The WWE universe might have been a bit shocked to see Brock Lesnar in the stands at UFC 146 on Saturday night in Las Vegas. It got many wondering, is Lesnar going to return to the UFC?The presence of Lesnar at the event was enough to get reporters aski…
The WWE universe might have been a bit shocked to see Brock Lesnar in the stands at UFC 146 on Saturday night in Las Vegas. It got many wondering, is Lesnar going to return to the UFC?
The presence of Lesnar at the event was enough to get reporters asking the question to UFC President Dana White after the event.
MMAWeekly.com reports that White was asked why Lesnar was at the fights, to which he responded, “I don’t know, apparently now he’s a big fan.”
“He was here; I think that says it all.” White was reportedly smiling while saying this.
The most intriguing part of the report came when a comeback was brought up to White,
When asked directly if Lesnar was contemplating a comeback to fighting, White admitted that he hadn’t talked with him about a return but answered ‘possibly, yeah’ when discussing a potential MMA rebirth for the one time heavyweight champion.
This situation might get very interesting, especially considering that White said that Lesnar had texted him to meet up and talk after the post-fight press conference on Saturday night.
Lesnar appeared at the event that showcased a number of fighters that he competed with while in the UFC. Might he have been there to simply watch the fights or scout them as a part of a comeback?
Is it possible that he returns to the UFC while still a part of the WWE?
It will be interesting to know if there was a clause in his contract with the WWE prohibiting from fighting in the UFC while still under contract with the WWE. It would create some incredible storylines, however.
Nevertheless, if Lesnar is contemplating a return, it would be extremely difficult to train and fulfill the obligations of both organizations. After his contract is up around WrestleMania, if he is not yet back in the UFC by then, Lesnar might be able to give a comeback a bit more thought.
It had to be tempting sitting in the crowd and seeing the heavyweight belt around the waist of someone else and not being able to do anything about it.
It seems as though there could certainly be a return happening in the future.
After all, Lesnar appears to have no problem leaving an organization and coming back for more.
(Look, Roy, we’re all big Harry Potter fans, but this Rubeus Hagrid obsession of yours is going a little far.)
Like that of current light heavyweight champ Jon Jones, former UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar seems to be the subject of much debate amongst the MMA community. Not only was his heart called into question following his UFC 141 loss to Alistair Overeem, but in light of recent events, even the legitimacy of his title reign has seemingly been written off by some fans of the sport and wiped from the collective memories of others. Meanwhile, the hardcore conspiracy theorists claim that Lesnar’s run was nothing more than a genius ploy by Vince McMahon to boost Lesnar’s popularity before looping him back into the WWE. He’s a polarizing figure to say the least.
And when questions began to arise about the possibility of Lesnar becoming a future inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame, some of us nearly blew a fucking gasket. Among those detractors was that of Roy “Big Country” Nelson, who is scheduled to face Dave Herman on tomorrow night’s main card. A professional fighter for over seven years, Nelson was none too happy to hear all of this blasphemy, and when interviewed by Ariel Helwani, let his feelings be known about Lesnar’s chances:
You know what? If Brock belongs in the hall of fame, so do I. It’s not that hard to win the title when it’s set up that way for you. Pretty much [a silver platter]. After Dave Herman, I guess I get a title shot. Interim! Because someone’s gonna get hurt.
It’s pretty hard to deny the truth in Nelson’s words. Yes, Lesnar did win a title (and defend it), and all Nelson has done lately is get his face smashed in spectacular/gruesome fashion, but the fact that Lesnar got a shot after going 1-1 is pretty…you know what, we’ve already discussed this. I’m not going to retread any old ground.
Anyway, join us after the jump for Nelson’s full interview with Helwani, in which he also discusses his diet (of course), returning to his Kung-Fu roots, as well as his (and every fighters) gripes with his pay rate.
(Look, Roy, we’re all big Harry Potter fans, but this Rubeus Hagrid obsession of yours is going a little far.)
Like that of current light heavyweight champ Jon Jones, former UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar seems to be the subject of much debate amongst the MMA community. Not only was his heart called into question following his UFC 141 loss to Alistair Overeem, but in light of recent events, even the legitimacy of his title reign has seemingly been written off by some fans of the sport and wiped from the collective memories of others. Meanwhile, the hardcore conspiracy theorists claim that Lesnar’s run was nothing more than a genius ploy by Vince McMahon to boost Lesnar’s popularity before looping him back into the WWE. He’s a polarizing figure to say the least.
