Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: Brock Lesnar Retiring While Miguel Torres Returns
Jan 4, 2012 - 8:45:43 AM HYDEN BLOG: Brock Lesnar Retiring While Miguel Torres Returns

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

The big news this week is Brock Lesnar retiring from the UFC. I think a large part of the reason Brock is retiring is his bouts with diverticulitis. Brock was already starting at a disadvantage because he didn't get into mixed martial arts until age 30. That's a big stumbling block, but it can be overcome. Then the diverticulitis hits, and Brock has to miss significant amounts of time healing and recovering. This was valuable time that Brock could have spent honing his fighting game.

Combine this with the fact that Brock's career was already going to be shorter than usual because of his size, and Brock did a good job to accomplish what he did. The very thing that allowed Brock to do well at so many other endeavors is the same thing that would have shortened his career anyway. A man of Brock's size shouldn't be able to move as quickly, or be as agile, as Brock was. That he could be so large and yet still be so quick was a testament to the physical freak that Brock was. The window of opportunity to maintain that size and speed is much smaller than the average fighter's career. Brock was starting to reach the age where he would have had to start seriously considering reevaluating his size/speed ratio.

When an athlete reaches a certain age they have to start dropping excess weight in order to maintain their bodies at peak capacity. This often means dropping muscle mass in favor of speed. The days of Brock being able to walk around at 285 lbs. were pretty much over. He didn't have the speed he once had at that weight. In order to maintain that speed he would have had to drop some weight, perhaps walking around at 275 lbs. or maybe even 265 lbs.

An athlete's frame also becomes less able to support massive amounts of muscle as they grow older. This leads to joint problems, often in the legs. The bigger the athlete, the more joint problems they're likely to have. Brock turns 35 in July, and his peak condition days are over. A man's physical prime is usually in his late 20's and early 30's. However, that's for a normal man. A man Brock's size will find himself passing his physical prime earlier than normal. He could maintain his size and power for many years if he so desired, but at the expense of more and more speed as time wears on. The smart move would have been that Brock would have started to slowly drop weight, getting down to maybe 245 lbs. or so within a few years.

I think the shortened physical window, combined with the diverticulitis, ended Brock's career much earlier than it would have ended otherwise. I also think his late start played a big role in this. If Brock had broken in to MMA in his mid-20's and had time to develop himself better, he would have had the tools needed to stick around for longer.

Seeing this happen to Brock makes you appreciate Randy Couture even more. Randy also got a late start, but was able to carve out a great career. There's no denying that Brock is a physical freak, but Randy is a specimen. There's not a lot of people out there like Brock, but there's even fewer out there like Randy.

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I was very happy to see that Miguel Torres is back with the UFC. He shouldn't have been fired in the first place, but it's good that things were made right. One thing that I think everyone can learn from this is to be careful how you conduct yourself, especially when you're a public figure. Torres made a mistake, and hopefully he's learned from it. Twitter is a great tool, but it can also be a dangerous one.


Comments and suggestions can be e-mailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com