UFC 141 Fight Card: What Would a Brock Lesnar Victory Mean?

via www.themmanews.com

While searching for a photo accompaniment for this story I came upon at least a dozen shots of Brock Lesnar that you could caption perfectly with "I’m baack."

What a perfect summation of everything Brock Lesnar: Freak athlete. Wrestling champion (real and fake). Failed NFL star. Former UFC Heavyweight king. Scorn of Canadian wildlife rangers. "The Baddest Man on the Planet."

I’d call his upcoming fight with Alistair Overeem the biggest fight of his career… except I don’t think it really is. In fact, I think Brock’s had more riding on all his previous fights – save Min-Soo Kim, I suppose. But even that was his MMA debut. There was the massive exposure of the first Mir fight, the pressure to get his first UFC win against Heath Herring, and of course the spotlight of the world title fight versus Randy. All his fights since then have been for the belt.

Until now.

No, contrary to the "biggest fight of his career" dogma (and ad campaign), I think this is the fight where Lesnar gets to be Lesnar. Brock still is, for all intents and purposes, a rookie in MMA who we found out doesn’t like getting hit in the face. So, after an eternity on the shelf and an operation that removed an anaconda’s worth of his colon, he comes back and challenges the K-1 champ.

That’s ballsy.

Even if he loses, don’t expect to see the last of Brock (unless he chooses to retire, that is). Even in defeat, big money fights would still be available for Lesnar at heavyweight should he want them. I guarantee the UFC does.

I think the crux of this matchup is clear to even the most casual fans: Brock’s the wrestler, Overeem’s the striker. If Brock can get Overeem down and keep him there, then there’s a pretty good chance UFC 141 ends with an angry tirade about Bud Light followed by a nice little description of Lesnar’s preferred sexual position.

If Brock Lesnar wins, the first thing that will happen is we fans absolutely crapping on Alaistair Overeem. A Brock victory will be Christmas morning to the Overeem hatin’ crowd. The second the referee raises Brock’s lunch box fist in victory, fans will start writing more revisionist history than Winston did at the Ministry of Truth back in 1980-something.

"Overeem’s record was crap! He never beat any elite level heavyweights! His run through the K-1 Grand Prix was all luck! He once got thrashed by Chuck Liddell! Boo! Boo! Baseless ad hominem insinuation about PED use! Boooooooo!

These will be our refrains, internet MMA fans. Learn them now and be (possibly) ahead of the curve.

The next thing that’ll happen is a big smile breaking over Frank Mir’s face – or a shiver going down his spine. Either or. That’s because a Lesnar win coupled with Frank’s arm-breaking victory over Minotauro Nogueira would key up interest in Mir/Lesnar III like never before. Just imagine the trash talking potential of a Brock Lesnar who just flattened The ‘Reem meeting a Frank Mir with both Big Nog’s chin and his arm in his trophy case.

But first the title fight. If Lesnar can get by Overeem authoritatively he has to be considered the favourite against Junior Dos Santos. Okay, maybe not. But I have a feeling he’d be a close dog. JDS has never faced a take down threat like Brock.

Okay, that’s not true. He’s faced Cain Velasquez and Shane Carwin, and he handled them both pretty easily. Still, neither of those guys turned out to be takedown threats in the actual fight. Brock certainly would be.

At least I hope he would. Otherwise we could be in store for the next Brock Lesnar breakdancing class.

By Elton Hobson