And when questions began to arise about the possibility of Lesnar becoming a future inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame, some of us nearly blew a fucking gasket. Among those detractors was that of Roy “Big Country” Nelson, who is scheduled to face Dave Herman on tomorrow night’s main card. A professional fighter for over seven years, Nelson was none too happy to hear all of this blasphemy, and when interviewed by Ariel Helwani, let his feelings be known about Lesnar’s chances:
You know what? If Brock belongs in the hall of fame, so do I. It’s not that hard to win the title when it’s set up that way for you. Pretty much [a silver platter]. After Dave Herman, I guess I get a title shot. Interim! Because someone’s gonna get hurt.
It’s pretty hard to deny the truth in Nelson’s words. Yes, Lesnar did win a title (and defend it), and all Nelson has done lately is get his face smashed in spectacular/gruesome fashion, but the fact that Lesnar got a shot after going 1-1 is pretty…you know what, we’ve already discussed this. I’m not going to retread any old ground.
Anyway, join us below for Nelson’s full interview with Helwani, in which he also discusses his diet (of course), returning to his Kung-Fu roots, as well as his (and every fighters) gripes with his pay rate.
Nelson also discussed his affinity of all things pro wrasslin’ with Damon Martin of MMAWeekly, and as in his interview with Helwani, stated his desire to possibly cross over to the WWE to lay a good old fashioned fake ass whooping on Lesnar.
I think [King Mo opened] a lot of doors for a lot of different fighters, and it actually opens up a lot of fighter’s eyes that there’s other ways to make a living, that you can actually do both sports. It’s like it’s okay to be a Deion Sanders playing football and baseball, or like a Bo Jackson playing football and baseball. It’s good that athletes can do that. After I beat Pee Wee, I might just have to call out Brock Lesnar. I might just have to go to WWE because I might just have to call him out, go to WWE, and whoop his ass.
Given Nelson’s extensive Jiu-Jitsu background, he’d easily be able to thwart of many, if not all of Lesnar’s fake attacks, which have already claimed the arm of Triple H in Ronda-Rousian fashion. So who’s down for Nelson/Lesnar…IN A CAGE?!
Earlier this week, professional mixed martial artist “King” Mo Lawal signed contracts allowing him to both compete in Bellator and wrestle for TNA. Many proclaimed this to be something new, a revolutionary pairing of two diverse sporting traditions.But…
Earlier this week, professional mixed martial artist “King” Mo Lawal signed contracts allowing him to both compete in Bellator and wrestle for TNA. Many proclaimed this to be something new, a revolutionary pairing of two diverse sporting traditions.
But as we’ve learned over and over again, there’s nothing new under the sun—or in the ring. The relationship between the two sports is much deeper (and older) than “King Mo” and Spike TV. Across the continental divides, the world over, professional wrestling and mixed martial arts are inexorably linked.
“I feel really proud of a professional wrestling lineage,” Strikeforce fighter and pro wrestling star Josh Barnett said. “I feel pride in trying to connect those professional wrestling roots to the combat aspects of wrestling. But also the history and lineage of where professional wrestling came from. It’s not fake…pro wrestlers used to be considered some of the toughest guys in the world back in the day. It didn’t matter if they were out there working, their pedigree was otherwise. And anybody that wanted to step up to them learned the hard way.”
The Roots of American MMA
In America, judo player Mitsuyo Maeda, who came to the country to spread Jigoru Kano’s brilliant grappling art, found a thriving sub-culture of submission grappling (called catch wrestling) already in place. Professional wrestlers right up into the 1930s were almost all competent and incredibly dangerous grapplers. The popularity of carnival circuits and traveling shows meant many wrestlers came up accepting challenges from all comers. That bred a bevy of submission holds, techniques designed to quickly incapacitate even a skilled amateur opponent.
“They were doing submissions just like anybody (does in today’s MMA). Submissions are not new to humanity. You can go look at Egyptian hieroglyphs, an ancient vase from Greece, and even carvings on Indian temples…(Old-time pro wrestling stars) all came from wrestling backgrounds, like myself,” former UFC champion and catch wrestling enthusiast Josh Barnett said. “I think you’ve got to start with basics with anything. It starts with basic body positioning and you can go from there to adding all the submissions you want. As long as your foundation is strong. The foundation is simple movement, control, and leverage.”
