Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar‘s career will be looked back upon by many as a disappointment.
Lesnar’s sudden retirement after getting pummeled by feared striker Alistair Overeem on Friday night at UFC 141 came as a shock to many, but will hardly provide a quick turnaround for the former WWE superstar’s legacy.
The 34-year-old looked as if he had stumbled into the Octagon on accident and wanted no part in what Overeem was dishing out.
That superior flaw in Lesnar’s game is what fans and fellow fighters will remember as most disappointing. Overeem landed 19 of 24 strike attempts in the bout, while Lesnar connected on just six of 18. Even more mind-blowing was the fact Lesnar only attempted one takedown and missed.
It’s no secret to anyone who follows UFC that Lesnar’s only shot at victory comes on the ground where he can reverse the aggressor role on his opponent.
His last two fights now have ended in brutal defeats, specifically first-round TKOs via strikes.
Again, a flawed fighter who could hardly defend himself at the sport’s highest level, Lesnar was a disappointment.
Lesnar held the UFC heavyweight crown for nearly two years and that can’t be taken away from him, but his career overall reflected exactly what it was: a wrestler attempting to be a fighter.
He steps down from the cage with a 5-3 record overall in MMA and a 4-3 mark in the UFC.
Lesnar had bright moments but they were clouded in controversy and doubt. He defeated the previously undefeated Shane Carwin in July 2010, but Carwin seemed to have Lesnar finished before he fell on Carwin and choked him out like a python.
Also consider that the UFC heavyweight division was hardly what it is today, given the emergence of guys like Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez.
Lesnar did indeed have a legitimate struggle with the intestinal disease diverticulitis over much of his MMA career, but that doesn’t change how his career should or will be remembered.
It started a little late, but it ended far too soon.
The reality is that Brock Lesnar will be remembered as a disappointment and a guy who just wasn’t tough enough to get it done.
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