The stage has been set. December 30, 2011. Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC 141.It is on this grand stage, the final UFC event of 2011, that former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will make his long awaited return to the Octagon. St…
The stage has been set. December 30, 2011. Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC 141.
It is on this grand stage, the final UFC event of 2011, that former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will make his long awaited return to the Octagon. Standing in the opposite corner, making his long awaited Octagon debut, will be former Strikeforce heavyweight champion, “The Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem.
The battle between these two heavyweight monsters was only announced a few short days ago and is already one of the most anticipated fights of the last few years. Not only that, but thanks to the main event, UFC 141 is gearing up to be the biggest (or one of the biggest) pay per view draw in the history of mixed martial arts. This clash simply has “money” written all over it.
Unsurprisingly, MMA‘s online community has already produced hundreds of opinion pieces regarding the fight. Some have argued who will win or lose, some have presented betting odds and others have simply marveled at how huge of an event this is certain to be.
In addition to the already innumerable articles out there, we here at Bleacher Report have decided to take a break from the norm, and simply present to you the history of one half of this heavyweight clash, Brock Lesnar.
Let’s start by taking a look at a few of his accomplishments, beginning with his NCAA wrestling career:
NCAA Division 1 Heavyweight Wrestling Champion
3-Time WWE Champion
IWGP Heavyweight Champion
NFL Linebacker (Final roster cut of the 2004 Minnesota Vikings)
Highest paid mixed martial artist of all time.
Main draw for the highest grossing UFC pay per view of all time.
Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion
While that is certainly an impressive resume, Brock Lesnar’s list of career highlights is more unique than anything. Let’s take a look back, shall we, at exactly how Lesnar would go from a regular child in the nowhere town of Webster, South Dakota, all the way up to main event attraction at the biggest events in MMA history!
Earlier today, featured columnist Nick Caron posted a very interesting look at the most intriguing matchups for Brock Lesnar once he returns to the Ultimate Fighting Championship early next year.As with a vast majority of Nick’s pieces here at Bleacher…
Earlier today, featured columnist Nick Caron posted a very interesting look at the most intriguing matchups for Brock Lesnar once he returns to the Ultimate Fighting Championship early next year.
As with a vast majority of Nick’s pieces here at Bleacher Report, I very much enjoyed the list. However, I must disagree with one point he made. The one point in which we differ also just so happens to be the reason why my list would be far less interesting to read than his. Unlike Nick, if it were up to me, I actually would have Brock Lesnar take on some mid-level talent when he makes his return to the cage.
Hear me out here, folks.
Since joining the UFC back in 2008, Lesnar has literally never had a tune-up fight. In fact, he’s never even faced anyone outside of the organization’s top 10 heavyweights. The closest argument against that would be his match against Heath Herring, which he won in one of the most dominant three-round decision victories we’ve ever seen.
Sure, Herring was completely outclassed in the fight. Since that night, he’s also basically retired after his orbital bone was crushed by the much-ballyhooed “falcon punch” from Lesnar within the first 10 seconds of the contest. However, that doesn’t change the fact that he was still ranked in the top 10 at the time. He actually was No. 10, if I recall correctly, but he was still present.
Lesnar’s other opponents were Frank Mir (twice), Shane Carwin, Randy Couture and Cain Velasquez.
Of those five fights, four featured Lesnar either competing for, or defending, the UFC heavyweight championship. Keep in mind that, with only one professional fight under his belt prior to entering the UFC, Lesnar had very little experience. Once he got to the big leagues, he only had two more fights (one of which he lost) before being thrust into four consecutive championship fights. Simply put, other than Min-Soo Kim, whom he soundly defeated at a 2007 K-1 event in Los Angeles, Brock Lesnar has never had a “tune-up” fight in his professional career.
In my opinion, seeing as how Lesnar is attempting to come back from his second bout with the potentially crippling disease of diverticulitis, now is the time.
