UFC 81: BREAKING POINT final presser!
Report by Albert Howell
On the eve of the Super Bowl, the UFC takes center stage tomorrow night, with four of the biggest names in the heavyweight division doing battle in the Octagon.
UFC 81: BREAKING POINT features the UFC debut of former WWE star Brock Lesnar (1-0), who will step into the Octagon for the first time, taking on former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir (10-3). Saturday night’s main event pits two-time, former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia (26-3) against former PRIDE FC champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (30-4-1) in a five-rounder for the interim belt.
Before becoming a WWE star, Lesnar was a former college wrestling stand-out. He won the NCAA Division I National Championship in 2000, as well as two Big Ten championships. He was also a four-time, All-American. In June of 2007, Lesnar (1-0) made his MMA debut, annihilating Min Soo Kim in just 69 seconds. Despite Saturday night being his first test in the Octagon, Lesnar is a near 2-to-1 favorite to upset the former champion Mir.
In 2004, Mir submitted Tim Sylvia in 50 seconds to win the UFC heavyweight championship. Three months later, Mir’s career came to a screeching halt when he broke his leg in a motorcycle accident, sidelining the fighter for almost two years. In his last fight, at UFC 74, last August, Mir beat Antoni Hardonk via kimura in 1:17 of the first round.
Mir understands that although he has an overwhelming advantage in fighting experience over his opponent for Saturday night, Lesnar remains a very formidable foe.
“Anybody who wins an NCAA title has a lot of drive and devotion,” Mir said at the final press conference Thursday afternoon, held at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Mir noted that Lesnar enters the UFC having already mastered the foundational skill of MMA, which is wrestling.
In former champion Mir, Lesnar is not getting an easy opponent for his first UFC match. About the difficult test for the newcomer, UFC President Dana White commented, Nobody gets any easy fights in the UFC.”
To Lesnar’s credit, White affirmed that the former WWE star was willing to fight anybody when he signed on with the UFC. Apparently, Lesnar did not blink an eye when that “anybody” materialized to be the former champion and BJJ Black Belt Mir.
In regards to Lesnar’s star potential in the UFC, White noted that wrestlers have done very well in the UFC. For White, Lesnar may become the next wrestler-turned-UFC-star, following in the footsteps of college wrestling stand-outs who later became champions—like Matt Hughes and Randy Couture.
“Brock only having one MMA fight, a win over Mir is huge for him,” said White. “But, still, he has to win a few fights before he is in the title picture.”
White emphasized that, on the other hand, should Mir upset Lesnar, the former champ could be one bout away from another title shot.
“There’s a little pressure,” Lesnar said, about entering the Octagon for the first time. “But I’m not gonna piss my pants or anything like that.”
Lesnar emphasized that he has been performing in pressure situations for the last 12 years, since his college wrestling days. Moreover, Lesnar believes that he has found his calling as a mixed martial artist.
“I finally feel like this is what I really am meant to be doing,” he said.
Nogueira is also a near 2-to-1 favorite, entering his bout with Sylvia. Nogueira is looking to become the first PRIDE champion to best a UFC champ. In his seven-year MMA career, Nogueira has beaten Mirko “Cro Cop”, Mark Coleman, Dan Henderson, Josh Barnett and Fabricio Werdum. In July of 2007 at UFC 73, Nogueira earned a unanimous decision victory in his UFC debut over Heath Herring.
When asked about the switch from PRIDE to the UFC, and from fighting in a ring to a cage, Nogueira noted that he has been training in a cage for a year now, and he feels very comfortable fighting there.
Sylvia will be attempting to become only the second man to win the heavyweight title three times. Sylvia’s seven-year MMA career includes wins over Andrei Arlovski (twice), Ricco Rodriguez, and Jeff Monson. Sylvia’s championship bouts includes two title reigns and three title defenses. In his last visit to the Octagon, at UFC 77 in October, Sylvia bested Brandon Vera by unanimous decision, handing the up-and-coming star the first loss of his career.
Despite his accomplished career in the UFC, Sylvia has yet to ascend to great heights in the hearts of the fans.
About the popularity that has evaded him, Sylvia said: “I am the biggest guy in the division and everybody is always rooting for the smaller guy.”
Nonetheless, Sylvia recognizes that by upsetting the legendary Nogueira, he will gain increased clout with the fans.
According to White, the winner of Sylvia-Nogueira is owed a shot at the UFC heavyweight title currently held by Randy Couture, who although still under contract with the UFC has indicated his desire to retire from the organization.
Directing his comments at Couture, White pressed, “Come on, ‘Captain America’, be a man and step up. Give these guys the opportunity to win the title.”
Also included on Saturday’s line-up:
- Jeremy Horn vs. Nate Marquardt
- Ricardo Almeida vs. Alan Belcher
- Gleison Tibau vs. Tyson Griffin
- Kyle Bradley vs. Chris Lytle
- Tim Boetsch vs. David Heath
- Marvin Eastman vs. Terry Martin
- Keita Nakamura vs. Robert Emerson
. . . . .
Although a sell-out is anticipated, there are still tickets left for the live show. Tickets are priced at $800, $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50, and are available at any Mandalay Bay box office and all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Macy’s West at the Fashion Show Mall and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call the Mandalay Bay box office at (702) 632-7580 or Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.ufc.com, www.mandalaybay.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
UFC 79 is available live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell Express Vu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95 for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).
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