EA Sports has finally confirmed the fourth and final MMA fighter for the Legends downloadable content pack for EA Sports UFC. The fourth fighter for the DLC pack is none other than former UFC champion, “The Next Big Thing” Brock Lesnar. I was surprised and happy to see Brock Lesnar make it into the game. However, I am not sure if he should qualify as an MMA Legend. Brock Lesnar made a big impact in the sport in a very brief time, but his tenure in the sport was short-lived. One can argue that Lesnar is an MMA Legend, but I believe the label of “Legend” is a bit of a stretch for MMA.
Brock Lesnar made his MMA debut in 2007, defeating Min-Soo Kim by knockout. at Dynamite!! USA. Lesnar had transitioned to fighting after a career in pro wrestling that saw him make it to the top of the mountain in the WWE. In a short amount of time, Lesnar was a multiple time WWE world champion. However, he opted to leave the sport because he was not happy with the business and wanted to pursue a lifelong dream of playing for the NFL and his home team of the Minnesota Vikings. Lesnar was eventually cut, and he went back to pro wrestling for a while. Lesnar performed for New Japan Pro Wrestling and Inoki Genome Federation in Japan. He was even the top champion in Japan as the IWGP heavyweight champion. Lesnar then decided to pursue a career in MMA. After winning his first fight, he made a deal with the UFC to fight for the No. 1 MMA promotion in the world.
Lesnar had a bit of a rocky start in his UFC run when he lost to Frank Mir. Lesnar had more success in his later UFC outings. In Lesnar’s next fight, he dominated Heath Herring. After that, UFC opted to give Lesnar a UFC heavyweight title shot against reigning champion Randy Couture, who had just negotiated a return to the UFC after a lengthy layoff and contract dispute. With a record of just 3-1 in MMA, Lesnar was already the UFC heavyweight champion. For his subsequent fight, Lesnar faced interim heavyweight champion Frank Mir in a rematch from their earlier fight. The fight headlined UFC 100 in 2009, and it was one of UFC’s highest-selling pay-per-view events to date. Lesnar absolutely dominated and beat up Mir in the rematch. For his next fight, Lesnar put away the undefeated Shane Carwin. Lesnar then lost the UFC title to Cain Velasquez. However, Lesnar was suffering from some health issues in the form of diverticulitis. Lesnar was never the same after the illness, and many suspect that the diverticulitis severely limited his MMA career. In his last UFC fight, Lesnar was knocked out in the first round by Alistair Overeem at UFC 141. Lesnar promptly retired after the loss.
Regardless of whether or not Lesnar should truly be an MMA legend, I am happy to see he is in the game. Lesnar was a legitimate UFC heavyweight champion. He won the belt and defended it twice, so he tied the record for most UFC heavyweight title defenses. Even Cain Velasquez has yet to break that record. He is a former champion, but his MMA record only came out to be 5-4. Still, during his short time in the sport, Lesnar managed to accomplish more than many fighters ever will during their entire fight careers. Not to mention, Lesnar had a legitimate athletic background as an NCAA Division I wrestling champion. It will be great to play as Lesnar in a UFC game again.
Yeah Brock is a MMA Legend for sure and so is a Wrestling Legend