Brock Lesnar is without a doubt one of the most polarizing, talented athletes that the WWE has ever seen on their roster.
Although he’s no longer a professional wrestler, Lesnar remains a major figure among wrestling fans, and tonight at UFC 141, many of those fans will tune in due to his main-event match against Alistair Overeem.
For some pro wrestling fans, an attraction to mixed martial arts is natural. For others, it is viewed as competition to the WWE, and is therefore unwatchable. Some are simply indifferent to MMA as a sport, period.
In the case of Brock Lesnar, he brings all parties together. A Brock Lesnar fight is an event not to be missed.
Brock Lesnar captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship in his fourth professional MMA bout. His size, athleticism, and most notably his amateur wrestling background allowed him to accomplish what was at the time, unthinkable.
He successfully defended the heavyweight title twice, battering former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir in the historic main event of UFC 100, then returning from his first bout of diverticulitis to score an amazing second-round submission victory over Shane Carwin after nearly being stopped in the opening frame.
Lesnar eventually lost the heavyweight championship to the highly regarded heavyweight, Cain Velasquez, at UFC 121 in October 2010. His lack of experience in getting hit, and reacting appropriately had caught up to him, and he was stopped in the first round after taking a serious beating.
A coaching stint on UFC’s reality TV show The Ultimate Fighter was cut short, as Lesnar’s diverticulitis wasn’t quite beaten. He underwent surgery, and had foot of his colon removed.
Finally, Brock Lesnar is back, the man himself and those around him claiming that he’s 100 percent after surgery, and better than ever. However, the man greeting him back to the cage is just as big and bad as he is.
Lesnar’s opponent at UFC 141 is Alistair Overeem, the Dream Heavyweight Champion, Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, and most notably, the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix Champion.
Overeem is the first mixed martial artist to enter K-1, the premier kickboxing organization, and win a major title. K-1 is home to the best strikers on the planet, and Alistair Overeem quickly established himself as more than capable of holding his own.
Although Overeem’s K-1 World Grand Prix victory is the crown jewel of his kickboxing career, his greatest achievement in K-1 may be his first-round knockout of habitual bad boy and excellent kickboxer Badr Hari.
“The Reem,” as Alistair Overeem is affectionately referred to by his fans, has amassed a 35-11-1 record, with 25 of those fights taking place in Japan. Interestingly enough, the majority of Overeem’s career was spent fighting at Light Heavyweight (205 pounds).
Overeem made the call to move to heavyweight full time when his record was 25-10, and weighed in yesterday at a lean, mean 263 pounds. He’s not lost an MMA match since 2007, and is finally making his UFC debut.
Tonight, fans can expect to see, literally, one of the biggest fights in UFC history. Brock Lesnar won’t waste any time on the outside, and will avoid putting his chin at risk of being blasted by a punch, kick, or knee from Alistair Overeem.
Lesnar’s primary goal will be to put Overeem on his back and neutralize his escapes and submission attempts.
That’s right, the Dutch kickboxing monster can grapple as well. Overeem has a guillotine choke that would make Daniel Bryan envious. Unfortunately for Lesnar, one of the most likely times to be caught in the guillotine choke is when one is shooting in for a take down.
This is certainly something to keep an eye out for, but it’s hard to believe that Lesnar would be as careless as to overlook one of his opponent’s most effective tools.
Then again, when wrestling instincts kick in after being rocked by a strike, keeping the threat of a guillotine in mind may be easier said than done.
Overeem will look to avoid being pressed against the cage, and stuff takedowns constantly. That factor does him no favors, as his striking assault will be limited, to avoid overextending and risking ending up on his back or in the clinch.
Due to Lesnar’s two most recent performances, many are questioning his chin and ability to perform under fire. It’s quite clear that Overeem’s path to victory is landing a flush strike, and capitalizing on Lesnar’s inexperience when it comes to fighting defensively while standing up.
Fans, from hardcore to casual, from MMA to professional wrestling, will tune in to see if Brock Lesnar will be on the path to another UFC Championship, or if he’ll find himself picking up the pieces after another loss.
We’re left with a compelling match up that has fans asking questions, and two fighters who will do their best to provide all the right answers to them.
Interestingly enough, that’s what fans of either mixed martial arts or professional wrestling seek out of their choice of product on any given night.
Kaleb Kelchner is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, you can follow him on Twitter @kkelchner621 and find him covering all things WWE, as well as live blogging WWE Raw on Mondays and WWE pay-per-views in Bleacher Report’s WWE section.
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