Can UFC survive a post-Brock world?
Brock Lesnar retiring from MMA is not just a problem for the legion of fans who were hoping to see…
Brock Lesnar retiring from MMA is not just a problem for the legion of fans who were hoping to see the former WWE star return to championship form. It’s a problem for the UFC, as Lesnar brought with him regular consumers of pay-per-views and merchandise.
But his decision to hang up the four-ounce gloves to spend time with his wife and suddenly deceased animals doesn’t have to be the death knell for the UFC.
1. Build up Alistair Overeem vs. Junior dos Santos as battle of skill and size. The next heavyweight UFC championship battle will be between two huge men who can hit really hard. Though that’s reason enough to tune in, the UFC can only go to that well so many times.
2. Get Jon Jones on every talk show, magazine cover and any other piece of media. The light heavyweight champ is personable outside the Octagon and unstoppable in it.
3. Embrace the heel of Chael Sonnen. Villains sell tickets, whether it’s because the buyers love to hate him or they secretly envy the way he embraces the dark side. Sonnen is a first-rate talker who Dana White compared to Muhammad Ali, and is incredibly skilled at the heel role.
4. Put the lighter weights center stage. Though conventional combat sports wisdom is that only the big fighters sell, Manny Pacquiao is the world’s most popular fighter and has never boxed at over 155 lbs.
5. Move over Strikeforce heavyweights as soon as humanly possible.