FanHouse UFC87

The lesson that Jon Fitch learned when he lost his job with the UFC is a simple one: If you're a big enough draw to fight in the main event of a pay-per-view, you've got some leverage with UFC. If you're not, you don't.

In the case of Fitch, he had his chance when he was in the main event at UFC 87, where he lost to Georges St. Pierre. If he had won that fight, he'd be the UFC welterweight champion of the world, and the UFC wouldn't be so quick to cut him loose for refusing to sign over the rights to his name and likeness in a video game. By losing that fight, he lost any leverage. He's just not a big enough draw for the UFC to care all that much about losing him.

This isn't a judgment about who's right and who's wrong on the merits in the dispute between Fitch and the UFC. It's just the reality of the business: There are a handful of fighters who make enough money for the UFC that the UFC can't afford to cut them loose. Fitch is not in that handful.

I got to thinking about how many fighters who are so important to the promotion that they have real leverage with the UFC, and I could only come up with 14. My list is below. I'm curious to hear yours.

UFC is running this commercial for its free showings of UFC 86, UFC 87 and UFC 89 on Spike:

Say what you will for Affliction and EliteXC, but mixed martial arts fans should be glad that UFC has some competition if for no other reason than the fact that UFC is putting shows on Spike for free. The free airing of UFC 86 is set for October 4 opposite EliteXC on CBS, and the free airing of UFC 87 is set for October 11, which would have been opposite Affliction's since-canceled pay-per-view show. (The free showing of UFC 89 on tape delay from England is a separate matter.)

I thought it was great that UFC put Anderson Silva on live basic cable opposite Affliction: Banned, and I think all MMA fans should be glad that they can watch UFC 86 and UFC 87 next month without having to pay for a DVD. Thank EliteXC and Affliction for that.

UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre retained his title tonight with an impressive unanimous decision victory over Jon Fitch at UFC 87 in Minneapolis.

St. Pierre dominated in the first round, taking Fitch to the ground early and pounding him repeatedly, and by the time the first five minutes were over, few would have expected the fight to go the distance. But Fitch fought admirably, and although the scorecards weren't close (50-43, 50-44, 50-44), he at least put on a respectable showing.

St. Pierre, in defending his title for the first time, made clear -- as if there was any doubt -- that he's one of the best fighters in mixed martial arts. Fitch is a great fighter, but St. Pierre is on another level. There may not be any welterweights who can beat St. Pierre, which is why so many UFC fans want to see lightweight champ B.J. Penn move up to fight GSP.

Wrestling star Brock Lesnar took a big step toward becoming a star in mixed martial arts tonight in Minneapolis by dominating Heath Herring in a bloody fight at UFC 87.

A brutal punch from Lesnar battered Herring's eye in the first round, and throughout the rest of the fight Lesnar, who won the NCAA heavyweight wrestling title in 2000, used his wrestling skills to dominate. The fight went the distance because Lesnar couldn't find a finishing move, but Lesnar's unanimous decision was clearly deserved.

Lesnar, who weighed in at the 265-pound heavyweight limit, overpowered Herring throughout. Herring is a skilled, experienced MMA fighter, but it was never even close. Lesnar destroyed him.

Lesnar was fighting for the first time since losing to Frank Mir by first-round submission in his UFC debut in February. He has clearly improved since then, and he's clearly a real player in the sport of MMA.

Welcome to the FanHouse UFC 87 live blog, where we'll be providing round-by-round updates of all of tonight's fights, including Brock Lesnar's return to the Octagon against Heath Herring, the long-awaited lightweight fight between Roger Huerta and Kenny Florian, and the welterweight title bout between Georges St. Pierre and Jon Fitch.

The show begins at 10 p.m. Eastern. Join me then.

UFC 87 is just two days away, and the anticipation is mounting for Saturday night's three big fights: Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch, Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta and Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring. To help you get ready, we'll be chatting about UFC 87 live today at 1 p.m. Eastern.

UFC 87 is probably the most complete card of fights the UFC has offered so far this year, with a terriffic welterweight title fight between Georges St. Pierre and Jon Fitch in the main event, and two high-profile undercard bouts in Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta and Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring.

Here are the details:

What: UFC 87: Seek and Destroy

Who: In addition to the three fights listed above, the televised fights on the card are Manny Gamburyan vs. Rob Emerson and Jason MacDonald vs. Demian Maia.

When: Saturday, 10 p.m. ET

Where: Target Center, Minneapolis

How: Pay-per-view, $44.95 ($54.95 in HD), or just follow along with my FanHouse live blog.

Predictions after the jump.

I've long said that a lot of sports leagues could learn a thing or two about the way UFC uses YouTube, and the latest example of that is the way UFC President Dana White is talking to UFC fans on video:

In this one, he talks about his own week ahead and the way he's preparing for UFC 87.

If Jon Fitch defeats Georges St. Pierre on Saturday night at UFC 87, he'll break Royce Gracie's UFC record for consecutive wins, with nine in a row. And yet not many people are paying much attention to that impressive winning streak, or giving Fitch much of a chance.

Brock Lesnar is a great athlete who was an NCAA champion wrestler, but let's face it: The only reason UFC gave him a contract -- let alone a contract that makes him one of its highest-paid athletes -- is that he's a big name from scripted WWE wrestling.

But as long as they're going to have Lesnar under contract, they might as well use him to promote their pay-per-views, even if he's nowhere near as good a mixed martial arts fighter as some of the UFC guys who don't get nearly as much promotion.

So I'm a little surprised that as Lesnar's second fight approaches at next month's UFC 87, I haven't seen more of Lesnar. The above video is fine, but I figured we'd see Lesnar all over the place in the run-up to UFC 87.

Maybe UFC figures having Georges St-Pierre against Jon Fitch as the main event is the fight they need to be promoting at the exclusion of the Lesnar fight, or maybe they've advertised Lesnar during wrestling shows and I just haven't seen it because I don't watch wrestling. But considering that he's arguably the most famous person UFC has under contract, I don't think UFC is making good enough use of Lesnar's name.