When Worlds Collide


WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE

By Ben Miller
Email: benjamiller@icloud.com
Twitter: @benjamiller

UFC 155 is in the books and it showed once again that Raven was right.  About a decade ago the former ECW champion appeared on an audio show with Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez saying that all that matters is the finish.  On a night where three of the five pay-per-view fights were one-sided and uninspiring, nobody is talking about anything except the final fight because it was that damn good.

The second Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos fight was fantastic to a neutral observer and dramatic as hell to anyone with a rooting interest.  Yours truly was rooting for the Brazillian (blame an overreaching pre-show essay for that) and from the opening bell it was a riveting tale of survival.  Cain was a monster in a perpetual state of attack and Junior kept fighting and fighting to survive the beast.  For supporters of Velasquez some of the drama may have been lacking (drama fundamentally increases when antagonism is strongest and Junior was less than a worthy antagonist on this night), but the redemption after the embarrassing knockout loss in their previous matchup had to be satisfying nonetheless.

In the broader view, the fight ended up being a fascinating event because two worlds of mixed martial arts became exposed to each other anew. 

For years MMA fighters, journalists and insiders would gush about Cain’s reputation as the ultimate workout warrior.  During workouts he would dominate all comers with a preternatural combination of technique, endurance and guts.  He would stand toe to toe with opponents who were taller, stronger and more muscular and send them away humbled and wondering if there would ever be a way to topple the monster. 

MMA fans, on the other hand, largely saw Cain as either an ethnic hero or a bland grappler, but hardly an indomitable monster.  He beat opponent after opponent in the Octagon, but outside of one unforgettable night in Anaheim when he defeated Brock Lesnar to become the first Mexican-American UFC Heavyweight Champion, Cain never gave fans the raw emotional response that other top heavyweights have garnered.

Tonight the worlds of the MMA insiders and outsiders came together.  The casual UFC fan got to see that this guy wasn’t just the ultimate practice player.  He is a tornado who maximizes his talent in a way that tends to bring old men to tears when they remember the sporting heroes of their youth.  He will never punch the hardest, pull the slickest submissions or throw his opponents around the cage.  Instead he’ll outsmart, outwork and out-tough those opponents over and over again.

Bringing the outsiders in touch with the insiders also tends to have a great effect on business, and this fight is no different.  After this performance, what MMA fan could possibly miss Cain’s next title defense?  Whether it’s to appreciate a special warrior or to see if that big punch that Dos Santos hit in their first fight is repeatable, there’s something for the lovers and haters alike. 

As a wrestling fan, the rise of Cain feels a little bit like the rise of WWF in 1997.  UFC business is down, just as WWF business was in 1997, but the relatively small swatch of fans who stuck with it were treated to the rise of Steve Austin, the USA vs. Canada feud and D-Generation X.  Week after week the TV ratings would tell us that we were watching something that was less popular than the competition, but we kept being rewarded with special moments.  Fight fans who bought UFC 155 will number a fraction of those who watched basketball or college bowl games, but we were rewarded with the deep satisfaction of witnessing something that was not only entertaining, but truly noteworthy as well.

UFC still may have some areas that yours truly and others dislike, but tonight is a night to enjoy one of those rare moments that the results match the hype.  We’ve been told for five years that there was a Mexican killer stalking UFC, and tonight everyone – both insiders and outsiders – witnessed that in vivid detail.  Thank you, Cain Velasquez, for bringing those two worlds of MMA together. 

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