As you have surely heard by now, UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will be returning to the cage shortly after his health scare.  But is this a good thing?  Obviously from a health standpoint it is - we don't ever want to see someone in pain or ill, so good for Lesnar that he is on the road to recovery.  But is his return good for the sport of MMA?

 Most people's immediate reaction to this question would be "of course it is you idiot" (or perhaps they'd use a stronger word than "idiot").  Just the fact that Lesnar is returning was a huge media story, with the UFC even landing a live interview on ESPN's Sportscenter.  Plus Lesnar is a proven PPV commodity - the buyrates soar when he is on a card.  But is Lesnar the best public face for the UFC and MMA in general?  This question doesn't (or at least, shouldn't) bring an immediate positive answer.

First of all, Lesnar is a scary looking dude.  And, yes, looks do matter when you are trying to get your sport into the mainstream.  Plus he tends to come across as rude, arrogant, disrespectful and offensive.  Add in his tattooed, muscled body and his tendency to talk about drinking beer and you've got yourself the textbook, stereotypical MMA fighter.  Plus he is media shy and abhors doing interviews or letting out any personal information.  If MMA is to become the most popular sport in the world in the next decade as Dana White predicts (which it has absolutely no chance in becoming), the sport needs to pull in the casual sports fan.  Lesnar personality seems more likely to push away the average guy/girl on the street rather than bring them into the fold.

And that isn't even mentioning his style inside the cage.  Lesnar is so fast and strong that he is virtually unbeatable right now, and that is only going to get worse as he gains more experience and adds more tools to his toolbox.  Plus his fight style is about as boring and primitive as it comes.  He overpowers his opponent onto the mat, pins him down and proceeds to ground and pound him into oblivion.  While that might be interesting to hardcore fans of the sport, it isn't an exciting style for the casual fan.  And when you include the fact that there really is no legit challenger to him right now, where is the excitement in watching Lesnar fight?  After you've seen what he does a few times, the thrill will be gone.

So while it is good news for Brock and his family that he is healthy again, it might not be good news for the sport of MMA - atleast not in the longterm.  But, then again, the current face of the sport, Dana White, is rude, obscene and combatitive, so Lesnar fits right in!

Comments (0)

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

Add Comment