It seemed inevitable from the second Brock Lesnar lost to Cain Velasquez, and recent comments from UFC President Dana White only reinforced it–the next heavyweight mega-match was going to be a battle between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir.
White, however, confirmed Saturday that disapproval from his Twitter followers has led to his rethinking the money matchup.
“People have been saying on my Twitter that they’re not happy with that fight,” White said while doing press for Germany’s UFC 122 event, according to MMAJunkie. “It’s something I need to re-think.”
UFC brass have taken heat in the past for shaping plans based on Internet fan criticism, although White differentiated that his Twitter followers represent a more passionate fan than the general “Internet” collective.
Most mixed martial arts analysts and observers believe that a Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir rubber match, despite Lesnar’s devastating loss to Velasquez and Mir’s underwhelming knockout victory over Mirko Cro Cop, represents the most bankable fight in the heavyweight division. Even though Lesnar’s victory in their UFC 100 scrap was decisive, the feeling is that Mir, a natural pro wrestling-style talker, can still draw on his initial win over Lesnar as well as the beatdown Velasquez delivered the former WWE Champion as ammunition for renewing interest in the rivalry. And despite the recent loss, Lesnar is still going to be a massive draw.
Despite its marketability and potential for a big pay day, Mir has been among the match’s vocal critics. Although it could easily be dismissed as seed-planting to resume the feud with Lesnar, the former UFC Heavyweight Champion has argued that his victory over Cro Cop coupled with Lesnar’s loss to Velasquez means they are not presently on the same level, and a fight with Lesnar would be a step down at this point.
The fight has received some additional fan and analyst criticism insofar as it neither represents a fresh bout nor represents the most valuable test for either man. Based on how the first two fights with Mir went, Lesnar would not necessarily need to make significant improvements in his striking or bottom grappling, his two very evident weaknesses in the recent fights with Velasquez and Shane Carwin, to achieve victory. There would therefore be no guarantee of evidence that Lesnar had improved and become a ‘new fighter’ in time for a title shot with Velasquez or his upcoming opponent Junior dos Santos.
Mir, meanwhile, would not necessarily need to sharpen any skills but takedown defense in order to develop an advantage against Lesnar. While takedown defense is important for that division, it would not be the only skill Mir would need to demonstrate in order to show that he is an improved fighter from the one who got destroyed by Shane Carwin and needed three rounds to finish a tentative-looking Mirko Cro Cop.
And, since both Lesnar and Mir are big, respected names, there is definitely value in using them to help fighters in the vein of Brendan Schaub move into the next level. From a short-term money perspective, it makes sense to keep draws like Brock Lesnar protected from fighters without proven commercial credentials, but if Lesnar were to lose to a rising star, it would undoubtedly create a new force at heavyweight. And even a Lesnar or Mir victory would serve to put the spotlight on the new challenger–it is not as if Shane Carwin was sent back into obscurity following his summer loss to Brock.