At UFC 81, former WWE pro wrestler Brock Lesnar will make his UFC debut against Frank Mir, a former UFC heavyweight champ. Here's how UFC is promoting the event:
UFC President Dana White says in that promotional video, "If Brock Lesnar can back up all the things he's saying, he might become the biggest star in mixed martial arts."
White might be right about that -- Lesnar is already a big star among wrestling fans, and he's probably the second-most famous fighter UFC has under contract -- but making Lesnar a UFC star would be bad for the sport of mixed martial arts.
For MMA as a sport to be taken seriously by the general public, it needs the general public to think the best fighters in the sport are legitimate athletes. If someone like Lesnar can make a transition from pro wrestling to MMA stardom, it will be hard for the sport to be taken any more seriously than wrestling is. I realize that Lesnar has credentials as a real athlete in collegiate wrestling, I'm glad White got Lesnar to sign up with UFC, and I'm curious to see how Lesnar does. But I'm concerned that if Lesnar succeeds, he'll be doing it at the expense of the sport of mixed martial arts.
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If Brock Lesnar Beats Frank Mir, It's Good for UFC and Bad for MMA
Posted Jan 12th 2008 12:06PM by Michael David Smith
Filed under: Fighting, The Word, Pro Wrestling, MMA
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 2)
1. Most UFC (MMA) athletes had extensive NCAA wrestling experience, same as Lesnar, just because he was in sport entertainment, doesn't mean he doesn't have a legitimate skill set. If he wins (and is steroid free) then it is great for our sport.
Posted at 12:44PM on Jan 12th 2008 by nymitch325
2. To be fair, Brock Lesnar isn't just some workout warrior that can't do anything else- he won the NCAA wrestling championship at Minnesota in 2000, and was a 2 time All-American. I'm pretty sure his wrestling background is a lot more impressive than anyone else in the UFC right now
Posted at 1:01PM on Jan 12th 2008 by mr. tibbs
3. That's just silly. Brock Lesnar will neither make nor break the sport. Pro wrestling and mma have a long history together already, both with Japanese wrestlers and American pro wrestlers. That, however is not the point.
Brock Lesnar is one fighter in a sport that has been growing in popularity for years now. The amount of people who train in mma and the various martial arts related to it (BJJ, Muay Thay, et al) continues to grow at an amazing pace. The amount of people competing in the sport will multiply exponentially in the next few years, as more people who normally would train in your standard sports will get into mma also, or martial arts exclusively. What Brock and Frank do in the cage will be a footnote to whatever mma turns into in this country in the coming years. To say it is "bad for mma" is just to throw out a useless cliche that has no meaning.
Posted at 1:27PM on Jan 12th 2008 by BrendanEff
4. UFC is still around? I remember that week when this "sport" was popular.
Posted at 3:31PM on Jan 12th 2008 by McLean
5. The two most common backgrounds of Mixed Martial Artists are 1) Jiu-Jitsu, 2) Amateur Wrestling.
After moving up from two years of Junior College to Division 1 Wrestling Powerhouse Minnesota, Brock took 2nd place in the Nationals his first year in D1, losing to Stephan Neal by 1 point (who received the Dan Hodge award for Most Outstanding College Wrestler - the Wrestling Heisman). His 2nd year he won the D1 title.
He has been training for two years in MMA, beginning with legendary trainer Pat Miletich. He is now training with Greg Nelson (trainer of UFC LW champ Sean Sherk) and Erik Paulson (legendary submission guru).
Outside of his stint with Professional Wrestling, Brock's background and preparation is very similar to many of his peers in the UFC.
Posted at 5:11PM on Jan 12th 2008 by SuperHoss
6. yea...Brock had a 106-5 record in D1 wrestling. Wrestlers have always had a good history in the UFC. This journalist is a complete moron for writing this article. He must of needed a last minute entry or something. I can't envision a sports journalist as being this clueless about a sport he is attempting to report on. He understands that brock has "credentials"? Is this guy a moron. D1 national champ is a lot more then just a credential. Bad for the sport? I hope this guy retires and decides to start writing cartoons or something instead
Posted at 6:16PM on Jan 12th 2008 by pacoman1310
7. Anyone who competed at the major collegiate level in wrestling is a real fighter. People who follow the sport know this--journalists don't.
Steroid free, ummm, no. All of those hyper-muscular guys with the massive traps use the juice. If you don't realize that, you must still believe in Santa Claus.
Posted at 7:52PM on Jan 12th 2008 by ventures360
8. Wow. I remember when he quit wrestling and tried out for the Baltimore Ravens. He was a good wrestler, but not the best. And back then he didn't have any martial art skills in the ring, he was more smashmouth. I guess he had plenty of time to learn some, though.