I’m not saying that Dana White and company should throw Lesnar into the cage with someone who has absolutely no business in there with him, like K-1 did with Min-Soo Kim. Far from it. What I am saying is, now that Lesnar is neither the heavyweight champion nor the No. 1contender, maybe it’s time for him to actually work his way up the ladder.
Instead of starting him out at the top of the mountain, as was done the first time around, the UFC should put Brock Lesnar in the cage against someone like Cheick Kongo, and allow him to proceed through the ranks naturally from there. There are plenty of big-money matchups for Lesnar within the heavyweight division, and not all of them have to be title (or title elimination) fights.
Regardless of his opponent, right now, Lesnar is still the biggest pay-per-view draw in the company. However, if the UFC immediately tosses him into the deepest possible waters with regard to his opposition, his ability to bring in huge money could dwindle as a result. That’s not to say that he can’t hang with the top contenders within the division, because no one knows for sure either way at this point, but what’s the problem with letting him climb the ladder before we all find out?
If the UFC brass are smart, they’ll do just that. Brock Lesnar is 34 years old. If his comeback is approached correctly, and assuming that diverticulitis hasn’t ruined his natural athleticism, he could continue to be a major draw in the heavyweight division for five to six more years. Let him have the big rubber match with Frank Mir. Let him face off against other big-name gatekeepers like Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira or “Big Country” Roy Nelson. Hell, I wouldn’t even mind seeing him in the cage against Mirko Cro Cop.
If he reverts back to his winning ways over the course of, say, four more fights, then put him in a title elimination fight against another top-ranked heavyweight. If he wins again, then throw him into a title fight with whomever the champion may be at that point in time.
In closing, and in short, all I’m saying to the UFC matchmakers is this: Handle Brock Lesnar’s fight schedule as if he were any other fighter. Obviously, he’s a huge name, but he doesn’t have to be fast tracked right back into title contention to remain a huge name. If you’re focused on keeping people interested in paying $60 to see him compete, then winning fights in general is the most important aspect. Forcing him to the top before he’s ready to be there again could theoretically have the opposite effect. Don’t line up the cans for him, just treat him like any other fighter coming off of a loss with a 5-2 record.
Start him back over.
Or in Brock Lesnar’s case, give him room to develop as a fighter, and give him the tune-up fights that he was never given in the first place. It’s for his own good, it’s for the long-term enjoyment of his fans and in the grand scheme of things, it’s for the benefit of the UFC’s bank account!
———-
Thanks for reading, as always, MMA fans. Don’t hesitate to hit up the comments section and let me know what you think about both the article, and Brock Lesnar’s upcoming fights. Do you think he should face Cain Velasquez right off the rip when he comes back, or do you think he should be forced to work his way back up the ladder for his own good? I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
Last week, I took you through a slide show of five fighters within the UFC’s light heavyweight division who would match up well with current middleweight king, Anderson “The Spider” Silva. The list contained such names as Dan Henderson, Lyoto Mach…
Last week, I took you through a slide show of five fighters within the UFC’s light heavyweight division who would match up well with current middleweight king, Anderson “The Spider” Silva.
The list contained such names as Dan Henderson, Lyoto Machida and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Surely, any of those stars could put up one hell of a fight against the man they’re now calling “the greatest fighter of all time.” Right?
It didn’t seem as if the fans are so sure.
The talents of Anderson Silva, they say, would be too much for anyone in the light heavyweight division to handle. Dan Henderson would be choked out again. Lyoto Machida would find himself on the receiving end of the dreaded crane kick. Jon Jones would be blasted out cold while attempting a spinning back elbow. Anderson Silva can’t be beat, won’t be beat.
Ok. Well, let’s take it a step further. What if he moved into the heavyweight division?
In all fairness, this isn’t something that is likely to ever happen. However, Silva would only have to put on an extra 35 lbs to go from middleweight to heavyweight. Randy Couture made the move from light heavyweight to heavyweight, and coming into a fight at merely 220-230lbs, he was still crowned the UFC heavyweight champion of the world for a period of time. Sure, he never fought at middleweight, but he was 43 freakin’ years old! That has to count for something.
