Few fans of mixed martial arts would argue that Brock Lesnar can win a stand up fight against Alistair Overeem when the two men meet at UFC 141 in December.
But that does not mean that he is incapable of reaching a point where he can fight standing with Overeem; he just has to find the right training partner to help him over the next three months.
There were rumors that Lesnar was going to train with world-class kickboxer Badr Hari to get ready for Overeem, who is a world-class striker in his own right, but Hari’s trainer has denied that rumor.
“I spoke to Badr the other day, and he told me he is still in Morocco just working on basic conditioning stuff,” Mike Passenier said. “Badr training with Brock Lesnar is fiction.”
Even though that rumor turned out to be false, the fact that Lesnar would even be looking at a new trainer to help prepare him for a fight that will likely turn into a stand up fight is a positive sign.
Lesnar knows that his style has to evolve if he wants to compete with the best heavyweight fighters in the world.
As presently constructed, he does not have a chance to compete against fighters like Overeem, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos. Adding some new wrinkles to go along with his world-class wrestling ability is critical for him if he wants to remain in the mix for the heavyweight championship.
Overeem has improved his skills over the last two years. He used to be a fighter who could only stand and strike with his opponents, which is ironic because when he first started fighting, he was a better submission fighter than stand up fighter.
Overeem has good takedown defense and will not allow Lesnar to attack his legs to take him to the ground.
Lesnar knows that his time in the sport is limited and he has to cash in while he can. He is only going to get paid top dollar as long as he keeps winning fights, and if he does not even try to evolve as a fighter, he is going to fall into obscurity sooner rather than later.
That is why he needs to make sure that training with a world-class kickboxer becomes a reality and is not just a rumor.
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