Frank Mir does not want to see Brock Lesnar leave the cage.
The former heavyweight champion said he hopes the ailing champion gets well soon.
Why? He's obsessed with a rematch.
"That's pretty much been my driving focus to go to the gym every day, to change myself and grow as a fighter," Mir said at a Q and A session for the WEC on Tuesday.
Lesnar was hospitalized last week and diagnosed with a bacterial infection of his intestines -- a local news affiliate in Minnesota called it a severe case of diverticulitis, a digestive disease in the large intestine -- prompting the indefinite delay of a title bout with Shane Carwin.
UFC president Dana White on Monday told TMZ that Lesnar might never fight again but appeared to back off those comments in subsequent interviews, saying the champion's fate depended on the severity of the condition.
If Lesnar was out for good, Mir said it didn't matter that his prospects in the division improved.
"To know that there's a possibility that (a rematch) might never happen, that's been taking me a couple of days to try and wrap my mind around," he said.
MMA Live dissects Brock Lesnar's withdrawal from UFC 106 and talks to his opponent, Shane Carwin. A complete breakdown of UFC 104 and Marcus Jones joins the set to talk TUF 10...
Inside MMA's Ron Kruck interviews UFC heavyweight title challenger Shane Carwin, focusing on champion Brock Lesnar's antics in the Octagon after he defeated Frank Mir to unify the belt.
(Courtesy of HDNet. Inside MMA airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on HDNet.)
MMA Live takes a look at the aftermath of Strikeforce "Carano vs Cyborg." In addition, an update on Lesnar vs Carwin, Chuck Liddell on Dancing with the Stars, and a comprehensive preview of UFC 102.
Couture checked in with the guys from ESPNRadio1100 to talk about what he's looking for in the future. He says he deserves the first shot at Fedor if he ever comes to the UFC.
Former WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber's picks for the UFC 100 title fights.
Georges St. Pierre vs. Thiago Alves (Welterweight): GSP in my opinion is the much more complete fighter and is the more disciplined fighter. As far as just being a fighter and, in general, the type of guy that loves to get down and probably would be fighting once a week on the street anyways if he wasn't fighting, you gotta go with Thiago on that one. You've got a killer instinct on that guy that is really dangerous, but unless he can knock out St. Pierre, I think St. Pierre is gonna take it.
Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir (Heavyweight): Lesnar has been improving quite a bit. With the right training partners, he's gonna be very, vary hard to stop. But Frank Mir is crafty and this is the most dedicated he's been in the sport and working the hardest, more than he ever has in this sport. He looked the biggest, the strongest that I've seen him as well. I'm expecting a great fight. It's either gonna be Lesnar by TKO or Mir by tricky submission.
UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar talks about Frank Mir being insecure and afraid of their rematch at UFC 100 on Saturday night. (Courtesy of Steve Cofield)
Frank Mir did an interview with Bodybuilding.com at the Arnold Sports Expo on Friday saying that he will not fight Brock Lesnar on May 23. He is hopeful that they can still fight in the summertime, but it now appears the UFC 98 is out of the picture.
In line with its usual counter programming tactics, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is scheduled to air a replay of the UFC 91 Couture vs. Lesnar pay-per-view on Saturday night on Spike TV.
Frank Mir gets why Brock Lesnar is UFC heavyweight champion. Lesnar is big, strong, but most of all, marketable.
In a teleconference for "The Ultimate Fighter" season eight finale that takes place this Saturday, Mir admitted that the heavyweight landscape had shifted dramatically, but not surprisingly.
"Our sport is twofold: one is your performance in the ring, second is the draw you cause with ticket sales and pay per view buys," he said. "It's a combination of those two that enable the 'ranking system' if you really want to put a ranking system, of who gets title shots and who doesn't. For example, Cain Velasquez, (a) phenomenal heavyweight fighter, but very few people are talking about him. He's very formidable in the ring; outside the ring, I don't know how many tickets he sells.
"But then you have Brock Lesnar, who has phenomenal fan appeal sells tons of tickets. He was 1-1 in the UFC, and he gets a title shot."
