Penick's Take
PENICK: Why Brock Lesnar won't leave MMA after UFC 121 loss to Cain Velasquez
Oct 27, 2010 - 6:31:06 PM PENICK: Why Brock Lesnar won't leave MMA after UFC 121 loss to Cain Velasquez

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Brock Lesnar lost his UFC Heavyweight Championship last Saturday in a fairly one-sided fight against Cain Velasquez. The loss has opened up a number of possibilities in the heavyweight division, many of which directly involve Lesnar. But despite those clear possibilities, a lot of conversation and speculation following the loss has some believing we may have seen the last of Lesnar in the UFC.

With reports of an offered deal to make a one-off return to the WWE, and a shaky track record of sticking with certain professional pursuits, it's easy to see why some believe Lesnar may walk away from the sport of mixed martial arts after a humbling loss like the one he suffered.

But I don't believe it in the least.

The major difference between MMA and Brock's experiences with the WWE and the NFL is that MMA doesn't require him to uproot his family or be away from them for an extended period of time.

Lesnar is an intensely athletic and competitive person, and at the same time he's a very private, family oriented man. After dominating throughout much of his collegiate wrestling career, ending with a national championship in Division 1 at the University of Minnesota, Lesnar was able to fulfill his athletic and monetary pursuits in the WWE.

But the grind of being on the road 300 days a year, and the lifestyle it led to, proved too much for Lesnar to handle. He walked away from wrestling, not because he was incapable of doing it, but because the time away from his family and the mental grind of that lifestyle was something he didn't want to continue battling through.

When he tried out for the Minnesota Vikings in 2004, he nearly made the team, though he was cut on the final day. Still, considering he hadn't played football since high school it was quite an impressive feat. His football career ended because he would have needed to go to NFL Europe, and once again being away from his family wasn't something he wanted to do.

So while Lesnar has already walked away from two professional endeavors, they don't necessarily count as a precedent to believe he'll be on his way out following this loss to Velasquez.

MMA allows Lesnar to feed his competitive nature without taking him away from his family for an extended time. With owning and operating his own specialized camp with his Death Clutch gym in Alexandria, MN, he can go to work during the day and come home to his family. He at most would need to travel three weeks in a year for fights in the UFC, and he can afford to take the time off he needs to be with his family and to do what he pleases outside of fighting.

And let's not act like this is something Lesnar's not good at or that he can't improve in just because of this loss. Sure, it was a demoralizing beating that exposed the fact that he's still just seven fights into his career. His drive to improve and to prove himself as the best will not let him walk away now. This isn't like with the NFL where he felt completely behind the curve and unable to catch up. And he doesn't need to leave or uproot his family to improve in this sport.

Lesnar will be back, and whether or not he'll be able to sufficiently improve his game to where he can defeat a fighter like Cain Velasquez, he will absolutely be doing what he feels he can to work towards that. Lesnar's time in this sport is not at an end, and whether you're a fan or a hater of the former Champion, he will return, and he'll be a better version of himself than was seen on October 23.