Brock Lesnar Turns Up Heat On WWE By Showing Up At UFC 184

After walking out on Raw on Monday, on Saturday Brock Lesnar the current WWE Champion walked into the Staples Center to watch Ronda Rousey make history. Rousey would watch him capture the WWE Heavyweight Title in the same building smashing John Cena. It may be a decision the WWE will really regret.

Dana White the UFC president before Dave Meltzer could ask the question as to why Brock was there he asked it for him. In answering his own question, he said that Lesnar was in town and wanted to see the fights. White also said that Brock is under contract to WWE and he said the day after that contract ends he expects to hear from Lesnar.

White has been hinting at conversations he has had with Lesnar but because of the obvious threat of a tampering legal action from WWE will say with a twinkle in his eye that Brock and I are friends and did not talk business. This is about as believable as Nikki Bella joining the UFC and defeating Ronda Rousey in the Octagon.

It has been rumored the dispute on Monday was about a new contract Brock wanted with WWE that would allow him to fight for UFC. Dana White offered no comment, or was asked, if he would be on board for such a scenario as has been rumored. Bellator the competitor to the UFC has had former WWE star and current TNA wrestler Bobby Lashley fight for their organization while under contract with TNA. The WWE is not TNA though and it would be unlikely they ever agree to such an arrangement. 

White made a lot of news announcing that C.M Punk signed with the UFC in December and would fight at some point in 2015 in the UFC.

The idea the WWE keeps trying to push that they are not in direct competition with the UFC is becoming even more of a joke by the day. Lesnar is next scheduled to appear for the WWE on March 9th and if he doesn’t you have to wonder if he would pull a C.M Punk like move and walkout if he does get what he wants with a new deal allowing him to work for both UFC and WWE. This would throw the Wrestlemania main event that had been already in trouble due to fans rejection of Roman Reigns into a tailspin.

The more likely is Lesnar plays out his contract and signs with the UFC practically moments after he is pinned to the mat by Roman Reigns. Dana White seems very confident that he will have Brock back as soon as that match is over. Rumors of a Ronda Rousey appearance at Wrestlemania have been out there as well. She will not be fighting anytime soon as she is booked to do another movie. So maybe, Dana should just tag along and he can sign Brock, as he makes his exit from the ring while the fireworks are going off for Roman Reigns.

In any case the WWE has be pretty pissed to see their Champion on the UFC PPV and not even recognized as being a part of the WWE. In fact, just as a former UFC legend. WWE often feared C.M Punk would be made to look foolish in his appearances as a fan when he worked for the company. They rejected him permission to walk out for a fight with his friend Chael Sonnen in Chicago.

Add in the fact that the WWE has been taking heat for not using their women correctly and we had a UFC show draw a larger gate than Summerslam in the same venue with a show headlined by two women’s matches. It all adds up to a big in your face to Vince McMahon and the WWE.

Brock is as good as gone at this point. 

CM Punk signs with UFC

Well, if you asked me 10 days ago would Punk be in the UFC? I would tell you that your nuts, but coming out of last night's "UFC 181" PPV, CM Punk officially sign a multi-fight contract with the UFC and expects to start fighting in 2015. Obviously CM Punk has been the talk of the entire world over the last two weeks and as to the big elephant in the room, Can CM Punk fight? Is this worth it? Well in this piece I will give you my thoughts on this signing and what can we expect from CM Punk in 2015?

As one of CM Punk's biggest fans I'm happy to see that Punk is doing what makes him happy. You can see it in his eyes in this video above with Joe Rogan, Punk speaks about having the fire he has insides when someones says that he can't accomplish anything. If you ever known CM Punk, he's always been the person to percivere through roadblocks no matter how big that particular roadblock is. Punk said he expect to fight in the middleweight division and fight around 170-185 weight class. Many professional wrestlers and MMA fighters reacted to this mega decision.

Big respect to @CMPunk! Do whatever you want to do champ and give the critics something to talk about.
— Bobby Lashley (@fightbobby) December 7, 2014

Just as Lesnar brought many wrestling fans to @ufc to see him lose, Punk will being newer & younger fans to @ufc out of curiosity/ to win.
— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) December 7, 2014

WHA?!?!?! @CMPunk!!?!!!!?!! #cantwait
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) December 7, 2014

As far as the WWE is concern, I'm getting a big shuckle out of how this effect the company in anyway. In todays society it's all about coming up with ways to degrade the WWE and they're the worst company in the world. Say what you want about the WWE, but they don't care because UFC is not their competition. With Brock Lesnar possibly heading to the UFC after WrestleMania 31, man UFC seems to get off the desperate wagon because now they can get their special PPV buys that they haven't been getting in the last couple of years and makes MMA relevant again. CM Punk was already a big name in the mainstream media over the last three years and does this make this signing a publicity stunt from both Punk and UFC. I don't believe that's true, but people are going to pose that question just due to the nature of CM Punk professional background.



