The heavyweight division in the UFC is a huge question mark right now. No one knows who gets the winner of Dos Santos and Velasquez, or who is even in the best position to get a chance at the opportunity.
Frank Mir recently defeated Roy Nelson and is most likely in the best position for a title shot than anyone else at the current moment. Shane Carwin recently lost to Dos Santos, so a fight with himself and Mir could happen.
There are many up and comers in the division, and with the acquisition of Strikeforce, there is no determined time to know when they will mix in their heavyweights with the UFC heavyweights.
Brock Lesnar is expected to return to the octagon by the end of this year, but no later than the summer of 2012. What must he do to get back into the title picture?
Lesnar came to the UFC with tons of hype; in his first seven fights, he faced six men ranked in the top 10 at the time of the fights. 4-2 against top 10 is a better statistic than former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem, who is 3-8 against top 10.
Brock is one of the most criticized fighters in MMA, and most fans mainly state that he has horrible stand up. That reason was based off of his last two performances where he fought two of the heaviest hitters in MMA.
Carwin pounded on Lesnar for a round, but Brock recovered; Carwin gassed and Lesnar landed the submission.
In the Velasquez fight, he was doing fine and actually winning the round until he shot hard for a take down, lost his balance and once he regained his balance, he was met with a flurry of punches that set up the end for him.
The first thing Brock must do is get his diverticulitis under control. It has caused him a total of 22 months out of action. He recently withdrew from his fight with Dos Santos, and a legitimate return date is undetermined at the moment.
From what has been said, Brock had successful surgery and will be appearing at the UFC fan expo for UFC 136 in Houston.
Next, he needs a solid win under his belt to rebuild his confidence. The completion of the trilogy with Frank Mir would be a great fight for him, or maybe take on a mid-level fighter and work his way up.
Brock Lesnar vs Cheick Kongo would make for a fun fight. The one thing that is certain, is that no matter how much money Brock brings in, he needs to start from the bottom and work his way up.
If Brock is thrown into a rematch with Carwin, or set up with a quick path to the title that requires three fights or fewer, then the UFC will be making a mistake.
In order for the UFC to be able to truly market a guy, he must be winning. Brock was put in the golden situation for his career with the WWE, and his name is just extremely marketable. The smartest thing that could happen for him is a fight with a guy like Joey Beltran.
Brock in all truths is only considered a prospect when you look at his record, he just happened to face the majority of the top guys.
Coming off of this sickness is the perfect opportunity for Lesnar to truthfully evolve as a mixed martial artist. He needs 5-7 fights before he fights for a title. Let him become comfortable with his skill set and then he could have the potential to really be a force at heavyweight.
He is 34 years old and has arguably 5-6 years left in him. There is no denying his athletic ability or his skill set. Everyone knows that he is good, but there is a huge gap between good and great, and the only way he can truly accomplish greatness is by starting at the bottom and working his way to the top, which would allow his skill set to evolve, making him a force to be reckoned with.
Lastly, he needs to branch out and train with other gyms so he can learn new things. He has a great camp with his Deathclutch team, but if he were to cross train at a few different gyms, he could encounter multiple types of sparring partners, as well as new techniques.
At the current moment, Lesnar is all wrestling and power, but is continuing to improve on his striking.
Get a handle on his sickness, work his way up from the bottom, and cross train with gyms. Those are the steps he must take in order to become a true serious threat.
Many people do not care for him, but everyone knows that if Brock was able to tweak a few aspects of his game that he could be almost unstoppable.
The ball is in Brock’s court now, he chooses his fate.
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