The Legacy Of Brock Lesnar In The UFC
By: Dylan Smith
On Tuesday, March 24th, Brock Lesnar officially closed the door on his career in the UFC after announcing that he had re-signed with WWE on ESPN Sportscenter. Speculation has run rampant over the better part of three years about the former UFC heavyweight champions future, would he make one last run in the UFC? Would he stay with WWE? Nobody knew the answer to these questions including Lesnar himself until Monday when he came to terms with Vince McMahon on a new contract that will allow him to continue to work with WWE part time, but still get paid as a full time top performer. So now that we have the answer after all this time, a new question must be asked. What is Brock Lesnars legacy in the UFC?
Brock Lesnar burst onto the MMA scene in 2007, debuting in K1 against Min Soo Kim whom he defeated in 1:06 of the first round. This was Lesnars very first professional fight and shortly after he was signed to the UFC telling Dana White he wanted to compete with the best. Not only did he compete, he defeated some of the best heavyweights in the world in route to winning the UFC heavyweight championship after defeating Randy Couture by TKO at UFC 91. He would go on to defend the belt twice, defeating Frank Mir and Shane Carwin in two instant classics before eventually losing the belt to current heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez. During his run with the UFC, Lesnar had two separate bouts with a deadly stomach disease called diverticulitis. This set back his career in many ways as he had surgery for the first time in 2009 to repair his intestine which had been leaking for over a year and then again in 2011 when he had to get a 12 inch piece removed from his colon. Both these surgeries took there toll on Lesnar and cut his octagon career short along with hampering his performances as he was never fully healthy while he held the title or after he lost it.
The achievements of Brock Lesnar cannot be denied, he won the UFC heavyweight championship in only his 4th pro fight ever which is a feat no other UFC fighter has even come close to accomplishing. He is the only man to win a UFC championship, WWE championship, and a NCAA Division 1 wrestling national championship. Lesnar was also the top draw the UFC has ever had, even during the legendary championship runs of legends like Anderson Silva and Georges St Pierre. Brock holds 3 of the top 5 best UFC PPVs of all time with three of his championship fights selling over a million buys and currently holds the number 1 spot with his UFC 100 rematch against Frank Mir.
Whether you love Brock Lesnar or hate him, his credentials speak for themselves and deserve the respect of any fight fan. He is a once in a lifetime athlete who was never afraid to take on new challenges in a time where athletes playing it safe to ensure career ascension is the norm. There will never be another beast like Brock Lesnar and we can only speculate how good he actually would have been if he would have taken up MMA after winning the national title in wrestling instead of going straight to the WWE. With his blend of size, speed, strength and aggression that no athlete in the UFC can match even today, I'm betting he would have gone down as an all time great. Brock Lesnars legacy in the UFC should be that of a trail blazer, he brought in a new generation of fans and helped bring the sport of MMA to new heights. One thing is for certain and that is that Brock Lesnar is a born entertainer, whether in the UFC octagon or in a WWE ring it is always must see TV when "The Beast Incarnate" is getting his hands on someone.
Follow me on Twitter @FightMartian and let me know what you think of Brock's legacy and his decision to return to the WWE.
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