As He Rides Off Into Retirement, How Will the MMA World Remember Brock Lesnar?

http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/12/31/as-he-rides-off-into-retirement-how-will-the-mma-world-remember/

He came, he fought, he left. After a career that spanned just shy of 55 months and only eight fights, Brock Lesnar is calling it quits. So he says. So he declared after a TKO loss to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 on Friday night.

If he changes his mind once his body and his ego have both healed up, he won't be the first. But if the 34-year-old former UFC heavyweight champ really has strapped on his last pair of 4XL gloves, what does his departure mean for the UFC and the sport of MMA? How will we remember Lesnar once we don't have the former WWE star to kick around anymore?

For UFC president Dana White, the answer probably has at least a little something to do with dollars and cents. Despite his inexperience in the cage, Lesnar immediately became one of the top pay-per-view draws for the organization after signing on in 2007. Whether it was because fans wanted to see him win or desperately hoped to see him lose, he put butts in seats and money in the bank for the UFC. He may not have always been the easiest guy for the UFC brass to work with, but he was a dependable cash cow.

And now, just like that, he's gone.

"I had no idea he was going to do that," White told reporters at the post-fight press conference. "Am I surprised? No. Brock Lesnar's made a lot of money in his career and he's achieved a lot of things. Brock Lesnar came to me one night here at the MGM and pulled me aside and said, 'I want to fight in the UFC.' I laughed. He was 1-0, came from the WWE, and he brought a lot of excitement to the heavyweight division. What that man accomplished in a short amount of time with one [prior] fight is amazing. I get it. It doesn't shock me, but I didn't know."

For the man who could turn out to be Lesnar's final opponent, the news seemed to come as more of a surprise, and maybe even a bit of disappointment.

"I think he shouldn't walk away, because love him or hate him, it's always something when Brock's fighting," Overeem said. "...He's a guy who goes for it. I think he achieved a lot in a short span, and it would be a shame if he stops now."

And yet, the Lesnar who got battered and beaten by Overeem didn't seem to be one who was burning up with an unquenchable competitive fire. He fought a reactive fight -- one devoid of the raw aggression he'd displayed in his earlier bouts. He never committed to getting Overeem to the mat, and a few well placed body shots sent him scurrying for cover. When Overeem whipped his shin across Lesnar's midsection, that was all it took to convince the former NCAA wrestling champ that it was time to cover up and go home, perhaps for the last time.

What does that ignominious end mean for Lesnar's legacy? Odds are it will only solidify the oft-repeated criticism that he never really got comfortable with being hit. When Lesnar was on offense, he was a juggernaut that mowed down everything in his path. But when an opponent managed to turn the tables he tended to shy away from the blows, going from attack mode to full retreat in a few seconds.

Some of that can be attributed to inexperience. After a pro debut against the thoroughly forgettable Min-Soo Kim, the bulk of Lesnar's MMA education took place on the job. He fought many of the best heavyweights around without the benefit of a gradual build-up or even much cage time in which to get comfortable. He was a star from the very beginning, and he was held to an almost impossibly high standard. He was also paid accordingly, making his relatively short stint in the UFC a highly profitable one.

But if he really is done with the sport, will Lesnar be remembered as a great heavyweight, or simply a memorable one? There's no denying his star-power, but did he accomplish enough to be known as anything more than a lightning rod with incredible athletic ability and raw physical potential?

It's difficult to say, in part because it's hard not to wonder what he might have accomplished had he not been laid low by diverticulitis at the height of his career. Instead of challenging Junior dos Santos earlier this year, Lesnar had to go under the knife to have 12 inches of his colon removed. It might not have had any bearing on his fight with Overeem, but his health struggles almost certainly influenced his decision to hang up the gloves when he did, and deprived him of precious time to carve out more of a fighting legacy for himself.

Lesnar was a man who came to MMA relatively late in life and now seems intent on leaving early. He was memorable, even if he fell short of true athletic greatness, and he brought mainstream attention to the sport at an important time in MMA's evolution.

Maybe when we look back on his brief career, that's what we'll remember most. Not that he dominated or even that he stuck around long enough to find out what he was fully capable of, but that he did a lot in a very little time, and he left the sport in better condition than he found it. Maybe that's enough for him to feel satisfied in retirement. Maybe it has to be. And sure, maybe all the money he made in the process doesn't hurt either.

