Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is all set to make his comeback at UFC 200 this coming Saturday July 9. The bulky beast from the realms of pro wrestling had some great success during his first run as a mixed martial artist between 2006-2011, but it’s fair to say the 265-pound division was a vastly different landscape at that time. Of course size and strength are still very much up there in terms of prerequisites for a heavyweight star, but there’s so much more to the game now.
Having spent the last five years in the WWE ring, how will Lesnar fare against the single most dangerous striker in the UFC right now? Although the promotional material on Lesnar for UFC 200 does not shy away from he fact he’s been away from fighting for a very long time, the videos also do not point out the fact that it’s an extremely dangerous and potentially ill fated gamble.
Lesnar’s zenith in the mixed martial arts world came in the form of a four-fight win streak between August 2008 and July 2010, outside of that he went 1-1 in his first two, and lost his last two to wind up with a 5-3 record as of his retirement in 2011. It’s well documented that his battle with diverticulitis nearly cost the WWE star his life, and certainly hindered his efforts in training camp, also potentially in his last few fights too. So what’s the story behind Lesnar’s MMA comeback?
Was he really just desperate to get some closure on his fighting career, as stated in his recent promotional interviews, or was this a case of Dana White shuffling things around when Conor McGregor dropped off the card. The last minute nature of the announcement of Lesnar’s return could back that story up, but whatever the case, ‘The Beast’s’ second foray in to the land of legitimate combat is, as previously mentioned, risky on many fronts.
It’s no secret that Brock Lesnar really doesn’t like getting hit, he spoke openly about it in 2010, and that’s what makes his pairing with ‘The Super Samoan’ so surprising. If this wasn’t a ‘one time deal,’ would the ex-champ be facing such a high calibre opponent who possesses such a kryptonite style upon his return? Or perhaps the truth is the prospect of watching such a huge man face his biggest weakness is just that much more appealing than anything less.
The question of Brock’s stock in the pro wrestling world has also been raised. A starching at the hands of Hunt could surely do no good for his marketability in the WWE, as mentioned by Stephanie McMahon recently, although Lesnar himself admitted he ‘doesn’t really give a sh*t’ about that. Maybe the pay check is enough to make Lesnar cut off his nose to spite his face. All of this said, are we overlooking the one massive strength that Lesnar has in hoards?
The wrestling pedigree mixed with sheer size and physical prowess has never been more apparent than with Brock Lesnar. He was the first UFC fighter to ever require XXXXL glove sizing in history, just an interesting factoid really, but when you look back over his years of collegiate wrestling you can see why he was noticed from an early age. A man of such size who also has the ability to toss you around is extremely dangerous in close quarters, and a knockout artist who doesn’t have both feet on the ground is pretty much castrated.
Lesnar’s dabbling with the UFC after so much time on the sidelines is of course an exciting prospect, made even more so by the huge risks in play, but we know anything can happen once the octagon door shuts. Perhaps it really would have been best for his health to stay in the WWE, but the same could be said for seasoned fighters, there’s always danger when fighting professionally.
Somewhere, deep down, this writer secretly wishes for a crazy win for Brock Lesnar, in truth, he’s very likely to have his face pulverised by the hardest puncher in UFC history.
Bring it on!
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