Brock Lesnar & the UFC...the dawn of a new era?
Everyone can see him now. Brock Lesnar handled Randy Couture in UFC 91. No disrespect intended but even Stevie Wonder saw that. I saw more than a changing of the guard, possibly something more important.
Have we entered the era of the athletic, big big-man? I'm referring to the athlete that can make the 265 lb. weight limit but come fight night is more like 275 or 280. The freak of nature that is quick, agile and overwhelmingly powerful.
The fans will say-'just get the big man into the later rounds, the deep water, and drown him as he tires'. I hear you...'gas the big man'. Sounds great. But can/will a smaller challenger survive/endure the 'wade through Hell' for a round or two to get him there?
As the NFL has proven, athletes evolve. Natural selection has made 265 lb. athletic football players common place. NFL big men are truly amazing athletes and continue to grow bigger, quicker and stronger. Why will the same phenomenon not transpire in MMA?
Imagine if the New England Patriot's LB Adalius Thomas (6'2"...270 lbs) or the Dallas Cowboy's LB Demarcus Ware (6'2"...262 lbs.) had been a collegiate wrestler? As MMA grows in mainstream popularity that day and athlete is coming.
UFC 91 may have shown the world it's already here.
We've seen these big guys before: Too Tall Jones, Bob Sapp, even Primo Carnera. And the great small guys: Joe Louis, Mike Tyson, even Hank Armstrong. I don't think Lesnar is athletic enough, simply on the basis of beating an old guy like Couture, to be "great" just yet. MMA is going through some growing pains and changing of the guard. Just my opinion, but I think they are at the point where they will either flower into something timeless and relevant (like Thai boxing), or degenerate into a wrestling show or boxing-type chaos.....
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