Soon, Maeda had joined the professional wrestling circuit, traveling worldwide to challenge the best grapplers anywhere and everywhere on the planet he set foot. England and Mexico were among his destinations, but his most productive pit stop was in Brazil, where he laid the building blocks for the modern submission game.
His combined knowledge, a product of years on the judo mat and in the professional ring, informed a young student of Maeda’s in Brazil named Carlos Gracie. A generation later, Gracie’s nephew, Rorion, created the Ultimate Fighting Championship, mixing the purity of his Gracie Jiu Jitsu with the over-the-top theatrics of professional wrestling. It was a tribute to his family—and to Maeda.
Wrestling on the Rise in the Land of the Rising Sun
It’s in Japan, however, that the connection between pro wrestling and mixed martial arts is starkest. Wrestling legend Antonio Inoki, on the losing side of a promotional war with “Giant” Baba, needed something special to vault ahead of his nemesis. He could never compete in traditional wrestling with Baba, a literal giant who had the backing of American promoters. Instead, Inoki would focus of something different entirely—legitimate martial arts.
He imported Karl Gotch, a 1948 Olympian and legitimate tough guy, to help springboard a newer and more realistic style of wrestling. A product of the legendary Snake Pit in Wigan, England, Gotch trained Inoki in traditional catch wrestling holds and techniques. Inoki and a new generation of wrestling talent learned both how to wrestle for real, and how to incorporate these holds in their predetermined matches.
“It didn’t have the histrionics and dramatics, as much as American pro wrestling had, in terms of promos,” Barnett said. “But the fighting, if you can call it that, was so intense. I really dug it.”
With Inoki leading the way as the “World Martial Arts Champion,” including matches with Muhammad Ali and a host of martial arts experts, business boomed. Willie Williams, Everett Eddy and judo gold medalist Willem Ruska helped give Inoki, and by extension pro wrestling, some much-needed credibility.
Proteges like Yoshiaki Fujiwara became very dangerous men indeed, taking on all comers behind closed doors to prove wrestling was the best of all of Japan’s diverse martial arts. The next generation, men who had grown up on Inoki’s exploits, took the art of wrestling even further towards legitimacy.
“I remember all the stories from the old-school guys at New Japan about when they used to take out ads in the newspaper saying professional wrestling was the strongest of all martial arts,” Barnett said. “And karate guys, judo guys would show up at their dojo saying ‘we don’t believe that. We think that’s crap. And we’re going to come in and beat you and show you otherwise.’ Gotch or Inoki would go Osamu Kido, go wrestle that dude and just tear him apart. They never lost. They beat everybody up who showed up at their gym.”
The next step was Pancrase, where Gotch and Fujiwara trained wrestlers like Masakatsu Funaki and Ken Shamrock and brought professional wrestling back to its roots—real competitive wrestling. Today, Barnett carries on the tradition, mixing fighting with traditional wrestling. Starting with his first match, a world title bout with Yuji Nagata, Barnett has made his mark in the world of Japanese wrestling.
“Not only was my first match against Yuji Nagata in front of 50,000 people, I was coming down with the chicken pox at the same time. I went out there and worked almost 12 minutes with that guy. I had only had two days of professional wrestling training in my entire life,” Barnett said. “I’m out there taking Exploders on the head and wrist clutch Exploders, throwing Yuji around. I did my thing and I remember at the end of that 12 minutes I felt like I was on fire. A fever was and the lights were on me. It was an amazing experience. Watching the replay and thinking ‘man it looks like I broke my neck on that move!’ But no, we were all good.”
When he meets Daniel Cormier in the finals of Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Grand Prix, Barnett will once again look to marry the legitimacy of catch technique with the excitement and theatrics of pro wrestling. The two are poised on the brink of enormous opportunity, and Barnett is hoping to make the most of it.
“With MMA, watching us go out there, it’s like a WrestleMania every time,” Barnett said. ” This is for all the marbles.”
Barnett goes toe-to-toe with Olympian Daniel Cormier May 19, 2012, live on Showtime. Jonathan Snowden is the author of Shooters: The Toughest Men in Professional Wrestling. He’s a regular contributor to Bleacher Report.
