The hardcore MMA fan was not surprised that the more polished Velasquez – who remained undefeated – was able to figure out what everyone else knew but have been unable to execute, that Lesnar was beatable if you kept him on his feet. He may have outweighed Velasquez by 20 pounds but Lesnar’s boxing skills are not quite up to his wrestling capabilities. Velasquez was able to get back up after Lesnar took him down and basically have his way with the Minnesota native.

For all intents and purposes, Velasquez beat the shit out of Lesnar, plain and simple. The main event at UFC 121 ended in the first round when the referee stopped the fight and a new heavyweight champion was crowned. But was more lost that night other than a belt on a fighter with only six previous bouts?

It is tough to admit, but the UFC is better off with a champion like Lesnar. He was a very well-known name and one that the casual or mainstream sports fan was familiar with. Now, if you ask the MMA crowd what they think, they will tell the fringe fan to go fuck him or herself and leave the cage to the real followers of the sport. But in this era, money talks and there will be less Pay-Per-View orders without Lesnar topping the card. A guy like Velasquez will be loved by the loyal UFC fans, but the guy watching Monday Night Football who catches a UFC show now and then will forget his name the day after the fight.

The regular UFC fan will order the Pay-Per-View time in and time out, so that is really not the target audience if you are thinking outside of the box. What the UFC’s goal needs to be is to broaden that number and having someone like Lesnar to sell tickets and orders was a gold mine for them. Velasquez may be the better fighter and a more deserving champion, but his name and face will not have the same effect as Lesnar’s. There’s no argument there.

Perhaps a quick rematch makes sense for sales purposes, but it is not the best move for the long term. One has to figure that Velasquez would defat Lesnar again, so the gain would be minimal. Lesnar needs to be used to the best of his abilities and build his record – and reputation – back up. Down the road, Lesnar getting more experience to broaden his game will only help his chances of regaining the title.

And that will be a huge payday for him and the UFC.

Take your pick from defending champion Dexter Jackson, his predecessor Jay Cutler, Phil Heath, Victor Martinez, Kai Greene and Dennis Wolf. Just for shits and giggles, let’s add Branch Warren, Toney Freeman and Silvio Samuel. And let’s not forget the fact that Ronnie Coleman is still undecided if he is going to make a comeback or not.

From a strategic standpoint, the ‘bigger is better’ mantra looks to be en vogue with the recent guest posing appearances by Heath, Cutler, Jackson and Coleman. While Cutler and Coleman have always possessed the ‘freaky’ physique, Heath and Jackson’s look was of the more aesthetic kind. Both appear to have added a good amount of weight and depending on their diet, may come into the Orleans Arena looking much different than they have in the past.

Greene, who won the 2009 Arnold Classic, is not as big as some of his fellow competitors but is wide in the right places to give him the appearance of being much larger. Martinez may be the favorite going in if he has made the slight improvements needed since March, when he finished as the runner-up in Ohio. Recovering from his injury has taken him a little longer than expected.

Warren may be a huge fan favorite and deserved his third place award at the Arnold, but he may have to be content with a good placing in the two most prestigious contests in the world. Freeman is in the same boat, and Samuel may have competed too many times in the calendar year to stay in top condition in September.

That leaves Wolf, who was lucky to finish as high as he did last year. Fourth place is nothing to be ashamed of but he even admitted that his timing was way off and he made mistakes in his diet preparation at the end. He then had to sit out the Arnold due to hernia surgery and has stated that he is fully recovered and ready to go.

Because he has the size and height advantage of the majority of the line-up, Wolf needs to work with what he has and not try to bulk up too much. If he can get a little more symmetrical and get his arms to catch up to his massive delts, he has to be considered a top dog going in.

Making his weekly scheduled appearance on WFAN’s Mike Francesa radio show, New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce couldn’t talk about what the host really wanted him to due to legalities surrounding the Plaxico Burress shooting. Because Big Blue has been so successful on the field that even a big road win against a divisional foe has become boring news, the incident at the Latin Quarters nightclub is the headline.

What did come out today was that Pierce and running back Ahmad Bradshaw were the two teammates with Burress and his wife out partying in the wee hours early Friday morning and that after Burress accidentally shot himself in the right thigh, it was Pierce who took possession of the gun and stashed it “somewhere in Jersey.” The gun was subsequently turned over to the police after a warrant was obtained. To cover his ass, Pierce has hired an attorney.

During the WFAN interview, Pierce said that he is “his brother’s keeper” and will watch out for his teammates. You can take that any way you like, but even if you don’t read into it, Pierce sounds as if he would do anything – and apparently did – to help out Burress. That may also constitute lying, which now the investigating officers, District Attorney’s office and NFL needs to keep in mind.

If you’re going to take possession of an illegal firearm that is obviously operable and hide it, then you have become not only an accessory to Pierce’s crime, but have committed a crime yourself. Wasn’t Pierce admitting that he, too, was in possession of a gun in two separate states? From a legal and moral standpoint, this is not something that should just be fluffed off.

From what Pierce stated, he is not being charged criminally. Burress is the main problem here and should be the target of whoever is going after him – the DA’s office or the league. With a March 31 return date, Burress and Pierce have plenty of time to make up a story and a half.

Will the NFL wait until the criminal investigation reaches it’s nest stage before taking action against Burress, Pierce or both? Commissioner Roger Goodell has shown to rule with a heavy hand and should act swiftly in this matter. Suspensions for both are warranted.