8 Intriguing Implications Of Brock Lesnar At UFC 200

After a solid week of rumours, UFC confirmed last night in fine style that Brock Lesnar is back in the octagon for UFC200. Well… for one night only.

Confused? You’ve a right to be. In March 2015, Lesnar teased the world by weighing up a WWE versus UFC contract, before re-signing with WWE to continue his ‘special attraction’ pro wrestling career, saying that WWE’s offer was simply too good to pass up… and that his MMA career was well and truly over.

Fast forward fifteen months or so, and WWE have “granted him a one-off opportunity” to compete at the biggest event in UFC history, UFC200 on July 9th. The official press release made sure to mention that Lesnar would return to WWE in time for SummerSlam on August 21st.

There’s a lot to unpack in those sparse sentences, and in what they mean for UFC200, Lesnar himself, and both companies going forward.

For a little while, it almost seemed as though it might not happen after all. Reports suggested that Lesnar - a man prone to throwing hissy fits - was furious that the news was leaked early, so UFC, in panic, removed all references to Lesnar at UFC200 from their US website and their Twitter account. 

However, it's confirmed: the match is on. With that in mind, let’s look at some of the implications that spring from this decision going forward...

We’ll start with the most obvious one first: Brock Lesnar is still contracted with WWE, and out of the limited appearances on his ‘special attraction’ schedule, one was always going to be at SummerSlam, still the company’s second biggest pay-per-view.

That’s eleven weeks away, so clearly there are no storylines in play or opponents in place as yet. However, the big question is whether a nearly thirty-nine year old Lesnar can compete in mixed martial arts at this kind of level without getting hurt.

Diverticulitis badly affected his last few fights for UFC before he made the decision to move on, but Lesnar appears to have fully recovered from that condition now. However, for a while there were some vicious names being thrown into the hat to face him, including Shane Carwin (who gave Lesnar serious trouble at UFC116) and the legendary Fedor Emilianenko, who many call the greatest heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter of all time.

Both of those men have the kind of heavy hands (and feet) that could drop Lesnar in his tracks, but today it was announced that Lesnar's opponent will be Kiwi striking phenomenon Mark Hunt, one of the few men that's a dead cert to be able to knock Lesnar out. It's wrestler versus striker: Lesnar's a little younger and a few inches taller, but Hunt's fearsome reputation precedes him. Nine of the twelve MMA fights he's won were by knockout, and (whether fairly or not) Lesnar is notorious for becoming overwhelmed by strong punches to the face.

Lesnar’s been training for this since just before WrestleMania last April… but is that going to be long enough? His last fight was in December 2011. When you’re a man of Lesnar’s heavy frame, being in shape for a top level MMA fight is significantly different from being in shape for a professional wrestling match. Muscle mass and definition is important for The Beast Incarnate’s look, but Brock Lesnar, former UFC heavyweight champion, needs to be flexible and able to move quickly.

SummerSlam is six weeks after UFC200. WWE are taking a risk assuming that their Beast Incarnate is going to be in ring shape - but even if he’s physically fit to wrestle by SummerSlam, there’s another consideration.

What if he loses?

If Lesnar fails to put Hunt away, it’ll be around the world in seconds that the feared Brock Lesnar doesn’t have it anymore: that he has no medical excuses left, and no capital to declare himself the baddest man alive any longer. WWE have spent considerable time and credibility shoring up Lesnar’s aura as an invincible monster. Will he still have that aura if he’s beaten at UFC200 by a smaller, older man?