Issue 028

August 2007

Many fight fans initially ridiculed former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star Brock Lesnar’s entry into the world of mixed martial arts (MMA). The general attitude seemed to be that here was just another fake pro wrestler, all jacked up on steroids and his own hype, setting himself up for a rude and very painful awakening in a proper sport. Understandable as that was, after so many years of pro wrestlers trying their hand at MMA and getting hammered, it was always severely misguided.  

The likes of Sean O’ Haire suffering a quick KO defeat to Eric ‘Butterbean’ Esch last October in the US debut of Pride; the late ‘Bam Bam’ Bigelow’s absolute mauling at the hands of early UFC star Kimo a decade earlier and Japanese star Yuji Nagata’s rapid losses to Mirko Cro Cop and Fedor Emelianenko in 2001 and 2003: all did nothing for the reputation of pro wrestlers in genuine combat. So many have tried and failed that simply reeling off a list of the pro wrestlers who have embarrassed themselves in real fights would take up the rest of this article.

But plenty of others who started out as ‘fake fighters’ made a fine transition to the real thing. Take Ken Shamrock; or Japanese legends Masakatsu Funaki and Kazushi Sakuraba; or Dan Severn; or current Japanese stars Kazuyuki Fujita and Kiyoshi Tamura; all were pro wrestlers before embarking on successful (sometimes legendary) fighting careers. A few years from now the 29-year-old Lesnar’s name may well be added to that list. It took him less than a minute and a half to take down, pass into full mount and bludgeon a submission out of 1996 Olympic judo silver medallist Kim Min Soo in the K-1 ‘Dynamite USA!!’ main event on June 2nd. The first (and only) fight of his K-1 contract, Lesnar is, at the time of writing, a free agent and one every major MMA promotion should be trying to lock into a long term deal. But why? And why all this fuss over a man with just one fight to his name?

For starters, Lesnar has superb amateur wrestling credentials, among the best of any currently active fighter. A four-time All-American, the 2000 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion and runner-up in 1999, he amassed a superb freestyle record of 106-5. A genuinely world-class athlete, standing 6’3” and weighing some 265 pounds, he’s blessed with immense physical speed and strength for a man of his size. He also has a track record of picking things up very quickly and, when motivated, having a great work ethic. Very few men of comparable size who didn’t grow up as pro wrestling fans become such good ‘workers’ as Lesnar has. Not content to get by on his sheer size and monstrous physique, Lesnar continually improved his pro wrestling skills and by the time he turned his back on WWE in early 2004, Lesnar was well on his way to becoming an all-time great.  

Lesnar famously left pro wrestling to pursue his National Football League (NFL) pipedream and, despite failing to make the final Minnesota Vikings squad, came preposterously close. With no college football experience at all, several years older than every other rookie trying to make it and with lingering injuries from pro wrestling, the odds against him were enormous. And Lesnar still made the pre-season team before being cut, partially due to injuries and partially because of his somewhat uncontrolled, over-aggressive conduct on the field. Clearly, Lesnar shouldn’t be too timid or gentle for success in MMA.

Signed up by K-1 last spring, Lesnar was given a regular salary and plenty of time to train. A short stint at the Miletich camp was followed by several months working with the University of Minnesota wrestling team, and learning striking and submissions under the well-respected Greg Nelson at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, home to UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk.  

K-1 bungled the promotion of the hubristic ‘Dynamite USA!!’ but a properly marketed Lesnar could be a massive star. Plenty of questions remain unanswered. Can he take a punch? Will he continue to improve? Will impatient promoters rush him into big matches too soon? Will he maintain his enthusiasm for the sport? He picked up pro wrestling brilliantly and came far closer to achieving his NFL dream than he should have: is it really so inconceivable he’ll make a similarly successful transition to the world of MMA?  

Early in his pro wrestling career Lesnar was labelled the ‘Next Big Thing’. It may be time for Lesnar to risk some legal letters and dust off that nickname once again.