So, just for the sake of argument, let’s say Anderson Silva did make the move up to the heavyweight division. Who would he face? How would he fare? Let’s have a look-see, shall we?
Another UFC pay per view headlined by Anderson Silva in the books, and another contender falls victim to the wrath of “The Spider.” This time, the place was UFC 134, and the opponent was Yushin Okami. Heading into the fight, Okami, the most powerf…
Another UFC pay per view headlined by Anderson Silva in the books, and another contender falls victim to the wrath of “The Spider.” This time, the place was UFC 134, and the opponent was Yushin Okami. Heading into the fight, Okami, the most powerful middleweight in the UFC and the last person to defeat Silva (albeit by disqualification), was still widely regarded as the underdog by pretty much everyone. However, very few expected him to be dispatched as quickly and easily, as he was at the hands of Silva.
Of course, Anderson Silva has made a career off of making excellent mixed martial artists look like amateurs when standing across from him inside the Octagon. UFC 134, as we all witnessed, was no exception.
With this most recent victory, “The Spider” lengthened his already impressive streak of successful UFC title defenses to a now undisputed record of ten straight. The UFC middleweight divisionsimply does not seem to have an answer for the riddle of Anderson Silva.
The light heavyweight division, on the other hand, may hold the key.
All across the online MMA community, Bleacher Report included, fans are calling for Silva to take the next logical step up in competition by moving into the UFC’s 205 pound division. In the end, it’s no one’s call besides the champion himself, and may never even happen as result. However, if it does, there will be an entirely new crop of talent for Silva to compete against.
This list is going to take a look at the top five light heavyweights in the UFC who could feasibly give Silva a run for his money. Away we go!
“The one who does not fall never stands up. It happened that people made me an idol, but everyone loses. I’m just a human being. If it is God’s will, next fight, I’ll win.”
Fedor Emelianenko, 26 June 2010
In the momen…
“The one who does not fall never stands up. It happened that people made me an idol, but everyone loses. I’m just a human being. If it is God’s will, next fight, I’ll win.”
In the moment that the preceding phrase was spoken, my opinion of Fedor Emelianenko did a complete turnaround. Emelianenko, who is known to mixed martial arts fans as, “The Last Emperor,” had just suffered his first defeat in nearly a decade. After dominating every opponent who was placed in front of him since his debut in 2000, it took less than a minute and a half for Fabricio Werdum to submit Fedor in the very first round of their fight on the aforementioned date in 2010.
On that night, I was actually rooting for the relatively unheralded Fabricio Werdum to be the man who put a stop to Fedor’s reign of terror. I was tired of hearing all of the so-called “hardcore fans” (read: those slightly muscular, wildly drunk, tough-guy-tattooed, silly haircut fellas you always see at the local watering hole) going on and on about how Fedor was the undisputed king of all heavyweight fighters. How Fedor could beat this guy, that guy, or both guys at the same time. How Dana White and the UFC were afraid to sign him because they knew he’d demolish any of their golden boy fighters.
It’s amazing, I know, but those fanboys made me hate “The Last Emperor” before I ever really had anything more than a passing interest in him. I wanted Werdum to win, and I wanted him to win for the sole purpose of laughing at those same people.
I wanted Fabricio to win, that is, until he actually did.
Once the bout was over, followed by Fedor making that most epic post-fight quote ever, I immediately wanted him to start winning again. Needless to say, that’s not what happened.
Since the match against Werdum, Fedor Emelianenko has yet to win a single fight. He’s come up short on two more occasions, being stopped early by both Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Dan Henderson. What was once thought impossible, Fedor on a three fight skid, has now become a sickening reality. The cherry on top of it all is that he’s since been cut by Strikeforce.
Cut! Fedor Emelianenko! Those words just don’t go together. You know what else doesn’t go together? Fedor and Mike Whitehead, who is apparently slated to be Emelianenko’s next opponent. Not only is the former “greatest heavyweight of them all” fighting a nobody… he’s fighting a nobody on a nothing-special card in Russia sometime around the end of 2011.
