"UFC may seem like they’re going in that direction with James Toney being signed and immediated booked against Randy Couture, but they only went after him to keep him out of Strikeforce."

So, they did SF a favor? Give me a break. They’re trying to make money, like any other promotion. UFC is doing the exact same thing with Toney/Couture.

I’m not saying that they’re not, I’m saying that they wouldn’t necessarily have signed him if Strikeforce wasn’t interested.

The term "freakshow fight" has been greatly abused by the people @ BE(who you should cease taking writing tips form). A true freakshow fight is Minowa vs HMC, Imani Lee, Bob Sapp, or Zulu b/c of the ridiculous size difference. Just because a fight is not relevant in the world-title picture, doesn’t mean it is a "freakshow". Lesnar/Couture was the biggest "freakshow" fight of all-time. 5-time UFC champ with almost 20 fights vs 2-1(1-1 UFC) former pro wrestler for the HW title. That fight was made because it would draw money, not because anybody thought Lesnar deserved a title shot.

The BE guys are not the only ones who use the term “freakshow fight” to refer to fights with gimmick fighters, and the relative freakyness of Brock-Randy is subjective. Absolutely a freak show fight (which it should be noted was Couture’s idea), but not as gimmicky as something like Kimbo-Tank (well, Kimbo in EXC in general), Toney-Couture, and Walker vs everyone, and hell, Brock won.

“Herschel Walker is older, but he’s a better (and "more legitimate") athlete, had a relatively impressive debut, and is donating all of his pay to charity, only fighting to benefit said charities and prove himself.”

Hershel was a legit athlete 15 years ago. No, his debut was not impressive. SF found him the most nonathletic, unskilled can fighter they could scrounge up, and he still almost got subbed 2 or 3 times. It doesn’t make one bit of difference if he’s donating his purse to charity.

I said relatively impressive (he’s old and his wrestling was surprising all things considered. The charity thing is just about his personal motives, and I put “more legitimate” in quotes for a reason.

"Brock Lesnar was a world class amateur wrestler, is an amazingly freaky athlete, and is 8 to 11 years younger than Batista, a fragile middle-aged bodybuilder."

Brock was a Collegiate champion, not world class. King Mo, Mark Coleman, Dan Henderson, and, hell, even Kurt Angle were "world class" wrestlers. Brock never proved himself on that level.

It’s a nitpick, but you’re right.

"freaky athlete" isn’t a legit argument. I guess you say that b/c Brock is big AND quick. There are alot of guys who could fit that description.

He’s a gigantic man who’s scarily agile, and he may be one of the strongest men in the world. While he’s never been tested in weightlifting, powerlifting, or “World’s Strongest Man” type “strength athletics,” people who have wrestled both him and Mark Henry (who’s absolutely one of the strongest men who ever lived) have put them in a similar league, and Henry doesn’t have Lesnar’s impressive feats of strength within wrestling, like the Big Show matches.

And, while your criticisms of Batista’s age and fragility are legit. Keep in mind that people had the same concerns when Lesnar entered MMA. I remember most people saying about Brock, "He’s too old, he’s taken too much damage from pro-wrestling, and it’s been almost 10 years since he last trained in amateur wrestling

Batista is 8 to 11 years older, did pro wrestling much longer, and has had a ton of serious muscle tears. And even taking into account all of that speculation about Lesnar, he was still a far more legitimate prospect.

I just want to point out that I didn’t write this post b/c I’m a Dave Batista fan(certainly not). I’m just pointing out some bias, revisionist history, and factual inaccuracy’s.

Bias? I don’t prefer UFC over Strikeforce or Lesnar over Batista as anything other than an in-ring pro wrestler (out of the ring, Batista surpassed Lesnar this year), but EXC and post-EXC Strikeforce have been more gimmicky than recent (post-Sean Gannon) UFC.