Four reasons why it would be great to see Brock Lesnar in the UFC again
Posted on June 10, 2012, 11:09 PM by Mike Searson
UFC President Dana White said that former Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar requested to have a "sit-down" with him over a potential return to UFC after UFC 146. Unfortunately, according to White: “The meeting that we had didn’t really go very well. It wasn’t a great meeting. It was probably one of the worst meetings we’ve ever had with Brock Lesnar. I honestly have not talked to him since, so I don’t know where we are at. So, all the stuff you are seeing on the Internet is typical Internet (deleted)."
While it sounds unfortunate to Lesnar fans, one thing I have learned over the years is to never say, "never", especially in the fight game. On a personal note, I think a Lesnar return to the UFC would be good for at least four reasons:
His past
Lesnar's MMA record is 5 wins and 3 losses; on the surface that screams, "So what?", it implies a mediocre fighter. However, if those numbers are broken down, they tell a different story. He lost his first UFC fight to Frank Mir. Lesnar then went on to victories over Heath Herring, Randy Couture, Mir in a rematch and Shane Carwin; before losing his title to Cain Velasquez. Half of his UFC fights have been championship bouts, 3 of which he won. He took the Heavyweight belt from Randy Couture, defended it against Mir and Carwin; and finally lost it to Velasquez. Lesnar was a major force in the UFC’s heavyweight division, there is no reason why he could not give the fight game another 5 years, if his health issues are a thing of the past.
His potential
The Heavyweight division has more than enough talent for him to earn his way back. A third fight with Mir, a rematch with Carwin; perhaps some new blood in the form of Stefan Struve or what could be a huge draw in its own right: Roy Nelson. All of these could infuse a new sense of excitement into the UFC and that does not even count a rematch with Velasquez. Eventually fans could even see the fight with Dos Santos, which was promised in 2011 as part of TUF:13.
His draw
In his fight against Frank Mir at UFC 100, the pay-per-view rate was at 1.6 million. UFC 116 against Shane Carwin and UFC 121 against Velasquez each brought in 1.16 million and 1.05 million viewers respectively. His fight against Couture garnered over 1 million ppv buys as well. Contrast that with UFC 146 and its all Heavyweight card at a mere 560,000 ppv buys. Lesnar brings star-power to the cards: some fans love him; some fans love to hate him. Regardless of the reason, they do tune in to watch him when he is headlining. Maybe he is just bringing in crossover traffic from pro-wrestling fans, whatever it is, it is working. Lesnar has been one of the highest paid UFC fighters of all time, much of that has to do with the pay-per-view bonuses he earns.
His ability
Many fans and commentators are quick to dismiss Lesnar as a lumbering giant. On the contrary, he is a giant, but he has the athletic ability to go with it. After his loss to Mir, he came back to the Octagon a changed man against Herring. He proved himself more than capable as a coach on Season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter. He embodies a fighter that evolves with the game: his strategy against Carwin was solid. People usually only think of Lesnar and the WWE outside of the UFC. He was a NCAA champion wrestler in college with a record of 106–5. He played for the Minnesota Vikings in the 2004 NFL preseason, before he tried MMA. This is a man who can transition from one sport to another and back, successfully.
A return to the Octagon by Lesnar would benefit the UFC and MMA overall. Whether or not he will return is not in the hands of straw polls, internet scribes, or even the most die-hard MMA or wrestling fan. Lesnar's return to the UFC is up to Brock Lesnar and Dana White. They will need to hammer it out, if it comes to the table again.
Until then, participate in our poll to say whether you want to see Lesnar back in the Octagon, or not.
Comments
Personally, I've seen enough.
Personally, his fights are all great, whether he's taking a beating or giving a beating.
If he doesnt want to train striking and take it seriously, then the haters will enjoy him getting beat up by the elite of the division....But he would beat HW fighters outside the top 6 IMO. (Hunt would likely beat him up too though)
The only people who has seen enough are the people who go out of their way to spit on WWE.
As an MMA fan, I will enjoy seeing him get beat up, or beat the other guy up. It's all good, he can be the gatekeeper and put on great fights until he is for sure done.