Lawal was fired from Strikeforce after testing positive for a banned steroid and is currently serving out a nine-month suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Because of that suspension, Lawal will have to wait to be able to compete under the Bellator banner — but since he’s also signed with TNA, he can conceivably begin making some money much sooner since professional wrestling is not regulated as a competitive sport by athletic commissions. Lawal signing with both organizations fuels rumors that Bellator and TNA — both of which air on Viacom-owned television channels and, starting in 2013, will appear on Spike TV — will somehow collaborate or cross-promote.
Lawal was fired from Strikeforce after testing positive for a banned steroid and is currently serving out a nine-month suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Because of that suspension, Lawal will have to wait to be able to compete under the Bellator banner — but since he’s also signed with TNA, he can conceivably begin making some money much sooner since professional wrestling is not regulated as a competitive sport by athletic commissions. Lawal signing with both organizations fuels rumors that Bellator and TNA — both of which air on Viacom-owned television channels and, starting in 2013, will appear on Spike TV — will somehow collaborate or cross-promote.
If you’ve watched MMA for any length of time, you’ve probably met at least one idiotic person who claims that the sport is “fake” like pro wrestling, meaning that the results are pre-determined. While we can’t begrudge King Mo for paying his bills in any honest way that he can, if Bellator and TNA do start mixing narratives and roster members, it could confuse viewers and set back the credibility of MMA as a sport.
Many American fighters have delved into professional wrestling for extended periods of time, including Josh Barnett, Ken Shamrock, Mark Coleman, and Bob Sapp. But Lawal’s experiment might end up being the biggest balancing act of the two that any fighter has yet attempted in the U.S.
For now, that’s all speculation. We’ll bring you more as the story develops. As it stands, we just know that King Mo is back on his feet with a j-o-b.
Wherever he goes, WWE superstar Brock Lesnar brings controversy with him. Look no further than WWE RAW for an example. In just a few weeks back with the company, he’s cursed up a storm, busted the biggest star in the mouth and re-written the rulebook w…
Wherever he goes, WWE superstar Brock Lesnar brings controversy with him. Look no further than WWE RAW for an example. In just a few weeks back with the company, he’s cursed up a storm, busted the biggest star in the mouth and re-written the rulebook when it comes to merchandising.
No one is beyond Lesnar’s reach. Racial and ethnic groups, alternative lifestyles, people he doesn’t like? All fair game. Lesnar’s most dangerous weapon isn’t a right hand or a suplex. It’s his mouth and it’s led to more than a little drama.
Whatever you say about Brock, you can never say he’s boring to watch. Let’s take a look back at Lesnar’s most controversial moments.
It’s not always easy being a pro wrestling fan. Even in 2012, decades after Vince McMahon let the cat out of the bag, the most common retort to any mention of wrestling fandom is the tried and true classic—”You know it’s all fake right?”How to re…
It’s not always easy being a pro wrestling fan. Even in 2012, decades after Vince McMahon let the cat out of the bag, the most common retort to any mention of wrestling fandom is the tried and true classic—”You know it’s all fake right?”
How to respond to that nugget of wisdom? Of course it’s all fake! That’s a big part of the fun. We love wrestling because it is so over-the-top, campy and outrageous.
Even “serious” wrestlers like Daniel Bryan and CM Punk do things in the ring that defy the laws of physics and rational thought. That’s okay. It’s all part of the show.
Despite these obvious truths, we still feel the need to defend the business. The wrestlers do it too. That’s why Mick Foley likes to run down his laundry list of injuries. Sure, they all happened as a human cartoon, but they lend realism to the absurd.
It’s the same reason Jim Ross points out a wrestler’s amateur background. It somehow makes it easier to ignore the utter possibility of a hurricanrana when the performer was once a special teams player at the University of Oklahoma.
And it’s why we love it when one of our own goes on to succeed in mixed martial arts. See? Those guys pretending to be tough on television? Maybe there’s something to that act after all.
Everyone knows Brock Lesnar. But he’s not the first and he won’t be the last pro wrestler to excel in MMA. Here’s ten other wrestling stars who went on to MMA fame and fortune.
The WWE universe might have been a bit shocked to see Brock Lesnar in the stands at UFC 146 on Saturday night in Las Vegas. It got many wondering, is Lesnar going to return to the UFC?
