Credit: NY POST
UFC 81: Is Lesnar Worth The Hype?
Former WWE star Brock Lesnar makes his UFC debut on Feb. 2, headling a pay-per-view event in only his second MMA bout.
By GEORGE WILLIS
There are critics who suggest mixed martial arts, and particularly the UFC, is an unscripted version of the WWE, meaning the product is more show than substance. The emergence of Brock Lesnar adds to that argument.
Lesnar, a former superstar in the WWE, will headline UFC 81 on Feb. 2 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Lesnar, with just one professional mixed martial arts bout, will face former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir in a pay-per-view event.
There’s little doubt Lesnar wouldn’t be headlining a UFC card so early in his MMA career if not for his popularity in the WWE. The former NCAA wrestling champion won the WWE heavyweight championship and had feuds with such notables as Hulk Hogan, The Rock, and Kurt Angle. He left the WWE in 2004, tried out but was cut from the Minnesota Vikings and wrestled in Japan before deciding to get serious about mixed martial arts.
His first pro MMA fight was last June when Lesnar defeated Choi Hong-man of Korea by submission on strikes in under two minutes. In October, it was announced he reached a deal with the UFC.
You can’t blame UFC president Dana White for signing Lesnar, but what other than his name makes him worthy of fighting a former heavyweight champion in a main event?
“Dana wouldn’t have signed me to a deal if the organization didn’t have any confidence in me,” said the 6-3, 265-pound Lesnar. “This is the road to becoming the UFC heavyweight champion. I’m confident in my trainers and my training partners and we’re going to go out there and try to win this fight.”
Lesnar said he has been training in MMA for two years and is ready to take on the sport’s best. “Pro wrestling is pure entertainment,” Lesnar said. “We know the outcomes of the bouts. This is the real deal. There’s going to be a lot of people watching to see how I make the transition against a credible fighter. I’m blessed to be a fighter in the UFC. It’s one fight at a time and hopefully things will fall into place.”
Mir (9-3) is no weakling have broken Tim Sylvia’s forearm during a submission in 2004 to win the UFC heavyweight title. A serious motorcycle accident, however, sidelined him for almost two years. But last August at UFC 74, Mir submitted Antoni Hardonk in 77 seconds to put him back in title contention.
White summoned up the curiosity surrounding the match-up: “The question is can Brock Lesnar really fight?”
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