That is a very good point. If anything, I think bringing in Brock Lesnar would appeal to the already-converted rather than new pro wrestling fans. I stopped watching pro wrestling (WWE, TNA and ROH) back in 2004. I think I saw one WWE PPV after that in 2005 (The ECW one). Brock stopped his WWE gig in 2004. So if anything, bringing in Brock Lesnar would appeal to my demographic more than pro wrestling fans in 2008. The pro wrestling fans of 2008 may not be very familiar with Brock. Hence why I agree with Zach that Dana White may be over-rating Brock Lesnar’s drawing power. Brock is a draw but he may not be as much of a draw as Dana White thinks he is.

But for Dana White to say that he brought in Brock for his athleticism and amateur wrestling credentials only tells part of the story. Yes his athleticism and credentials are a part of it but it can’t be denied that his fame in the WWE played a big part in his push to the main event and the big purse he will likely get in the UFC. At best, without the WWE name value, an athletic former NCAA champion MAY be lucky to get on the unaired UFC preliminary card on UFN or PPV earning $3k to show, $3k to win. At best. It’s more likely that a fighter like that would debut on a smaller show.

Also one of the biggest draws before TUF was Ken Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz. Gee I wonder why that was the case… Hmm. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Ken Shamrock was a well-known WWF pro wrestler and their fued was very pro-wrestling like (yes fueds have their roots in boxing but they appealed to wrestling fans). Then when TUF was aired, it aired right after WWE RAW on Spike TV. If the MMA crowd doesn’t have a significant core of former/current pro wrestling fans , then where did they come from? Certainly not boxing.

I was a pro wrestling fan and was introduced to the UFC 5-6 years ago by friends who were pro wrestling fans themselves. I also really got into MMA when reading Wrestler Observer (Meltzer covered UFC since the first one in 1993). Then through the Wrestling Observer, I heard about PRIDE. I was curious about PRIDE since Meltzer said that PRIDE was significantly bigger than the UFC and I tried the product and got hooked on that.

From my experience with friends at least, I can say that a good chunk of MMA fans have a background as pro wrestling marks at an earlier age (or some may still be pro wrestling marks). In the US (not Japan) it’s taboo to admit that you are a pro wrestling fan so that’s why a lot of MMA fans don’t want to admit that they have a background as a fan in pro wrestling.

Perhaps because people’s taste changes as they grow older? It’s all conjecture, but you can’t deny a link between MMA and pro wrestling.

We shall see how UFC 81 perform. I believe it will be better than average.

I stated in advance that it was a strawman.

Meltzer covered MMA initally because of the connections with pro wrestling overseas. He wasn’t aware that Pancrase wasn’t entirely a work for quite awhile and even thought that Funaki’s loss on the debut show to Shamrock was to put over Ken rather than what it actually was (which was Shamrock legitimately winning the contest). He also showed serious doubt about the UFC’s legitimacy as well.

The UFC did not sign Lesnbar because they want to coax pro wrestling fans over. They signed Lesnar because he’s a legitimate athlete. The fact that Lesnar may help them convert some wrestling fans over is a bonus.

That Lesnar was signed because of his athleticism and background, this is indeed accurate. That he may help to convert wrestling fans is a hope, hardly an expectation. They’re looking at wrestling fans because they’re the most likely to recognize him. Honestly, if a large chunk of their fanbase are ex-pro wrestling fans, uhh, why would pro wrestling fans in 2008 be anymore likely to watch MMA versus those who saw TUF back in 2006 and were less removed from Lesnar the pro wrestler?

I was mainly just doing it to bust on you. But there’s certainly something to be said for having a former WWE champion in the main event, being marketed (partially) on the strength of his professional wrestling “credentials”.