UK Scene - Park
PARK: Brock Lesnar-Frank Mir rubber match makes sense after UFC 121 main event
Oct 29, 2010 - 9:26:25 AM PARK: Brock Lesnar-Frank Mir rubber match makes sense after UFC 121 main event

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By: Chris Park, MMATorch UK Specialist

Last Saturday night at UFC 121 in Anaheim, California, the first ever Mexican heavyweight champion was crowned as Cain Velasquez firmly took the championship belt from the hands of Brock Lesnar.

Velasquez put on what can only be described as the perfect performance, which left the UFC's biggest star a bleeding mess as the referee called a halt to proceedings in the closing stages of the very first round.

Rumours have been rife over the future of Lesnar after such a one sided beating. An immediate rematch is quite clearly a pointless suggestion at this time as the gulf between these two men was so big. Not since Anderson Silva took the middleweight strap from Rich Franklin have we seen a champion dismantled in such dramatic fashion, and it has led to some even questioning if Lesnar will step inside the Octagon again.

Suggestions of a WWE return to face The Undertaker were made after the two pro wrestlers squared up right after Lesnar's loss, only for UFC President Dana White to quash any such possibilities. A rematch with Shane Carwin, or a fight with the likes of Cheick Kongo or the impressive Brendan Schuab are all more realistic possibilities at this point.

The reality, however, is that all of those fights would struggle to command the status that Lesnar's previous four encounters all have done. This isn't about the main-event billing, as Lesnar could main event any show anywhere in the world and it would sell, and sell well.

The UFC, however, rely on Lesnar to generate the kind of hype and publicity that results in the biggest PPV shows of the year. A non-title fight with any of the above named would not even come close to matching the interest shown in these previous fights; and with that in mind there is still one fight that makes perfect sense for all concerned.

Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir III would be the ideal fight for both men at this point. At one victory each the rubber match would have always happened sooner or later, but with the way Shane Carwin took out Mir in their UFC 111 clash, that fight seemed a long way off. Until now!

Both men have taken a severe beating in recent performances, and both need a motivating fight now more than ever. Mir looked anything but a man with his eye on the prize as he shuffled his way through almost three rounds of paint drying with Mirko Cro Cop in September. So what better motivation is there than the completion of this hate-fuelled trilogy that began way back at UFC 81.

There is also another route the UFC could go down if they wanted to make the most of what would likely be the third and final encounter between these two, and that would be to sign both men up to coach on the thirteenth installment of The Ultimate Fighter.

This would create more hype around the reality show than ever before and would no doubt add priceless help to the expansion of TUF into new markets. It would be the biggest name in the game taking on his old foe in what would be absolute "must-see" television.

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Chris Park is the MMATorch UK Specialist and guest columnist at ESPN.co.uk. Please email any comments or questions to Chris at; mmatorchuk@gmail.com or look us up at http://www.facebook.com/mmatorchuk2 our new MMATorch Facebook home for UK Fans!