Mir has been fighting in the Octagon since 2001, and has gotten used to the breaks. The organization's politics still grate with his vision of the fighter as martial artist, but he's learned to let it go.
"I could point to Jon Fitch who was 8-0 before he got a title shot," he said. "Is that right? No, but guess what, this isn't like an Olympic sport where (it's) number one guy versus number two guy. It's like boxing; it has that entertainment value to where if no one wants to see you fight, you can be 30-0 and it won't matter. No one cares."
To Mir, Lesnar's title grab was a mixture of business and probability. Lesnar got there because of his stature, but won the title because of the unpredictable nature of the sport. If anything, the victory reinforced his misgivings about the way marketing decides who fights who.
"With Brock getting that first shot at Randy, did I think that was acceptable?" Mir asked. "No, I think people have to work their way up a little bit more, but that's just me as a fighter. And I realized that's why I think people need to work their way through the ranks, because anybody on any given day can get caught with a shot and lose. So now you have the champ who's 2-1 in the UFC, and I think that's what a lot of people are now upset about. But again, people buy tickets to see Brock Lesnar. That's the way it is."
Should Mir be victorious against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 92 on Dec. 27, he will get a chance to defeat the man he's already beaten, and in the process, mark the biggest achievement in his career. So while Mir isn't necessarily thrilled that Lesnar is the new champ, he's just one step away from proving that art can overtake commerce.
A source MMAInsider spoke to with intimate knowledge of UFC 91 pay per view buyrates said the industry leading promotion scored more than 800,000 orders of the Nov. 15 event and stands to produce a minimum of $35,960,000 in revenue.
The source said the final number of buys would likely be higher, but even at the 800,000 level, the event splashes a lot of black ink across the UFC's balance sheets.
A final tally for UFC91 will not be available for months, as pay per view figures come in slowly due to late ordering of the event.
Combined with over $4.8 million in live gate revenue, the event was one of the most profitable events in the organization's history. It was also one of the most expensive, with over a million dollars paid out in fighter salaries and a huge advertising push on television.
To give a small, superficial example of the extravagance present at UFC 91, look at the pre-fight press luncheon. Usually, they are modestly catered, with a buffett style lunch for the handful of journalists who attend them. Not so at UFC 91. A multi-course steak dinner awaited scribes at the MGM Grand's Craftsteak, in a feast that certainly would have run up a $500 tab if paid for by itself. UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and co. "crashed" the festivities, no doubt looking to pack on some weight for an upcoming fight at light heavyweight.
Next up is UFC 92 on Dec. 27, an event typically promoted as the year's best. Without a Couture, Liddell, Ortiz, or Lesnar even, it remains to be seen whether revenue will match the Nov. 15 card, and whether it will be steak, or pizza, for lunch.
Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer has released the final gate numbers for last weekend's UFC 91 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The final tallies are in line with UFC President Dana White's post-event quote of $4.8 million, making it the third biggest earner in Nevada's list of top MMA gates. Chuck Liddell's second encounter with Tito Ortiz at UFC 66 remains at the top of the list with $5,397,300 in revenue, trailed by Georges St. Pierre's rubber match with Matt Hughes at UFC 79 with $4,994,050.
Here are the final numbers for UFC 91:
Live Gate: $4, 815, 675
Tickets Sold: 10,845
"Comp" Tickets: 3, 427
Early pay per view numbers have not been released on the show, but speculation has indicated the UFC may miss its anticipated figure of 1.2 million buys.
Still, $4.8 million is nothing to sneeze at, especially in this wintry economy.
Longtime WWE commentator and noted mixed martial arts fan, Jim Ross, posted commentary on his personal blog about the win last Saturday night by former professional wrestler turned MMA fighter, Brock Lesnar and his win over Randy Couture to become the new UFC heavyweight champion.
Brock Lesnar was "The Next Big Thing" at one time in the WWE and he is definitely "The Next Big Thing" today in the UFC. I expect Lesnar to continue to improve his MMA skills with his burning desire to be the best in his field. The self proclaimed purists of the MMA world can like it or not but for sure they will keep buying tickets and pay per views to see one of their own destroy Lesnar.