This wouldn't be the first time that CM Punk has been involved with the UFC. Punk has been an active attender of many UFC fights over the years and CM Punk has become popular with the MMA fanbase with his annual interviews with Ariel Helwani from MMAfighting.com. Helwani had his concerns about this decision, but as you see in the video above CM Punk he wants to do this and this is a full circle kind of moment for him because he's had previous MMA style of training with the Gracie's and doing Kempo in Chicago while he was training to become a professional wrestler. In this video above Helwani does bring up alot of topics that alot of hardcore MMA fans have, Can he fight? Are you trying to outdo Brock Lesnar? Are you part of a certain camp? Why didn't Punk get his MMA start in another fighting company? When will his first fight happen? Punk has gone on to say in his press conference that he knows that he's going to have his critics, but he said he's been motivated to step into the octogan for a long while now and now it's about training and continuing to prove people wrong. I would think personally his fight would be in Chicago, UFC has been bringing their "UFC on FOX" Show to the United Center over the last three years. Who knows maybe the UFC brings a PPV for the first time since UFC 90 and that's where he makes his debut.


As we look towards the future as 2015 approaches it's good time to be a MMA fan. I'm personally happy for CM Punk and hope he makes the best out of this opportunity and he proves his doubters wrong. Hard work pays off for people that bust their ass and don't let other's opinions drag them down. Do I think he will be successful in MMA? I'm not sure, but I do think that he's going to give it his all and that's all I can ask for as a fan of Phil "CM Punk" Brooks. Do the WWE have to make a move after this decision? No because UFC is not their competition and people can't accept that fact, but their not their competition. So Punk has move on to the next phase in his professional life and we'll see what happens. Follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Triple H Says UFC is not Competition of the WWE

For the WWE and Triple H to draw the conclusion that UFC is not their competition is somewhere between a flat out lie and ignorance.Triple H tried to make several points to back up this ridiculous claim. The things he stated more explain the differences between the two than it explains why they are not competition. If you would like to see his full comments in context head over to Between the Ropes article on this a few days ago.

At the end of the day, WWE and UFC are competing for that all-important 18-35 male demographic. While WWE looks to other demos beyond that one, like children, they also try to attract women but so does UFC and have a stronger draw to do it. Ronda Rousey is taken more serious by the UFC than any woman is in the WWE. The one place I believe WWE has an advantage is with older demos as they have been less inclined to embrace the UFC over traditional boxing.

I keep hearing who the WWE thinks it’s competition isn’t, the same Triple H was tied to a quote a while back that not only was TNA not competition for WWE that they had zero interest in anyone in that company. Just who is the WWE’s competition by their standards? It has to be someone does it not.  There is a reason people are not giving you their $9.99 a month you would have to figure. There is a reason people with the option of the network are still paying 40 to 50 dollars more to watch some UFC pay-per-views.

The two companies currently are promoting the same type of fight. John Cena against Brock Lesnar this Sunday is very similar to the match-up of Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. The build up for that UFC fight that has looked much like pro wrestling with the two fighters getting into a brawl at the presser. Neither of them suffered an injury so the fight is still on. A security member for UFC did end up with damaged ribs. In reality, you believe these guys want to kill each other. That may not be true and this might be, as much theatre as the WWE, but it is perceived as real hatred by most.

Triple H will make the argument that Cena against Lesnar war is more compelling because they can make it as such. We all know this is in the end, is a booked fight that is designed to be entertaining. In the UFC, you never know what you are going to get. You could have a situation like you had in which Ronda Rousey destroyed Canadian Alexis Davis in less than 30 seconds or a five round war like we saw in Toronto with Jones and his originally scheduled opposition Alexander Gustafsson. Some felt Jones lost that fight and he was set to have the much anticipated and hyped re-match with Gustafsson who had to pull out of the fight due to injury.

While John Cena and Brock in all likelihood go for 20-30 minutes in a designed to be compelling match with false finishes and moments that we as an audience are, suppose to question the outcome along the ride we are taken on. The winner of the match is known long before it ever happens by the competitors and the powers than be in the WWE. This is not breaking news or anything wrestling has been out of the closet for many years on it being any kind of a legitimate sporting contest. It is, as they like to say sports entertainment.

