It has been a long time since we have seen Brock Lesnar compete inside the octagon, but after 14 months away he will make his triumphant return at UFC 141 against Alistair Overeem. But considering all the health problems that he has dealt with, it is not likely to be the banner night that Lesnar is looking for.
In fact, I would be surprised if Lesnar was able to walk away from this fight with a victory. It’s not that I think that he can’t win, but there are just too many “what ifs” that have to be factored in when looking at how he wins.
Heavy.com ran through a list of five ways that Lesnar can win this fight, and they are the standard items that we would expect: Wrestle Overeem to the ground, use speed, control tempo, consistent striking and prove he can take a punch.
Those are all well and good, but the biggest factor working against Lesnar in this fight is his health. He is healthy after undergoing surgery for a second bout with diverticulitis, but physically he may not be as imposing as he used to be.
When Lesnar was making his way through the heavyweight division and winning the championship, he was a physical marvel who had a mental advantage over his opponents because he was so huge and so fast. He was unlike anyone else in the sport.
But now that he has been out of action for so long, and been forced to go through rehab just to get his body back to working normally, will he still be the same imposing figure that he once was?
The weigh-ins are going to tell us all that we need to know about where Lesnar is at right now. But having not seen him since he was announcing at the UFC on Fox special last month, it is impossible to make a prediction about where he is at.
Lesnar is not going to be able to step right back into the octagon after having gone through everything that he has and challenge one of the best strikers in the sport in a No. 1 contender’s match and be the same fighter that he was before.
There is still time for Lesnar to get his career back on track, but this matchup with Overeem is not one that plays to his strengths as a mixed martial artist. It is going to be a rude awakening for him on Friday night in Las Vegas.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com