Amadi's Take
AMADI: Brock Lesnar's post-UFC 141 retirement the best thing for him and the UFC
Dec 31, 2011 - 4:15:37 PM AMADI: Brock Lesnar's post-UFC 141 retirement the best thing for him and the UFC

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By: Jason Amadi, MMATorch Columnist

Brock Lesnar's contributions to the growth of mixed martial arts over the last four years simply can't be overstated. After debuting in the UFC in early 2008, Lesnar brought in over a million pay-per-view buys nearly every time he stepped into the Octagon, and cards sandwiched between his fights benefited greatly from what was eventually dubbed the "Brock Lesnar effect." Alongside Zuffa purchasing the UFC and the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, Brock Lesnar's odyssey into MMA deserves to be mentioned as one of the most important happenings in the history of the sport.

That being said, it was also best for all parties involved that Brock Lesnar decided to hang up the gloves at UFC 141.

At this point Lesnar's retirement may seem like a blow that the UFC will never recover from, but considering the way his final three mixed martial arts fights played out, how much longer could he realistically continue to put up such muscular numbers? After all, Brock Lesnar isn't some larger than life personality that people can't get enough of (as evidenced by the absolutely putrescent 13th season of The Ultimate Fighter).

Lesnar's pay-per-view appeal was certainly bolstered by his WWE fame, but more than that people were interested in whether or not he could fight for real; once they found out that he could, they were interested in finding out what his ceiling was at the elite level. Casual fans may not have understood Lesnar's limitations as a fighter from the start, but there's no way that Lesnar winding up in the fetal position three fights in a row doesn't get that information across

Getting out of the Brock Lesnar business may hurt the UFC's bottom line in the short term, but the fact is that two of Brock Lesnar's final three performances were been borderline embarrassing for the sport of mixed martial arts.

Seeing Lesnar turn tail and run away from Shane Carwin in a championship fight was embarrassing; seeing Lesnar breakdance to his demise against Cain Velasquez in another championship fight was embarrassing. Quite frankly, it was impossible not to feel for the former WWE superstar as he had his surgically repaired guts smashed in by Alistair Overeem, but like the Carwin and Velasquez fights, Brock was simply in over his head.

However, the fashion in which Lesnar's MMA career came to an end shouldn't take away from the fact that he accomplished more in eight fights than most mixed martial artists accomplish in their careers. You can never disregard the fact that Lesnar captured the UFC Heavyweight Championionship three fights into his career, made two defenses of his title and smashed top ten heavyweights in the process.

While I've probably already given Lesnar's detractors enough ammunition to write him off completely, the truth is that while Brock Lesnar was able to line his pockets with millions of dollars and was gifted a title shot, those things came at the expense of anything resembling an opportunity to round out his skills as a mixed martial artist. Had Lesnar been brought up in the sport the same way that Cain Velasquez or Daniel Cormier have been brought up, then perhaps we would have a seen a more well-rounded fighter.

Even with his current skill set, Brock Lesnar would still smash most heavyweights, but that was never what his MMA career was about. For Lesnar, his MMA career was about making as much money as he could, as quickly as he could while satiating his desire to compete. For the UFC, Lesnar's MMA career was about harnessing his drawing power and using his success to draw in eyeballs as they revamped their heavyweight division post-Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlvoski.

The polarizing figure that is Brock Lesnar undoubtedly brought tons of new eyeballs to the sport and exposed casual fans to elite competitors like Cain Velasquez, Shane Carwin, Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem.

It was inevitable that Brock Lesnar's career would end the way it has, and deep down Brock Lesnar probably knew that. If not for the millions of dollars that Lesnar lined his pockets with throughout his UFC tenure, you could almost say that the Minnesotan martyred himself for our entertainment. Whether or not that's too much of a leap (and it probably is), Brock Lesnar took us all for a memorable ride over the last four years and the MMA world owes it to him to take this time to reflect upon what his career did for the sport of mixed martial arts.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter @JasonAmadi and direct your "Ask the Torch" questions to mmatorch@gmail.com