Same here...he beat 2 of my all time favorites: Randy and Shane. I would love to see a rematch with Carwin as well as another with Mir. I think a Nelson Lesnar card would be a lot of fun, too
Ultimately, I'd like to see him take on Cormier, if he ever migrates over and if Lesnar ever does return.
Like I said, though...ultimately it is up to him and Dana. If they can't make it happen, all we can really do is speculate and have fun with it.
He will never become any better than what he is now. I could be wrong. If there were only wrestlers with no striking or kicking ability than Lesnar will be a champ for a long time.
the only good thing about him is the draw he cant strike cant take a punch plus hes a expert of cartwheel
Reason5 - He brings the pain
Yea, self inflicted.
He should just stick to pretend combat.
he needs to let Bas Ruten punch him in the face for several weeks -that will toughen him up.
This is like exactly the same thing you could say about Bob Sap and the reason he had as long a career as he did. Were we better of because Bob Sap fought in MMA? Did the fact that he couldn't take a punch without doubling over ever change?
1. Watch him get his A$$ KICKED AGAIN.
2. Watch him get his A$$ KICKED AGAIN.
3. Watch him get his A$$ KICKED AGAIN.
4. Watch him get his A$$ KICKED AGAIN.
There you go, 4 great reasons to bring back a sellout, quitter, hack ex drama queen WWE phony.
Opinions are very divided on Brock Lesnar. People either love him or hate him. But to be objective you have to compare Brock to other champions in other sports to see how he compares, how long they have been at the top and the weight divisions they have fought in.
When we talk about greatness, we talk about Muhammed Ali, we talk about manny pacquel, we talk about about Michael Jordan. These guys are undeniable champions.
Then there is brock lesnar...he was a NCAA wrestler...but so have many other mma guys. So you have to look past that when dealing with mma legends. You can't really count WWE because that is fake entertainment.
Then there is his record in MMA. His wins were great, but he had a massive size and age advantage against randy couture when they fought. he also fought a smaller japanese guy, a much smaller frank mir and a lower ranked herring.
I think Randy couture is a much bigger legend, often fighting around 220 against much bigger guys and with a complete age disadvanatge.
I don't really care if brock returns or not, i think he is too one dimensional, all wrestling, and too much attitude. There is nothing humble about this guy, he smashed frank mir and then acted like a complete aswipe.
Lets be honest, there is more hype than substance.
Well said. I have a hard time explaining this without sounding biased but you got it
Good for the UFC, but not for the sport. IMO, having Lesnar fight is no better than having James Toney. It's the name/draw and not the skills in MMA that put them there. I'm sure 50 cent could get a fight tomorrow if he wanted and that's not how sports work.
And his buddy mayweather on his corner there be lost of PPV buys
He lost to Overeem, Velasquez, and Mir (for his 2nd fight in MMA, was reckless, redeemed himself in rematch)
Lesnar did better than Bigfoot against Velasquez, he must suck even worse, dude cant even beat the #2 HW in the world....what a loser right? Bigfoot clearly isnt good.
Look, you are one of the people who probably go out of their way to hate on WWE, WWE isnt the enemy. If Lesnar starts getting beat by the Struves, Barnetts, and Hermans of the HW division then go ahead and say that but when he's only lost to Overeem and Velasquez?
You sound incredibly biased and stupid (No offense)
Over Brock. he cant beat any of the top 5 Heavyweights. If he came back itd be as a side show because everybody would just enjoy watching him get a beating, which he knows and which is why he will never come back. I mean come on, he's 5 and 3, got a title shot after beating Heath Herring. He's a joke, Who T-F goes into MMA and doesnt train striking? He only works out, what a joke of a MMA artist, please stay in the WWE, Fans arent concerned about what the UFC makes in PPV buys, were concerned with watching good fights which Brock rarely ever delivers
Brock come back !!!
This is all a moot point.
There is no way Lesnar will be back. Dana White just said he and Lorenzo had the worst meeting ever with Lesnar. Now why do you think that would be?
1. Lesnar told them to phuck off when they offered him a job--and he said he would never fight for the UFC again.
2. Lesnar said he would fight for them--but at such a high price--Floyd Mayweather would be jealous.
Brock is still making millions with the WWE, but the difference is he is not getting knees to his bowels--and kicks to his liver. Why return to the UFC to get beaten up unless the money was huge?
Right, cause Dana has never changed his position on anything.