A bearded Brock Lesnar surfaced on Tuesday singing an all-too familiar tune.
Twenty four hours ago, I was fielding various phone calls, texts and e-mails about who will be potentially fighting at UFC 129 in my own backyard.
In the midst of the chaos, the rest of the MMA world was buzzing with a variety of headlines.
First off was the UFC's suspension of Chael Sonnen, for his recent guilty plea to money laundering. It's been a roller-coaster of a year for the middleweight, and now his UFC 128 bout vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama is all but done. It's hard to argue with the organization's decision, and while Sonnen's management team stated it was mutual, I sincerely find that hard to believe.
Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta's velvet hammer was used in this case. If the UFC wants to continue it's journey to full mainstream acceptance, situations like Sonnen's must be dealt with correctly. Perhaps they are simply waiting for the court's decision to his plea bargain two years probation. Either way, the UFC will welcome Sonnen back to the octagon soon, but now is not the right time.
To many, Sonnen's credibility was already paper thin, but today, it's all but torn apart.
Lesnar resurfaces from the woods
Since losing his heavyweight title to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 in October, sightings of Brock Lesnar have been few and far between. But Tuesday the former champ, sporting a thick viking-like beard, released a video announcing his new book. He said: "It's a book about a life story," and his "fight to the top, through WWE and the UFC, despite all the doubters."
One of the more peculiar quotes was when he stated: "I'm gonna work hard to sell this book."
While my fingers are crossed that his definition of working hard is an actual book tour while making himself available to the media and fans alike, history has proven otherwise. I've said it countless times before, Lesnar is hit or miss; you simply never know which guy is going to show up.
I've been lucky enough to get his good side during my interviews, but when it comes to accessibility, I have a virtual stack of e-mails, texts and phone calls that have yet to be responded to by his management team.
I believe his relationship and career with the organization is on thin ice.
A source recently told me that Lesnar wants out of his UFC contract and is trying to seek a way to make this possible. While I, along with the vast majority of MMA media saw this coming, I'm not so sure I agree though.
This is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve, but also one who is smarter than most give him credit for. He may want out today, but tomorrow may be a different story. When cooler heads prevail, so do people's bank accounts.
Fedor Emelianenko is back...sort of
It has been announced that Fedor Emelianenko has signed a four-fight deal with Strikeforce.
With intrepidation, this means next to nothing for yours truly.
When "The Last Emperor" first signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce, he had one fight (vs. Brett Rogers), then wanted to renegotiate. He got his wish, and signed a second multi-fight deal. To wit, after his first fight in the new deal, and second with the organization (vs. Fabricio Werdum), he wanted to renegotiate. Again, Strikeforce granted his wish.
He is now set to face off against Antonio (Big Foot) Silva, as part of Strikeforce's 2011 Four Man Heavyweight Grand Prix, set for Feb. 12 at the IZOD Centre in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Fedor's bout will headline the event, while the co-main event will see Andre Arlovski vs. Sergei Kharnitonov.
The other match-ups, with dates yet to be announced, include heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem (who asked to be in the tournament) vs. Fabricio Werdum, and Brett Rogers vs. Josh Barnett.
Logistics aside, I like what Strikeforce is doing. I've always been a huge proponent of the tournament-style formats, as it keeps fans engaged, allows them to follow the brackets to the final, and often legitimizes the winner into something nearly super human.
Whoever wins this grand prix will likely emerge as, at worst, the No. 3 heavyweight in the world. You can make the argument for No. 2, you just can't make it for No. 1.
