Brock Lesnar: Does He Really Have a Future in the UFC?

By JM “Shade” Daguio

After a five-year hiatus from the MMA scene, Brock Lesnar came out of retirement to face Mark Hunt in a slow and grinding match which saw Lesnar put Hunt down to the ground and dominate him with his wrestling. The Lesnar-Hunt match was the quintessential grappler versus striker match, Hunt was a decorated kickboxer with nuclear bombs on both hands and Lesnar is a HUGE former NCAA division I wrestler out of Minnesota who spent most of his life taking people down. The match went to distance, Lesnar used his wrestling to relentlessly pursue the takedown while Hunt was always good with his takedown defense but is ready with his hands if the right opportunity comes.

Hunt was able to hit Lesnar with some good overhands but Lesnar was smart enough to keep the distance and look for a different opportunity to shoot. Lesnar was patient and was able to take Hunt down, Lesnar’s punches weren’t the most damaging strikes but it was putting Hunt in an uncomfortable position, he was having a hard time getting out of Lesnar’s top position, that eventually was the story of the fight. Lesnar got the unanimous decision, pretty impressive for someone who didn’t fight for 5 years and went in to face the organization’s most deadly striker.

After Lesnar’s win it was reported that he got the biggest fight purse in UFC’s history at $2.5 million excluding pay-per-view revenues and other discretionary bonuses, but the looming question among fans and pundits is; is Brock Lesnar eyeing a campaign to regain his heavyweight title? or was UFC 200 just a quick buck?

If you ask Lesnar, the answer would be that he’s ready to face the best especially after taking on the Super Samoan’s best punches, Lesnar feels he still has it in him to be able to compete. It was well documented that his fall was attributed to his battle with diverticulitis, a disease that affected his colon and intestine, Lesnar had undergone surgery to remove 12 inches of his intestine and had to stop training for awhile.

Lesnar believed that he was never 100% during his fight with Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem, he reiterated his regret on not continuing his MMA training after his fight with Overeem.

Another issue with Lesnar’s proposed run for the UFC title is his obligation with WWE, he’s still slated to appear in Summer Slam! and a slew of other shows, the good part is that the UFC and WWE had good open line communications with each other in terms of promoting each other’s brand and especially promoting Lesnar both as a mixed martial artist and a professional wrestler.

The door is very much open for the 37-year old behemoth and the chance to recapture his stardom in the UFC is well at hand, should he choose it.

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