Ross has been a supporter of MMA for many years, and has always provided great insight into both the world of professional wrestling, and his love of the sport of MMA.
Ross' employers at the WWE took the opportunity to promote Lesnar as the first man to hold both the WWE and UFC belts, while also taking a shot at the UFC and it's decision to show the entire preliminary card on PPV, something most MMA fans have been ecstatic about:
Critics have noted that many of the fights on the UFC pay-per-view ended in the first round, leaving UFC producers scrambling to fill the three-hour event with content. The dearth of hearty competition left many viewers to watch less prestigious under-card fights and only served to bolster claims that UFC pay-per-view events can often be a "crap shoot" in regards to filling the full three hours.
According to Avi Burk at IGN.com, the UFC has confirmed that Brock Lesnar, regardless of his bout with Randy Couture at UFC 91, is already a lock for the new UFC video game being developed by THQ. UFC Undisputed 2009 is set to debut in the Spring of 2009.
Keep an eye on IGN.com and the MMAInsiderBLOG as more fighters are announced for the game.
UFC President Dana White presents the 6th edition of his video blog for UFC 91.
In this episode, Dana attends the UFC weigh-ins, talks to ESPN.com's MMA Live crew, follows an unfortunate trip by a UFC owner, and talks to Everlast and DJ Lethal from House of Pain.
Wow! According to Lance Pugmire of the L.A. Times, the Nevada State Athletic Commission already released the salary figures for UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture and challenger Brock Lesnar.
Both fighters are guaranteed a base of $250,000. If Couture wins, he gets an additional $250,000 in win money. For Lesnar, he would earn an extra $200,000.
Remember, this is the salary information that is required to be filed with state athletic commissions. There are often other types of performance and/or pay-per-view bonuses and other forms of compensation that are not required to be reported. Plus, with a fight of this magnitude, both are likely scoring big with sponsors.
ESPN's MMA Live was live at the UFC 91 weigh-ins on Friday, broadcasting with the Octagon as the backdrop for the show. They discussed the Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar and Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson bouts with UFC president Dana White.
ESPN has been all over UFC 91, providing an unprecedented amount of coverage for the event. We'll see if this an anomoly or if the venerable sports network is committed to now cover MMA.
UFC President Dana White presents the 4th edition of his video blog for UFC 91.
In this episode, Dana does an episode of "Jim Rome Is Burning" on ESPN, a few more media interviews getting ready for UFC 91, and presents a very special tombstone littered with the promotions that have gone head to head with the UFC.
Dana proclaims "I'm the grim reaper mother (expletive)."
ESPN's MMA Live is at UFC 91 and host Jim Anik and guest host Frank Mir are on the scene to break down the main event between UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture and challenger Brock Lesnar.
UFC President Dana White talks to famed sports talk show host, Jim Rome, about the upcoming UFC 91 event, as well as Kimbo Slice, and the sport of MMA in comparison to the sport of boxing.
UFC President Dana White presents his second video blog for UFC 91 weekend.
In this edition, Dana visits THQ, the makers of the new UFC video game, and gives an inside look as some of the graphics involved with the new game. Also catch Dana giving his breakdown of Couture vs. Lesnar in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
UFC lightweight contender and MMA Live correspondent Kenny "KenFlo" Florian provided his expert opinion to MMAWeekly Radio breaking down the UFC 91 main event between Randy "The Natural" Couture and Brock Lesnar, and picks Couture to be the victor.
"It's going to come down to Randy's experience vs. Brock's size and power game." said the Bostonian. "First of all, I have to say this, you can never bet against Randy Couture. I think it's a sin and you're probably going to lose a lot of money. Randy's been proving people wrong since day one. I love him for that because I've kind of been in the same boat. You've got to love the underdog.
"Randy is undersized. He's coming back. He's an older guy. But I think his experience is going to win out. I really believe that," further commented Florian. "I think with his wrestling ability, again, as much as Brock has been an All-American wrestler, Randy has wrestled at the international level. He's on Olympic teams. I think that says a lot.
