Why UFC 100 Hurt The UFC's Burgeoning Image

On July 11th, the image of a growing company went from shining to tarnished in just a matter of a few short hours.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has long had its share of critics, included among them former presidential candidate John McCain, who once referred to the sport as "human cockfighting."

However, through a series of savvy business moves, sound marketing strategies and the overall drive and desire of its competitors, the UFC and more importantly mixed martial arts, has now become viewed as a viable athletic contest,and has ingrained itself into the hearts of legions of fans.

However, the news is not all good for UFC. At UFC 100, the fighters, and judges both did very little to aid the UFC in climbing out of the mental cellars that many people still put them in.

Beginning the telecast was a middleweight bout between Japan's Yoshihiro Akiyama and American Alan Belcher. In a tough, hotly contested bout, one that was eventually named Fight of the Night, Akiyama was awarded a split decision victory with scores of 30-27, 28-29 and 29-28. The entire crowd immediately booed, knowing full well that Belcher had won the fight.

Even Akiyama seemed completely shocked that he was awarded the victory, as he had been dominated at many points throughout the contest, and only got in a few hard shots on Belcher.

To his credit, Belcher, did not complain, choosing instead to simply walk out of the Octagon, a loser on the scorecards, but a winner to the crowd.

Next, Dan Henderson fought Britains's Micahel Bisping in another middleweight bout. Both were coaches of The Ultimate Fighter last season and it was certain going into the bout that there was no love lost between the two men.

Announcers Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan mentioned over and over again that Bisping would need to watch out for Henderson's vicious right hand, which is considered by many to be one of the best in the business.

Then, around the middle of the second round Bisping tried to dodge to Henderson's left and was completely blindsided by a right hook that knocked him out instantly.

Rather than walk away and savor his victory, Henderson followed Bisping to the mat and landed yet another crushing right to Bisping's jaw.

Post-fight, Henderson made no apologies for the second punch, instead saying that he's not that type of fighter, but he just wanted to "shut him (Bisping) up."

Finally, in a heralded contest, UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar took on interim heavyweight champ Frank Mir in a rematch of Lesnar's first UFC bout, one in which Mir was victorious when he forced Lesnar to tap out to a knee bar.

Lesnar, who in my opinion was awarded a title match far too early in his career, defeated UFC legend Randy Couture for the title on November 15th. Bearing in mind that Lesnar is roughly 50 pounds heavier and 15 years younger than Couture, he easily took the legend apart. But why was he awarded the title shot so early in his career?

It's simple, UFC president Dana White saw dollar signs when he thought of putting the title around the waist of a widely hated fighter like Lesnar.

Lesnar did all he could to destroy Mir in this fight, even resorting to laying on top of him for long period of time, forcing him to lose his breath. And that was a sound strategy. He came into the fight outweighing Mir by nearly thirty pounds, and in that situation, why not use your tremendous size to an advantage?

However, once he finally was able to beat Mir via TKO in the second round, Lesnar proved himself a low-class human being, flipping off the crowd with both middle fingers, before heckling the half-conscious Mir, screaming obscenities at him, before stomping around the cage like a victorious hippopotamus.

He then alienated what was left of his fanbase in the post-fight interview, where he insulted a sponsor, tore Mir down some more, and made a reference to having sex with his wife.

He later apologized in the post-fight press conference, due in large part to White having a conversation with him in the locker room, one that Lesnar referred to as "a whip-the-dog session," but the damage was done.

I was never a Brock Lesnar fan to begin with, but after seeing how he handled this victory, I can say with all sincerity (and I know that I'm not alone on this) that every time that he steps in to the Octagon, I will be hoping to see him get pummeled.

As a blood-thirsty culture, one that thrives on excitement, many of us to enjoy seeing things that could be considered tasteless. Sometimes, however, a line needs to be drawn.

I will make special mention though of in my opinion, the bright spot of the evening for the company.

The Georges St-Pierre/Thiago Alves match-up for the UFC welterweight title was fantastic, and even in victory, St-Pierre was composed and classy, as he is after nearly every contest.

If the UFC is looking for someone to throw their weight behind, how about St-Pierre? As much as we as a society love the bully, sometimes it is refreshing to see a nice guy finish first.

Hopefully, Dana White feels the same way.