Brock Lesnar: Redefining the UFC Heavyweight Division

Brock Lesnar topped Shane Carwin at UFC 116 and appears to be facing Cain Velasquez at UFC 121

Since the first UFC event in 1993 many fighters have had a colossal impact on the perception that we as fans have of the sport. Dan Severn and Mark Coleman taught us early on how a pure, world class wrestler could grind Thai fighters and kick boxers into the mat, and Maurice Smith shocked us by proving that a champion kick boxer with a serious ground survival game could force wrestlers to stand. But Brock Lesnar’s impact on MMA may be the biggest yet, as immense as the man himself.

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Lesnar coming on the scene was like a knee to the skullcap. What Lesnar has done is literally redefine what heavyweight means. Because of Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, many analysts and fans see a need to eventually add a weight class around the 240 lb range, so the best fighters at that weight, who can’t cut to 205 and who can never compete with behemoth athletes like Lesnar and Carwin, have a place to showcase their skills.

For a couple of years I’ve been saying two things about Lesnar: he’s still learning so cut him slack on his pro wrestling brashness, and he still needs to prove himself. With his victory over Shane Carwin, and his humble, respectful speech in the Octagon afterwards, those thoughts have been erased. Right now he is the baddest man on the planet, and a great representative of the sport.

So what if Carwin manhandled Lesnar in the first round? GSP has been KO’ed, Penn has been TKO’ed and Anderson Silva has been submitted. Running the gauntlet that is the UFC means overcoming adversity. No one had ever come close to absorbing Carwin’s ham hock fists like Lesnar did. On top of that Lesnar had a submission to apply when the energy for ground and pound may not have been in him. Lesnar displayed a degree of athleticism, toughness and strategy many didn’t expect from such a staggeringly large fighter.

The greatest impact Lesnar has had on me, though, is realizing that after 17 years the UFC is still blowing us away with fighters who bring qualities to the octagon not seen before, and that this phenomenon isn’t likely to end any time soon. There is precedent in other sports. In the men’s 100m dash, all most people thought would happen is a few hundredths of a second would be shaved off in an Olympics here and a world championship there. Then Usain Bolt comes out of the blue like, well, like a bolt of lightening.

> Look to Pro Fighting Fans for the official UFC 121 fight card & results as well as the UFC 116 results online!

All MMA fighters want a belt, and want the UFC belt, but since Lesnar began training his bead on the belt has been like a fat kid’s on a pack of Smarties. As a result he’s become one of the most phenomenal athletes in the sport, redefining his weight class in the process. But as much of an impact as Brock Lesnar has had on the UFC and MMA, even bigger, faster and more astonishing specimens are sure to come. History has proven it.

By Renko Styranka
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer