The Doggy Bag: Brock Solid
Brock Solid
Sherdog.com Staff Jan 18, 2009
Everyone answers to somebody, so we, the staff at Sherdog.com, have
decided to defer to our readers. “The Doggy Bag” gives you the
opportunity to speak about what’s on your mind from time to
time.
Our reporters, columnists, radio hosts, and editors will chime in with our answers and thoughts, so keep the emails coming.
This week, readers weigh-in in a wide range of topics, including
Brock
Lesnar, the UFC’s use of preliminary bouts and good, old
fashioned fight spoilers.
Brock Solid
Loretta, thank you for your solid reporting at sherdog.com. I appreciate your professional approach. Josh Gross left a void when he left and I think you help keep the site honest. I usually read your articles first!
Are you going to tell us Randy Couture is a dangerous because he is the Scorpion King? Wake up! You’ve done it several times now and it's preposterous, insulting and irrelevant.
--Dav in Excremento
Loretta Hunt, news editor: Dav, thanks for the email and the encouraging words. You were one of a few emails I got on this subject and I think it brings up an interesting topic.
I do have to disagree with you. I find Lesnar’s pro wrestling background incredibly relevant to the growth of the mixed martial artist we now see in front of us. Lesnar’s three-year tenure in the WWE put him under a grueling schedule, which tested his physical limits, mental resolve, stamina and endurance, discipline and dedication. These sound like qualities a fighter needs to me.
I’m not a pro wrestling fan. I watched the WWE (then the WWF) as a child and enjoyed it, but definitely lost touch as I got older. I did watch this show called “Tough Enough” on MTV -- where young hopefuls vied for a WWE contract (sound familiar?) -- for a couple of seasons, and enjoyed it immensely. What I liked about the show most was that it exposed to the viewer what a pro wrestler’s body goes through -- the throws, bumps, and collisions with other wrestlers. I think some pro wrestlers are certainly more athletic than others, but all pro wrestlers learn a craft. Much like MMA, some pro wrestlers hone their skills and still never make it to the pinnacle of their chosen profession. Lesnar, a phenomenal athlete for a man his size, made it to that pinnacle, and he was the youngest guy to do it. My guess is Vince McMahon doesn’t crown his champions if the doesn’t believe they have a certain maturity to handle endless travel, long days and nights in the ring, countless interviews, and hundreds and hundreds of appearances.
I also list his WWE championship for the simple reason that it’s an easy identifying characteristic of Lesnar. Some of our readers are new to the site, and little descriptions like this help them become more assimilated to the sport. That I listed Lesnar’s WWE championship alongside his NCAA accolade wasn’t meant to insult his amateur wrestling credit in the least. I know one is “real” while the other isn’t. But what Lesnar has gone through as a pro wrestler was a also a very real experience, maybe not the experience your run-of-the-mill fighter goes through, but an experience nonetheless.
Sometimes I get the sense that there is some hesitancy in giving Brock Lesnar his due, even after he took out Randy Couture at UFC 91 last November in shocking fashion. Now that his initial fights are out of the way and he’s had time to get his feet wet, I’m very encouraged by Lesnar and his attitude toward the sport. He’s a hard worker, very focused, determined. Undoubtedly, his time in the WWE helped cull these skills. In short, it’s where he came from.
Our reporters, columnists, radio hosts, and editors will chime in with our answers and thoughts, so keep the emails coming.
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Brock Solid
Loretta, thank you for your solid reporting at sherdog.com. I appreciate your professional approach. Josh Gross left a void when he left and I think you help keep the site honest. I usually read your articles first!
But please, please, please stop referring to Lesnar as the WWE
champion. The “youngest WWE champion?” What does that even mean?
They could pick a 12-year-old boy and have him throw everybody out
of the ring if they wanted. And in the same sentence as his NCAA
accomplishments? What? Terrible.
Are you going to tell us Randy Couture is a dangerous because he is the Scorpion King? Wake up! You’ve done it several times now and it's preposterous, insulting and irrelevant.
--Dav in Excremento
Loretta Hunt, news editor: Dav, thanks for the email and the encouraging words. You were one of a few emails I got on this subject and I think it brings up an interesting topic.
I do have to disagree with you. I find Lesnar’s pro wrestling background incredibly relevant to the growth of the mixed martial artist we now see in front of us. Lesnar’s three-year tenure in the WWE put him under a grueling schedule, which tested his physical limits, mental resolve, stamina and endurance, discipline and dedication. These sound like qualities a fighter needs to me.
I’m not a pro wrestling fan. I watched the WWE (then the WWF) as a child and enjoyed it, but definitely lost touch as I got older. I did watch this show called “Tough Enough” on MTV -- where young hopefuls vied for a WWE contract (sound familiar?) -- for a couple of seasons, and enjoyed it immensely. What I liked about the show most was that it exposed to the viewer what a pro wrestler’s body goes through -- the throws, bumps, and collisions with other wrestlers. I think some pro wrestlers are certainly more athletic than others, but all pro wrestlers learn a craft. Much like MMA, some pro wrestlers hone their skills and still never make it to the pinnacle of their chosen profession. Lesnar, a phenomenal athlete for a man his size, made it to that pinnacle, and he was the youngest guy to do it. My guess is Vince McMahon doesn’t crown his champions if the doesn’t believe they have a certain maturity to handle endless travel, long days and nights in the ring, countless interviews, and hundreds and hundreds of appearances.
I also list his WWE championship for the simple reason that it’s an easy identifying characteristic of Lesnar. Some of our readers are new to the site, and little descriptions like this help them become more assimilated to the sport. That I listed Lesnar’s WWE championship alongside his NCAA accolade wasn’t meant to insult his amateur wrestling credit in the least. I know one is “real” while the other isn’t. But what Lesnar has gone through as a pro wrestler was a also a very real experience, maybe not the experience your run-of-the-mill fighter goes through, but an experience nonetheless.
Sometimes I get the sense that there is some hesitancy in giving Brock Lesnar his due, even after he took out Randy Couture at UFC 91 last November in shocking fashion. Now that his initial fights are out of the way and he’s had time to get his feet wet, I’m very encouraged by Lesnar and his attitude toward the sport. He’s a hard worker, very focused, determined. Undoubtedly, his time in the WWE helped cull these skills. In short, it’s where he came from.
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