Ross Weighs in on Lesnar vs Couture
November 15, 2008
Long time announcer for WWE programming Jim Ross weighed in on his blog on the Brock Lesnar vs Randy Couture showdown. Ross was instrumental in getting Brock signed to the WWE and remains an interested observer in Brock’s MMA efforts. Upon viewing the weigh in Ross did have some concern over Lesnar’s mental state:
Lesnar will not fatigue or blow up physically unless his nerves have gotten the better of him which would then work against the former NCAA Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. Not knowing Lesnar’s true mental state of mind, one cannot accurately assess how “tight” Lesnar actually is but he looked somewhat “off” at the weigh in. However, that’s just one man’s opinion who has known Brock on a personal level for quite some time even though we have not communicated since he left the WWE. Lesnar can be distracted and handles pressure differently than many athletes. Nonetheless if Lesnar can have success early, gain some confidence and relax to the degree that he’s not psyching himself out I still see Lesnar winning but I am not as sold on that weak prediction as I was prior to the weigh in.
In addition to being an announcer, Jim Ross was also director of talent relations during his span with the WWE, so he is used to dealing with the business side of things in the PPV-driven sports/entertainment busines. He is joining the chorus of opinion that thinks the one million buy goal for UFC 91 may be a mirage:
UFC officials are predicting north of 1M PPV buys but I don’t see it. The American economy is deplorable, the event isn’t sold out, and with PPV buys being discretionary purchases I would suggest that if UFC 91 gets 500,000-750,000 buys it should be considered a major success. Any one who argues that the economy won’t affect the number of buys is fooling one’s self.