Posted at 9:33PM on Jan 12th 2008 by Kellie
9. wwe/pro wrestling may not be a legitimate sport but the prowrestlers definitely are legit athletes. have anyone seen an overweight individual in any sports pro or amateur do acrobatics like a prowrestler does on the ring? athleticism is not the main attribute an mma fighter must have. grit, mental toughness, descipline, exceptional skills, intelligence, and most of all killer instinct are the most important traits an mma fighter must possess to be successful. now, can this author tell me that the maine-iac tim sylvia is more athletic than lesnar? not even close, but i will bet on sylvia 5 out of 5 if sylvia and lesnar are to fight 5 times. dig it?
Posted at 10:26PM on Jan 12th 2008 by ramon fermin
10. Frank Mir was good at one time but he is now over the hill since his motorcycle accident. However, Frank is good in submissions and might win in that manner.
The bottom line: Whoever wins the fight will not go far in MMA. Too many good all around fighters.
Posted at 12:13AM on Jan 13th 2008 by tedfio1
11. You know what the funny thing is? People who really know the sport, aren't concerned. It is the people who aren't familiar with its history that have the problem. Did anyone have a problem with Sakuraba? Though also an amateur wrestler, his resume was nowhere near what Lesnar's was. Sakuraba was a professional wrestler before he came into MMA. He is now one of the most beloved figures in MMA.
Shockwave 2004? Rulon Gardner makes his MMA debut. That was his 1st fight! He was the headliner!
After moving up from Junior College, Lesnar took 2nd in the D1 Wrestling Nationals (losing to defending champ and Dan Hodge award winner (Wrestling Heisman) Stephen Neal by 1 point. Of course he won it his senior year (2000). His backup Garret Lowney went out for the Olympic team for Greco-Roman wrestling and won the bronze. Pretty stiff competition for Lesnar.
Lesnar started training two years, spent some time with Miletich's camp and now trains with Sean Sherk's trainer, Greg Nelson. He has also been training with Submission Guru Erik Paulson. How good is Paulson? Ask Josh Barnett, he trains Barnett.
So what is the big problem with Lesnar? He is a tremendous athlete by ALL accounts, with speed, strength and natural aptitude for MMA according to all of his coaches. The problem is he made some money as Fake Wrestler. Get over it!
Posted at 1:25AM on Jan 13th 2008 by MMA Historian
12. Hey Brother, the Macho Man Randy Savage here, I could Take Brock down no problem. BRRRRRING IT ON. MACHHHHOOOO MANNNN.
Posted at 2:52AM on Jan 13th 2008 by MachoMan
13. I seem to remember Ken Shamrock also was a pro wrestler before and after he debuted in MMA
Posted at 4:51AM on Jan 13th 2008 by Ernie Peters
14. It's hard to take the MMA seriously. They are all on steroids. Big time users of whatever cocktail they can get their hands on. Take them off steroids, and they are a joke!! Athletes? Athletes? Are you kidding me. Those overblown, overweight, musclebound meatballs are terrible athletes. They are way too tight, and could never make it in a aport where you need true flexebility. The best way to see if an athlete is a true athlete is to put them in open space and see how they perform. Remember Michael Jordan trying to play baseball. He was a complete joke. He looked slow, sluggish, and uncoordinated. He couldn't hit, field. He couldn't cover space. He was horrible. If you didn't know he was Michael Jordan you would have said this was the worst athlete you have ever seen.
The MMA guys are okay, but in no way shape or form are they great athletes!
Posted at 7:36AM on Jan 13th 2008 by Patrick Trioli
15. UFC quit crying you sound like buckeye fans? Brock was the best college wrestler in the world at one time! Who nows he may also be a black belt of some kind. If he wins, me and many other fans will be proud of him!
Posted at 8:06AM on Jan 13th 2008 by gatorsrulz
16. brock is an animal! if he's been training with all those good mma guys then he has as good a chance as anyone.
Posted at 9:15AM on Jan 13th 2008 by tom
17. Patrick Trioli is a moron!!! How is Michael Jordan not a true athlete?
Posted at 10:21AM on Jan 13th 2008 by DAN
18. Great Point DAN, that guy is a moron. I bet Tori Hunter cant hit a free throw. Does that NOT make him an athlete? What idiots.
Posted at 10:37AM on Jan 13th 2008 by aaorn W
19. as silly as WWE is...Lesnar and Kurt Angle were GREAT at WRESTLING...in REAL LIFE, they both could hurt any "wrasler" in the WWE. but this is MMA...where someone has a great punch as well as takedown skills (aka Jackson, Liddell, Sylvia...even Mir). Can Lesnar take a punch if he doesnt put a man away on a takedown??
Posted at 10:58AM on Jan 13th 2008 by rick_s
20. I have no idea as to what the point of this article is supposed to be. I think this is a case of the author thinking way to hard.
The bottom line is that, MMA, UFC, WWE, NFL, etc. are all about entertainment. Brock Lesnar just happens to be a big name athelete and wants to try his hand in MMA. Its just another fight in the UFC.
Win or lose, I think true fans of MMA will keep watching.
Posted at 11:32AM on Jan 13th 2008 by Steviecool