Following the initial excitement that came with the news that Brock Lesnar has been added to an already-stacked UFC 200 card, there has been a universal sense of “oh, really?” about the fact the WWE star will be facing the intimidating Mark Hunt in his first MMA fight in over four-and-a-half years. The former UFC heavyweight champion returned to the world of sports entertainment at the end of 2011 after suffering back-to-back losses to Cain Velasquez and then Alistair Overeem – although there has always been a feeling among some that Lesnar would one day return to the Octagon.
While Conor McGregor has gone some way to filling the pay-per-view void left by Lesnar, the addition of the former heavyweight champion to UFC 200 on July 9 should more than make up for the loss of the Irishman from the event. After taking the decision to leave the WWE in 2004 and try his hand at MMA, Lesnar went on to rebound from a submission loss to Frank Mir at UFC 81 to establish himself as the organisation’s biggest draw, beating Randy Couture to clinch the heavyweight title before avenging his loss to Mir in his first defence.
It wasn’t long before Lesnar began to show the effects of diverticulitis, and after unifying the heavyweight title by beating Shane Carwin, both Velasquez and Overeem sent the former champion packing back to the WWE with first-round victories over a man previously viewed as more myth than man. Now fully healthy, Lesnar, the UFC and the WWE have shocked the world by announcing one of the biggest names in the history of both organisations will fight again. The question now is whether or not this will be a one-and-done deal for Lesnar, or whether the former champion is back for good and ready to make a charge at the title.
While Lesnar’s return came as a massive shock, it’s probably fair to say the news that he would be facing Mark Hunt was almost equally as surprising. While the New Zealander is now 42-years old and boasting a relatively modest MMA record of 12-10 with one draw – there isn’t a fighter out there whose record doesn’t tell the story quite like that of Hunt’s. One of the hardest hitters to have ever entered the Octagon, Hunt has mixed it with the best over the past five years, beating more than his fair share, almost all via way of a ruthless walk-off knockout – and the Kiwi will start the fight priced at 10/17 with the latest UFC odds.
One area Hunt has struggled in when a fight gets to the floor, and with a stellar collegiate wrestling background, Lesnar certainly has all the tools to take his opponent down and ground and pound his way to the win. If he does beat Hunt, Lesnar would have a serious question to ask himself: does he want to go for UFC gold? WWE maintained in a UFC 200 statement, which you can read below, that Lesnar returning to UFC will be a “one off” deal, and Lesnar does remain under contract with WWE:
Brock Lesnar remains under contract to WWE, however, he has been granted a one-off opportunity to compete at UFC 200. Following this milestone event on July 9, Brock will return to WWE for SummerSlam on Sunday, August 21, live on WWE Network.
But while Hunt isn’t a number-one contender – he definitely isn’t a million miles away from it, and a win over the Super Samoan may well be enough to convince the UFC to hand Lesnar a post-WWE shot at reclaiming the heavyweight crown and cementing his legacy in the Octagon.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