"The guy, since day one, has faced big guys. He's fought in the heavyweight division. He's fought in the light heavyweight division against tremendous competitors. I think that's just a tremendous amount of experience," added the 32-year-old lightweight fighter. "So, for Brock, if he wins, I think that's a huge upset despite the age difference, despite the size. I still think it's a huge upset. I expect Randy to win it out. I think he's got more experience. I think he's got the better all-around skills.
"I don't think he's as powerful as Brock," conceded Florian. "I don't think he's going to hit as hard as Brock, but overall I think he has the better skills. It's going to be a very, very interesting fight. Randy's going to have to use a lot of tools to win, but I think it's going to be his experience that wins out."
ESPN First Take sat down with UFC president Dana White to break down UFC 91, where UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture will defend against Brock Lesnar. They talk about the UFC's expectations for 1.2 million pay-per-view buys, Brock Lesnar's moodiness, ESPN's coverage of the UFC, Kimbo Slice, steroids, and more.
UFC President Dana White returns for his UFC 91 video blog.
In this edition, Dana visits the Tony Hawk Foundation and talks with Anthony Kiedes from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, WEC fighter Urijah Faber, and rapper 50 Cent, while talking Randy Couture vs Brock Lesnar along the way.
UFC lightweight contender Joe "Daddy" Stevenson takes on Kenny Florian at UFC 91 in a No. 1 contenders match. Stevenson weighed in on the main event between two-time UFC light heavyweight and three-time UFC heavyweight titleholder Randy "The Natural" Couture and WWE superstar turned mixed martial artist Brock Lesnar.
"I'm picking Randy Couture," Stevenson told MMAWeekly Radio. "Taking nothing away from Brock Lesnar, I'm not the guy who says he's a WWE wrestler. I'm a guy that says he's a national champ wrestler in division one college... I think he's going to be a dominating force. But I just don't know if this is his time right now. But you never know until someone makes that great appearance.
"He's (Lesnar) got a lot of attributes. I think he's still a little bit young in the sport" added Stevenson. "And I think Randy has the experience to be able to take this fight whereever it ends up. Even if Randy gets on his back, I think he's changed so much as an athlete that he can either scramble to get up, or look for submission opportunities to make himself stand up, or to even reverse the position.
"I know he's (Couture) comfortable in there. There's not a position there in that fight that Randy's going to feel overwhelmed. Randy's been fighting forever."
The gang at FOX News Fight Game weighs in on Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar at UFC 91. Despite Lesnar's inexperience, the pundits are going back and forth on this one and the guys at FOX are no different as they get pretty intense in their discussion.
November 15 is the day that Randy Couture, UFC heavyweight champion, finally returns to the Octagon. Despite his challenger, Brock Lensar's lack of professional experience, Couture is taking his much larger opponent very seriously and it shows in this training video from Xtreme Couture.
Georges St. Pierre was a guest recently Fox News Fight Game. The UFC welterweight champion discussed his thoughts on rematching B.J. Penn on Super Bowl weekend, the upcoming bout between UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar at UFC 91, Matt Hughes, gorwing up and his beginnings in mixed martial arts, and much, much more.
This is a really good interview with St. Pierre that especially goes in depth about his training and various aspects of martial arts and how things apply to MMA.
At the Nevada State Athletic Commision meetin on Wednesday, the Commission determined that Mario Yamasaki would be the referee in charge of the action when UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture defends his belt against Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 on Nov. 15 in Las Vegas.
Also called to work for the bout were judges Jeff Mullen, Cecil Peoples, and Tony Weeks.
The bout marks Couture's return to the Octagon following more than a year mired in legal battles with the promotion.
The winner between Couture and Lesnar will face the winner of the bout between interim champion Antinio Rodrigo Nogueira and challenger Frank Mir, who are fighting on Dec. 27 at UFC 92. That unification bout will likely take place in early 2009.
Brock Lesnar on Tuesday night appeared on ESPN's magazine show E:60. The segment on Lesnar provides some great background on the man who is challenging UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture at UFC 91 on Nov. 15 in Las Vegas.
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