Isn’t the UFC in a sense in that same type of business with the lone difference being they do not manipulate their results. While you will not have ridiculous skits and some of the high jinx of the WWE, the goal of the UFC is to be both a sport and compelling entertainment. Even on a larger scale, haven’t all sports kind of sold out and become entertainment to some degree. I mean why is it when they have a big sporting event I have to sit through a pre-game or halftime rock concert that I did not ask to attend. That is they trying to add entertainment to go along side their sport. Just as I had no need for "Flo Rida" on Raw it is the same for whoever the band will be the plays before the opening game of the NFL season or at halftime at the NBA All-Star Game.

While the WWE tries to claim everyone is not their competition the simple fact is they likely are there competition and to state publicly otherwise is just foolish.  Paul Lévesque I do not consider a foolish man at the end of the day. Just look at the way he has over hauled the developmental system for this company as proof of his intelligence. I think he knows that the UFC is indeed a competitor for the WWE. Some would even be as bold as to claim a direct competitor as these two companies are really fighting for the same hearts and minds in terms of an audience.

Here is something to consider in closing which speaks to what a horrible job the WWE has done with their network roll out. More people will purchase a pay-per-view for the UFC headlined by the Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier fight. That is my prediction for what it will draw which means over 700,000 pay-per-view buys for the UFC and roughly 40 to 50 dollars more a pop. Floyd Mayweather did sell 2.2 Million on pay-per view, which I believe an even slightly higher price tag. While WWE claims that pay per view is dead, it really is not for the right events. It just might be dead in terms of who is willing to spend a high price for wrestling content on a monthly basis.

WWE can make all the claims they like about whom they are in competition with and who they are not. The reality is they do not decide that as much as the marketplace decides that for them. What are potential WWE fans spending their money on now?  Here would be a survey that would interest me greatly. The high point of wrestling was the Monday Night Wars and the “Attitude Era” for the WWE. I would love to know what all those fans who left the product are spending their money on these days. Would it shock anyone if many of them were now contributing their dollars to the UFC?

For the WWE to say they are not in direct competition with the UFC is about as crazy as McDonald is saying they are not in competition with Burger King because the Big-Mac is different from the Whooper. WWE is in competition with the UFC more than anyone else has a claim to be. TNA or Ring of Honor is not a serious threat to the WWE. It would be quite insane at this point to think they likely would be in the future.

Is Ronda Rousey a bigger star than John Cena, or will she be after this summer? You think someone in WWE is not thinking about that. You think the WWE would not welcome the UFC Woman Bantamweight Champion into the fold with open arms to be a part of an event like Summerslam or Wrestlemania.  They would in a heartbeat, but Dana White is not going to allow it. Does this sound like two businesses’ that are not in direct competition to you?

Dana knows this as well as Paul Lévesque knows this they in many cases are looking to earn the same dollars from the same people’s pockets more and more. Something for both to consider is the amount of people that class themselves, as fans of both is growing larger and larger by the day. Not unlike in the “Attitude Era” when many just simply were fans of both WWE and WCW and wanted to watch whoever gave them the best show.

The UFC lost the early battle when they launched UFC Fight Pass at the same time as the WWE Network. People were saying look at how much better the WWE Network was in comparison. Looking back now it seems the UFC had the right idea with a relatively low risk product which attracted the craziest loyal portion of its fan base and have little risk to the overall product. WWE has put almost its entire company’s future tied to this network and has suffered for doing so.

It is not to say the WWE cannot turn it around, but it has been a much rocky road for them. At the end of the day should they survive it, the UFC can say that looks like a hell of an idea why do not we do that too. Difference being they have not taken the hits the WWE has in being the first to do something so revolutionary but can easily be the second and made a nice profit while doing so. UFC also being a private company never has to answer to shareholders or reveal keep numbers about its successes or failures.

If Triple H honestly believes, he is not in competition with the UFC he is about as ignorant as TNA thinking that they are in competition with him. He knows they are, but tried in my view unsuccessfully, to make what in the end is a bogus argument to make in the first place. What does the WWE gain from it really? Not a heck of a lot if you ask anyone if they really care about this the answer would be no. 

Lesnar vs. Cena and Jon Jones vs. Cormier are about as similar in nature of main attractions as the companies have had. WWE bills Lesnar against Cena as the biggest fight of the summer. Many will say that it is going to be Jones and Cormier with that biggest fight that takes place on September 27th a little after summer is over, so WWE is not technically lying. How these two events do will be interesting to watch.

Game on, even if “The Game “says it isn’t a game at all.