Quote:
Originally Posted by Strange Famous
The heavyweight world champion is SUPPOSED to be the best in the world
Its a pretty clear statement that two serious fans of the sport dont agree and are happy to say "Lesner is just the heavyweight world champion, no one says he's the best in the world..."
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Why? Just because he happens to be the biggest?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Strange Famous
Its actually quite easy to understand why Lesner was a good athlete as a youth... I know a few people who had the same experience. He has always been big and strong, and as a 16, 17 year old he can use his strength to dominate bouts. Then when you get to senior sport, its a different story. Thats why he didnt become a pro, thats why he didnt make it as a footballer... instead he became an actor in WWF - my best guess (and I know he never failed a drug test in UFC) i that he juices up, gets bigger, gets a huge profile...he gets an offer from an emerging sport like MMA, manages to sneak past a couple of hand picked opponents and is given the belt... MMA gets a lot more publicity. And the first time Lesner fights a serious heavyweight fighter (like Fedor) he gets beaten up and the end of the stunt.
Then and only then will you be able to tell what sort of fighter he is, and whether he has the heart of a warrior.
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The reason he went to the WWE? Simple, money. Pro wrestling was huge at the time and Vince McMahon saw a monster that would dwarf even the biggest of guys in the WWE. MMA wasn't even on the radar at the time. Zuffa had just purchased the UFC and was trying to figure out how to sell it and shed the "human cockfighting" label that had been attached to the early UFCs. Long story short, there was zero money for Brock in the UFC and Vince is standing there with a big paycheck in the WWE.
Your best guess BTW couldn't be more wrong.
Yes his first fight was someone basically being fed to Brock. This wasn't in the UFC by the way. The rest of his opponents?
Frank Mir - BJJ Black Belt. Former UFC Heavyweight champion. First guy to beat Nogueira by anything other than decision.
Randy Couture - If you don't call Randy Couture a "serious heavyweight" I'd like to know who is. Winner of the UFC 13 tournament, 3 time Heavyweight champion.
Heath Herring - Least of Brock's UFC opponents but a long time gate keeper. Herring is never going to be a champion but he's hardly a can.