Guest Editorials
GUEST EDITORIAL: How Brock Lesnar is Bad for the Sport of MMA
Nov 23, 2008 - 8:01:28 PM GUEST EDITORIAL: How Brock Lesnar is Bad for the Sport of MMA

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With Brock Lesnar the new Heavyweight Champion of the UFC, many MMA fans are either groaning at the thought of a former WWE wrestler being on the top of the UFC mountain, or they are seeing this as a great thing to happen to the UFC. While there are many positives in Brock Lesnar winning the UFC Heavyweight Title, I will look into the negatives of his title win.

Besides only having three MMA fights coming into his fight with Randy Couture, Lesnar had forty-five pounds of weight over him as of the weigh-in. Come fight time, Brock most likely gained ten pounds, meaning that he had at least fifty-five pounds of weight over Couture, making Brock over the 265 pound weight limit for UFC heavyweight. Couture, who is a natural light heavyweight, was fighting a super heavyweight come fight time.

With Couture fighting a super heavyweight, it has been argued that Randy Couture lost his fight because of genetics instead of skill. Because of the size difference, Couture was always in danger of getting caught with one good hit, that did not need to even be on the chin, and going down. On the other hand, Couture is not known to have one punch knockout power, so Lesnar could arguably take punches not on the chin and not go down. There is a difference from getting hit by a fighter who is 220 pounds versus a fighter who is 240 pounds or heavier. Even though we will never know this, if Couture was around the same size of Lesnar, Couture’s punches would most likely be much stronger; and his ability to take Lesnar down could have been much easier.

While Lesnar has shown much improvement from his last fights, he still has a long way to go. In his standup, he attacks straightforward and does not utilize angles. Besides his infamous hammer fists and his impressive knees, he has not shown much ground skill as far as attempting to finish opponents and could not finish Heath Herring despite having him in dominant positions on the ground.

Brock had Herring’s back multiple times, and had him in the mount, yet he seemed lost as to what to do from that great position. Lesnar does possess superior wrestling ability, but he has questionable cardio especially since he has so much muscle mass. Even though Lesnar went fifteen minutes with Herring, Herring was not pushing the pace; and Lesnar had top position throughout that whole fight meaning that he did not have to expend as much energy as the fighter on the bottom.

On the other hand, many critics argued that Brock looked a little tired in the second round when he fought Couture, and Randy was enforcing his will; especially with his clinch game. However, whatever Lesnar lacks in skill, he simply makes up for in power.

Many MMA fans will argue that the top of any division should be the most skilled, or at least show that he has superior skill. Anderson Silva, George St. Pierre and BJ Penn are at the top of their divisions, and it is easy to see that they possess far greater skills than the other fighters fighting in their respective divisions. Even though it was only Lesnar’s first fight in the UFC, he tapped to a knee bar in a minute and a half against Frank Mir.

Randy Couture and Heath Herring are not great at Brazilian jiu jitsu, so it is unknown how Lesnar would fare going forward against a strong Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner like Frank Mir again, Gabriel Gonzaga, or Minotauro Nogueira. Besides Brazilian jiu jitsu, his standup has not been proven.

Although Heath Herring is a striker, Lesnar’s fight with him took place mostly on the ground. Also, the majority of the first round of Lesnar’s fight with Couture was mainly against the cage in a clinch battle. If someone actually notices how much Lesnar’s standup is displayed in all of his fights, there is probably less than five minutes of standup cumulated in all of his fights. One has to wonder how Lesnar would fare against a fighter who has great takedown defense and great striking. Lesnar has arguably shown that he has greater physical power and size than others in his division, but he has not shown greater overall skill.

Alongside the arguments that Lesnar is all size and strength but lacking in skill compared to other fighters in that division, many MMA fans also feel that he is undeserving of receiving a UFC heavyweight title fight. In the UFC, Lesnar lost to Frank Mir in a minute and a half, and he beat Heath Herring to a decision. If any other heavyweight had that record in the UFC, that fighter would not get an immediate title shot.

We did not see Jake O’Brien having a shot at the heavyweight title after defeating Heath Herring by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 8. Also, MMA fans are not seeing heavyweights like Shane Carwin or Cain Velasquez receive title shots, nor are they getting bouts with middle or top tier heavyweight talent yet. Moreover, it took Jon Fitch eight consecutive victories to receive a title shot against George St. Pierre; and many other challengers fighting against UFC title holders had consecutive victories before getting a title shot.

For the legitimacy of the sport of MMA, having an unproven and undeserving fighter in Brock Lesnar receive a title shot because he is marketable brings down the authenticity of the sport in the eyes of many MMA fans. While it is obvious that Brock Lesnar versus Randy Couture would sell tickets and PPV buys, one has to wonder what is more important to the UFC: making money or bringing credibility to the sport of MMA and their own brand.

Credibility has nothing to do with Lesnar formerly being in WWE either because it has to do with giving fighters what they deserve, and fighters working up the ladder to receive the top spot. Brock Lesnar did not work his way up the ladder for a title shot, and seeing that Jake O’Brien did not get a title shot after defeating Heath Herring, Lesnar did not deserve to fight Randy Couture for the UFC heavyweight title. For a sport that is still evolving, the perception of the sport at this time is invaluable.

[Brock Lesnar photo credit - Koichi Yoshizawa (c) MMATorch]