t that impressive, but the submission put on him was awesome).

That’s a good point. A friend of mine does BJJ and he reckons Brock just hasn’t been training long enough to be able to defend all of Frank’s sub attempts no matter how strong he is.

By the way that 1999 NCAA wrestling match against Stephen Neal that Brock lost was so damn boring. Anyone see it?

by RobH86 on Jan 22, 2008 4:02 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

dude im pretty sure that brock is either gonna get knocked the fuck out or his arm is gonna get snapped in half because he said that he will not tap.

by Will on Jan 22, 2008 4:06 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

That’s a good point. A friend of mine does BJJ and he reckons Brock just hasn’t been training long enough to be able to defend all of Frank’s sub attempts no matter how strong he is.

By the way that 1999 NCAA wrestling match against Stephen Neal that Brock lost was so damn boring. Anyone see it?

If Brock wants to learn to defend submissions he should watch Pride Fc’s Body blow: the 1st fight between Fedor and Noguerra. That should give him the perfect blueprint for powering his way out of submissions.

by john on Jan 22, 2008 4:08 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

That’s a good point. A friend of mine does BJJ and he reckons Brock just hasn’t been training long enough to be able to defend all of Frank’s sub attempts no matter how strong he is.

By the way that 1999 NCAA wrestling match against Stephen Neal that Brock lost was so damn boring. Anyone see it?

yeah i watched it live actually and it was pretty boring. i think brock was a little bit intimidated by Neal’s mystique.

by KitsuneX on Jan 22, 2008 4:08 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

As a co-main event, I feel this fight will be a major bust. IU don’t think Mir will ever get back to the Mir of old who was very good fihgter, and I have a feeling Brock will be a boring fighter….. I hope I am wrong….we will find out in 2 weeks

by john on Jan 22, 2008 4:09 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Brock Lesner will pick Mir up over his head (WWE style) and throw him onto Joe Rogan’s lap rendering him unconscious.

I hope you mean rendering Rogan unconscious . I think a lot people would love that. Any way funny joke

by MarkB on Jan 22, 2008 4:23 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Lesnar, first round stoppage, ground and pound. Enough said.

by Griffinfan05 on Jan 22, 2008 4:50 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Cool. That explains things. I don’t bet but I just wanted to know how they initially came up with some of those odds. So it doesn’t matter too much if they’re off at the beginning as they just adjust so more people bet on the other guy right.

Exactly Rob. Ideally a bookie wants the bets placed 50/50. That’s half the money bet on one team/player/fighter, and half the money bet on the other. Then they simply collect thier 25% tax (or so)

by ViolentMike on Jan 22, 2008 5:02 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I am curious to see how many pay per views this event will sell. Keep in mind that it will be the 1st event that the UFC is raising the price for. Also, I want to how many WWE fans who are fans of Brock by this event. THE WWE wrestlers have a lot of fans. I could see like millions of them buying this event to see what there Favorite STAR can do “in real life” cause the WWE is just a big soap opera for men.

This is a relatively week event, with a price increase, but Brocks presence could potentially set pay per view records for the UFC. I would prefer a better co main event, and I could care less if he was even televised if he wasn’t fighting Mir….but those WWE guys have a lot of Loyal fans.

The # of pay per view that this event sells will be interesting to see.

by john on Jan 22, 2008 5:46 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I hope Mir wins. Bringing in Brock was just dumb. I wonder if Dana has the scouts out looking for Jake the Snake Roberts, what about Roddy Piper?

by Squishy Dolphin on Jan 22, 2008 6:23 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

The old Mir shows up its lights out brock….

by cyborg on Jan 22, 2008 7:00 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

eeeewwww……….Brock kissed Kurt Angle on the mouth

by jdawg on Jan 22, 2008 8:04 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

it would be cool to see lesnar fight sylvia. i think his wrestling could cause him to hit a big slam on sylvia(im not talkin the f-5,im talkin a real slam)

by box91 on Jan 22, 2008 10:46 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

BROCK IS GONNA GET SUBMITTED IN THE VERy FIRST ROuND!
HE HAS NO GROUND GAmE AND WILL BE DOMINATED THE WHOLE FIGHT

by josh on Jan 23, 2008 1:29 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Mir deff. has the advantage wit all of his skill. He has fought big tough guys before ( look at him tim fight). Brock i think is going to go in there and try to bully him around with all of his strength but in my opinion skill over fights strength!!!! i like frank mir and i really hope he pulls this one through!

did u say Sylvia is a big tough guy? he’s a pussy in my eyes

by jack on Jan 24, 2008 6:58 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

I have no doubt that Brock is going to put Mir out of his missery. If Mir thinks he’s gana win he better think a whole lot more cause if he still wants to fight in in the UFC he better quit before Brock takes his career from him.

by JR AKA QUICKS on Jan 25, 2008 12:13 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

BROCK IS GONNA GET SUBMITTED IN THE VERy FIRST ROuND!
HE HAS NO GROUND GAmE AND WILL BE DOMINATED THE WHOLE FIGHT

YOU ARE CRAZY!!!
BROCK HAS BEEN TRAINING AT MINNESOTA MMA FOR 2 YEARS…THIS IS THE SAME PLACE SEAN SHERK TEACHES AND TRAINS.
BROCK WILL DOMINATE! HE IS FASTER, STRONGER AND HAS BETTER CARDIO. BET THE FARM!!!

by chadb26 on Jan 25, 2008 9:44 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

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