Even though all three of the main card fights went to a decision, UFC 87 was one of the better pay-per-view events put on by the UFC. Kenny Florian smartly refused to get into a brawl with Roger Huerta, and used superior technique to win a unanimous decision. In the main event, Georges St. Pierre clearly showed that there is a substantial talent gap between him and everyone else in the welterweight division. He went all 5 rounds against #1 contender Jon Fitch (who I met in person out in Vegas, and who looks to be a beast in great shape), and administered one of the worst beatings I have ever seen that didn't result in a knockout. The scores were 50-44, and one 50-43, and at the post-fight press conference, Fitch's face looked like he'd gone ten rounds with a sledgehammer and lost. I think this is Exhibit A in support of my theory that every person has a maximum talent level that they can reach through heart, hard work, and toughness, but that, beyond that, there are just some people who have more God-given talent than everyone else. And if those people (like GSP) reach their maximum potential at the peak of their physical ability, everyone else should watch out.
Turning to Brock Lesnar, one of my favorite athletes in all of MMA, he served still more notice to the heavyweight division that he is for real. Among the reasons I have been a big fan of his are: a.) the fact that he's a family man first; b.) that he told Vince McMahon and the WWE to shove a long-term and very lucrative contract at the peak of his popularity because he wanted real competition; and c.) he is a legitimate athlete with an outstanding wrestling pedigree.
In the fight itself, it was widely thought that Lesnar would try to take down Herring like Jake O'Brien did a couple of fights back for Herring. He certainly did so, but not before faking out Herring masterfully in the opening moments of the fight. Right after the opening bell, Lesnar faked a shot on Herring, then uncorked one of the most vicious right hands I have ever seen. It connected so hard with Herring's face, it sent the 245 pound plus fighter sprawling and back flipping onto the canvas. Lesnar followed it up with three rounds of good ground and pound, and pounded out a unanimous decision victory. Lesnar had several opportunities to finish Herring if he even had rudimentary jiu-jitsu skills, but according to his camp, they didn't want him to get caught in a stupid submission if he was dominating the fight. That is certainly understandable for this fight, but it is something he will need to work on if he intends to be a champion one day.
At the end of and after the fight, unfortunately, he acted like he was still in the WWE. Not only did he treat Heath Herring like a mock steer and pretend to ride him rodeo style, he also did a mock lasso routine, and talked an unnecessary amount of smack after the fight. MMA is a different game than the WWE, and I don't think the sport needs "heels" and bad guys to survive. Brock needs to show more class in future victories than he did this time if he expects to gain any respect at all from the fans. He needs to understand that most of the self-promoting thugs and "bad asses" who have come into the UFC have flamed out in spectacular fashion. Even more than that, he has enough talent that he doesn't have to do that, and it isn't his personality anyway. All he has to do is be himself, keep learning the game, and I think he will be heavyweight champion one day in the near future. Let's go Brock, time to grow up and man up!