I will remember him as a man with a ton of potential who's career was derailed by injuries. He was very good but couldnt get over the hump against the elite. He helped the sport grow and changed the HW division at least partly. I for one will miss Brock Lesnar.

MMA is soo much better without him, I'm so happy that he's retired!

How will I remember him? As a athletically talented fake wrestling personality that saw a way to make a bunch of money selling his character to another sport.

How is it so much better without him?

I'm sorry I meant to put imo. I just never liked the idea of him fighting in mma, never liked him period lol

I think that he was great for the sport in that he helped bring in new fans and make it grow. Look where the UFC and the Heavyweight division was before his arrival and after.

Before his tirade at UFC 100, I thought he was great for the sport, amd his talent and work ethic would take him far, when he thought he was bigger then the sport I wanted him to lose every fight, when Reem hit him with that kick I told him his run is over. I give him props for trying to come back, but in the end I think his two bouts with divers took too much from him.

As the biggest PPV draw MMA and one of the biggest draws all sports have seen with a couple really good performances but not enough to truly make him stand out as one of the best HW of all time in the cage obviously, especially considering he was one dimensional and really spent 11 of the last 12 minutes of his career getting straight mauled by fighters either more rounded than he was or the guys he was not significantly bigger than. His biggest win is over a guy he also lost to. It just does not add up.

I do agree that injuries did play a big factor, but i don't feel Brock was on his way to a reign of terror. He was still limited skill wise, his wrestling was never as dominant as people tried to make it seem and he would have still ran into the same problems with guys like Cain, Carwin and Uber.

So, huge draw and a few very memorable performances against good fighters in Mir, Herring, and Couture. Carwin was a good win but that was a awful and telling performance from him and we all knew Carwin engine blew up in between rounds. It was amazing that after his fight with Carwin people made it seem like he was more dominant than ever and all i thought is that Brock was not going to be champion for very much longer.

He'll always be a stand out in MMA history and he'll be considered a strong HW but compare that verdict to what people were expecting 2 years ago.

I think his overall impact on the sport was positive and helped make the UFC/MMA mainstream.

guy would of been dominant in the sport 6/7 years ago bu as evolution has come by, just lije chuck, guy wouldnt compete against the top 5 of his division. Not bad for a former pro wrestler who only did this for 4 years of his career witn 3 wins over top 5 comp wich is more than most hws can say about their entire career. Good run. Had ne been 22 right after college with the skill/stregnth he had skys would of been the limit but just like other fighters who wer champs in 2008, brock wont ever be at his weight class again

Pretty spot on by Rockhold

http://www.mmamania.com/2012/1/5/2685295/ufc-141-brock-lesnar-retired-alistair-overeem-wwe

Luke Rockhold wrote:

"I think he was just playing a role. I saw right through him. His confidence looked very ... it didn't appear real. Did you see him singing the rap country? When he started rapping along to the country song I was like ' what the hell is this guy doing?' I almost saw his lip quivering as he was walking into the cage. He just looked like he was playing a role. He was kind of believing his own hype that people were putting in his ear. I saw true confidence out of Overeem and a true fighter. Lesnar's what I thought. All the media and all you guys had Lesnar taking it. The fighters had Overeem. I think he brought a whole new audience to the sport. So I can't exactly say it's a negative. People really need to see who the true fighters are. Lesnar's not the best in the world. He just got the right matchups and the right fights."

Rockhold is gonna catch a shitstorm but he's not that far off.

The other UFC HW's had Lesnar...Mir endorsed Lesnar, JDS endorsed Lesnar, Carwin endorsed Lesnar, and Cain endorsed Lesnar...but i think it had more to do with him being the UFC guy while Overeem was the SF guy who never been tested by the big bad UFC HW's like Brock Lesnar. Lesnar was the huge win in the UFC for Cain who turned out to be the huge win for JDS. Turns out Werdum was much more competitive fight for Overeem than Lesnar was.

wether werdum was a competative match for reem or not he he sure wasnt for an uneperience(octogon/bigstage wise) jds. In the end like most insiders/writers and pros believe lesnar last friday was not the lesnar of 2 years ago. Jds vs reem should be good though. Also cant wait to see cormier(a non ufc guy yet) tear through barnett and eventually get a title shot at dec next year.