The Wrestling Genius: Lesnar pulls off unusual feat
So Brock Lesnar made some history over the weekend as he became the first person to be the WWE and a UFC Champion. Congratulations to Lesnar on handling his business and TKO’ing the MMA legend Randy Couture.
But, with this said, I have some words of caution for UFC president Dana White and the entire UFC: The Lesnar win hurts the organization’s credibility.
Shocking? Not really — Lesnar made his name as a professional wrestler. The WWE is not competition. The UFC has done a good job of marketing Lesnar, but they have done so off of his professional wrestling pedigree. I hardly saw mention of his NCAA Heavyweight Championship in the leading months of the fight.
There is a significant group of people that feel that MMA is as real as professional wrestling. I am not one of those for the record, but they do exist. This, along with the revelations around Kimbo Slice’s loss to Seth Petruzelli, could hurt a growing sport.
My professional wrestling trainer, a decent actual fighter in his own right, took up training MMA fighters after his days in professional wrestling were over. The small promoters actually wanted him to have his fighters use characters in their matches and promotions for fight cards. It is this kind of thing that hurts a legitimate sport and if it were used at higher levels would be a killer blow to MMA.
Also, the WWE taking a shot at the UFC was a grade-school move. If one is to congratulate a fighter on winning a prize, then simply do so.
Taking my own advice, again, congratulations to Brock Lesnar. You truly earned your belts in both companies!
Linn County (Mo.) Leader
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