Pressure to make UFC 300 May Make Promotion Desperate Enough to Bring Back Brock Lesnar
UFC CEO President Dana White may need to start hurling bricks through fight fans windows when announcing Brock Lesnar won’t be returning to fight. But when even his employees are fanning the flames, there isn’t much White can do about the rumors. UFC announcer and former middleweight champion Michael Bisping recently floated the idea of a return for Lesnar at UFC 300.
The interest has been accelerated because of the UFC’s practice of trying to load up the milestone “numbered cards.” The UFC’s numbered cards are typically pay-per-view events featuring championship fights and some of the promotion’s more popular fighters. With UFC 300, fight fans were hoping for the return of Conor McGregor. But former champions Ronda Rousey and Lesnar have also been mentioned a lot.
MMAfighting latest news shows that interest in Lesnar has continued despite the UFC’s constant denial of his return.
Lesnar Quickly Became Box Office Star
Lesnar’s first stint in the UFC was like a lightning bolt through the company. Not only was Lesnar a Division I NCAA wrestling champion, but he also became a star in professional wrestling, which only intensified his drawing power. Lesnar had one fight on the regional MMA scene in 2007 before being signed to the UFC.
Lesnar’s third fight in the company was with Randy Couture for the UFC heavyweight championship. Lesnar won by second-round TKO at UFC 91 and quickly became the biggest box-office draw in the company’s history. While McGregor would later eclipse Lesnar as the best pay-per-view seller in the promotion’s history, all of Lesnar’s fights became major events.
Lesnar’s rematch with Frank Mir in July 2009 at UFC 100 had 1.6 million pay-per-view buys. His fights with Shane Carwin, Cain Velásquez, and Couture all topped 1 million buys. But the UFC’s cash cow didn’t last forever.
Lesnar struggled with health issues and retired after losing back-to-back fights to Cain Velásquez and Alistair Overeem.
Lesnar Answered the Call Before
Bringing Lesnar back in July 2016 for UFC 200 was a major surprise. The announcement of the news, leaked out by Ariel Helwani, was the start of a white-hot feud between the reporter and White. When Lesnar stepped back in the octagon to fight Mark Hunt in Las Vegas, he hadn’t had a professional fight in nearly four and a half years.
Lesnar turned in a dominant performance against Hunt, utilizing his wrestling to hold him down over five rounds. It wasn’t a fairy tale ending for Lesnar, however. Lesnar’s drug test would come back as a failed sample, and he retired again soon after.
Uncertainty With Heavyweight Division Has Everyone Going Crazy
Bisping bringing up Lesnar’s return may be coming up because there isn’t a lot of exciting news to discuss surrounding the heavyweight division right now. Current champion Jon Jones has recently undergone two surgeries and will be out for at least eight months. The UFC is now stuck with how to move the division forward.
White doesn’t want to strip Jones of the title. There is a real desire for the UFC to fight Jones and former champion Stipe Miocic. They were supposed to fight last October, but it was postponed after Jones’ injury.
Tom Aspinall was crowned the interim champion, but the UFC doesn’t have him scheduled for a chance to defend the belt yet. Aspinall would like to fight Jones, but the two have been feuding on Twitter about whether Aspinall is a worthy challenger.
Filling Out a Busy Schedule
Lesnar typically avoids doing media, so it’s hard to know the former heavyweight champion’s thought process. He hasn’t faded from the spotlight totally. In 2021, Lesnar went back to the WWE for a second return. Lesnar, who is 46, now competes on both the Raw and Smackdown brands as a free agent.
While wrestling in the WWE isn’t comparable to MMA in the skillsets required to win fights, Lesnar isn’t sitting on his couch either. If an enticing offer was made that would bring him a big payday, Lesnar may be able to get back into training quickly.
Does UFC 300 Really Need Lesnar?
While it would be a nice symmetry to see Lesnar compete at UFC 100, 200, and 300, there is little other reason to bring him back. MMA has evolved since he retired. While Lesnar was an athletic freak who possessed seemingly God-given gifts, he was limited as a fighter.
Lesnar looked uncomfortable on his feet and needed to secure takedowns. If Lesnar couldn’t work his offensive wrestling into fights, he was cooked. In those days, however, if a fighter possessed one strong skill, they could get away with not being well-rounded.
So far, the UFC has only announced a handful of fights for UFC 300, which is set to take place at T-Mobile Arena on April 14. The main event was announced as a women’s strawweight bout between Chinese stars Weili Zhang and Yan Xianonan. The co-main event will be a battle between former light heavyweight champion Jiří Procházka and Aleksandar Rakić.
Two other former champions are on the card as well. Calvin Kattar will take on Aljamain Sterling as Sterling bumps up to featherweight. Former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira will look to defend his post in the rankings with a fight against Arman Tsarukyan.
There is also a rumor that there will be another battle between former champions Cody Garbrandt and Deiveson Figueiredo. But there’s something special about Lesnar. His look and intensity are hard to replicate.
Time to Close the Book
Many people will continue to clamor for Lesnar to return because of the brand name. But his time has passed. There is little chance Lesnar will want to step in against a much younger fighter for another brief shot at glory. MMA breaking news indicates it’s time for the promotion to go in another direction.
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