No Strikeforce. No UFC. No pay per view. No nothing. Seriously? That’s Ken Shamrock territory, sure, but it’s surely not Fedor territory. At least, it’s not supposed to be. Is it? Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
As I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t always a fan of Fedor’s. However, since his fights have become readily available here in the states, I’ve taken quite a liking to the guy. He seems like a genuinely nice, humble human being, and he’s always been one of the most consistently exciting fighters I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. I’ve been checking out many of his older fights lately, not to mention doing a lot of research on his entire career as a whole, and there is one unfortunate circumstance that seems to be the root of Fedor’s downfall: his management, M-1 Global.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that M-1 Global is responsible for Emelianenko losing his last three fights. Our favorite athletes are bound to decline at some point, no matter how much we hate to see it. What I am saying, however, is that his entire legacy would be totally different if it wasn’t for their borderline-retarded management techniques.
If it wasn’t for M-1, Fedor would have most assuredly gone on to compete with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The two sides negotiated in 2009, but it was obviously just for show on M-1’s part, as they turned down what was called the “biggest contract ever offered” in the history of mixed martial arts.
If M-1 wasn’t at the helm of Fedor’s career, he probably would have signed with the UFC the second Pride collapsed. We would have finally gotten to see “The Last Emperor” go head-to-head with the biggest names in MMA, and received an answer to the ever-present debate about who he could and couldn’t defeat in the prime of his career.
Instead of seeing some of the biggest fights ever, we got a few mediocre bouts for a few mediocre promotions. Instead of getting some of the biggest questions answered, we were forced to live with eternal question marks, as now, Fedor Emelianenko’s prime has passed right before our eyes. It’s a sad fact, but a fact nonetheless.
This fan’s look at a tarnished legacy has led me from one timeless quote at the start, right into another timeless quote at the end: Don’t hate the player, hate the game.
Fedor’s career may not have panned out as his fans expected, but we can’t hold it against the man himself. He has donated a significant portion of his adult life in the name of our entertainment. He fought his heart out when he could, where he could, against whomever he could, and for as long as he could. The man has earned every single ounce of respect he’s gotten over the course of his career. In the end, it wasn’t up to him where he went, nor who he fought.
So, the next time you start cutting into his supporters about what Fedor Emelianenko didn’t accomplish during his MMA career, try thinking about what he did accomplish within the boundaries he was given, and just let it be. There are no longer any meaningful arguments to be made, for or against him, and I guarantee you that “The Last Emperor” is no happier about where his career wound up than the rest of us.
Back in 2009, if you’d have asked any hardcore MMA fan to name the fighter who would have the best chance at knocking Georges St. Pierre from his perch atop the UFC’s welterweight mountain, they probably would’ve told that you Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy wa…
Back in 2009, if you’d have asked any hardcore MMA fan to name the fighter who would have the best chance at knocking Georges St. Pierre from his perch atop the UFC’s welterweight mountain, they probably would’ve told that you Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy was the man to do it.
Riding high on a four-fight win streak heading into his collision with St. Pierre in the spring of 2010, fans would’ve been hard pressed to name another mixed martial artist who had a better chance of stopping “Rush” than Hardy would.
Obviously, that’s not quite the way it happened. Instead of becoming the man who finally bested St. Pierre, Hardy would simply go on to join the rather long list of fighters who have come up short in their quest for welterweight gold.
In what has become Georges St. Pierre’s calling card, the champion would simply grind his way to a five-round unanimous decision over “The Outlaw.”
Having lost two fights since the title bout with St. Pierre, Hardy has gone from title contention all the way to now running the very real risk of being cut if he cannot put together a winning effort against Chris Lytle tomorrow night at UFC Live.
No matter how you look at this turn of events, however, one thing is certain: The UFC wants Dan Hardy to win this fight. Wait, let me rephrase that. The UFC needs Dan Hardy to win this fight.
Earlier today, featured columnist Nick Caron posted a