While Chuck "Iceman" Liddell may be considered the most popular mma fighter of all time, Randy Couture comes in a very close second. He, however, was undoubtedly the most integral in the UFC's struggle for legitimacy. When the sports was being attacked for being a breeding ground for bloodthirsty hooligans, "Captain America" was a well-spoken and humble military veteran who managed to dominate two divisions. And now, as Randy comes closer to hanging up the wings and shield, the mantle of Captain America has had few viable successors.
- Frankie Edgar, while being scrappy, still lacks the awe factor and charisma of BJ Penn.
- St. Pierre's broken English is the butt of many jokes and his inability to finish his opponents is starting to grate on his fans' nerves.
- Anderson Silva, while wildly talented, has no people skills and his antics in the ring have drawn much ire
- Shogun Rua speaks no English and is injured so much I'm pretty sure he'll fight Rashad Evans from a wheelchair
- Cain Valesquez has no charisma, and Brock before him was basically a cartoon villain.
But as of Jan. 1st at UFC 125, the great new hope has been born. Fight fans everywhere, meet . . . Brian Stann.
Outside of fighting, Brian Stann is a certified American hero. As a US Marine, he personally directed several highly dangerous casualty and vehicle recovery operations (all successful). To cap it all off, his squad was ambushed by insurgents and he directed a defensive measure which allowed him and all of his fellow marines to hold out for six days. For this he was awarded the Silver Star of Valor.
Then he spent a stint fighting at light heavyweight at which he recorded several impressive wins but was ultimately undersized against top flight competition. He dropped to middleweight, won fight of the night, and set off to face Chris Leben at UFC 125 and catapulted him into the spotlight.
Chris Leben, a very dangerous middleweight who has always had a spate of bad luck when it came to getting a title shot, was very well known for several things. One, he could knock out anyone from anywhere with his left hand. Two, he arguably had the best chin in all of the UFC (the only man to finish him till that point was Anderson Silva). What does Brian Stann do?
He hits the MMA equivalent of a grand-slam
Bell rings. Stann is clearly faster, but Leben gets a hold of him and SMASHES him with a left uppercut that clearly hurts Stann badly. Stann backs off and as Leben rushes into finish him, thwacks him with a solid left hook straight to the jaw. Leben is stunned slightly, but continues to pursue.
Thwack
Unbelievable counter right sends Leben sprawling to the canvas. Leben survives the ground and pound and gets back up. Stann is unable to really hurt Leben to the head as he covers up.
Thwack
Stann socks Chris Leben in the liver and drops him again. Yet again Chris is surviving and barely manages to get up. Stann is clearly beginning to tire. He can't keep up this pace forever.
Thud
Knee to the head drops Leben again and the ground and pound at the end is just icing on the cake. The fight is stopped.
Brian Stann has just accomplished 3 unbelievable things for a relatively unknown fighter.
1) He stood with Chris Leben
2) He got ROCKED by Chris Leben and survived
3) He finished Chris Leben
As the crowd oohs and aahs over the replays of Stann's pinpoint striking, Stann gives an unbelievable winner's speech. He fluidly combines his praise for Leben's toughness and dedicating his win to his fellow marine who recently passed away. Unbelievable. Not too melodramatic, just enough emotion and sincerity that you wanna reach out and hug this guy.
I could practically see the flag waving behind him.
Fast forward to post-fight conference.
One of the reporters has the gall to ask, to sum it up, "How did your buddy die?"
Dude, you just watched this American hero put on the fight of his life . . . and you want to probe his friend's death? One could forgive Stann for simply refusing to answer or even calling out the callous reporter on his lack of tact.
Instead, Stann slowly says that it was an IED (Improvised Explosive Device), and that he was a good man who used martial arts to teach traumatized war veterans to cope. He's obviously a little choked, but he's kept his poise. No melodrama, just a concise and sincere answer to a very hard question. You just can't throw a curveball at this guy.
OH. And when asked to call out a fighter, he prefaces his choice by saying the man is a legend and a hell of a fighter: Wanderlei Silva. After knocking out Chris Leben, he could be forgiven for assuming he could just get Wanderlei Silva. But no, he politely asks for Wanderlei as though getting him would be the biggest favor in the world.
Allow me to recap Brian Stann as best I can: A Silver Star of Valor winner who finished Chris Leben, dedicated his victory to his fallen comrade, and offers nothing but respect to any opponent he is given. He represents the finest of sportsmanship, bravery, and humility and the UFC needs to market this man as much as possible.
If I could, I would attend the next fight Brian Stann is at and present him with his superhero costume in the pre-fight locker room. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to present:
Brian Stann, Captain America 2.0.
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