Junior Dos Santos vs. Brock Lesnar

Say what you want about Brock Lesnar(5-2), but you have to admire his willingness to step up to the challenge, as he will face Junior Dos Santos(12-1) at UFC 131 according to MMAweekly.

7th ranked Brock Lesnar is the most hated man in all of mixed martial arts. Primarily because he didn’t start his career in MMA. Lesnar came from the world of professional wrestling, something that is frowned upon by most MMA fans. Lesnar always had the wrestling chops to be a force in mixed martial arts, but coming out of college and needing money, WWE could provide a much safer and richer way of living than MMA could at the time. Years later, Lesnar decided to leave WWE because of the travel schedule, and ended up trying out for the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings. Lesnar made the initial round of cuts, and was highly encouraged to develop his skills in NFL Europe, but Lesnar instead chose to try his hand at mixed martial arts. Lesnar fought one time, and then was signed to a contract with the UFC. Lesnar’s salary forced the UFC into putting him directly in with the big boys of the heavyweight division. After a shaky start, Lesnar ran off a 4-fight win streak over respectable competition: Shane Carwin, Frank Mir, Randy Couture, and Heath Herring. Lesnar was raking in dollars for the UFC as their PPV star due to his crossover WWE appeal, but that all came to an end when Lesnar met Cain Velasquez at UFC 121. Velasquez ended the Lesnar-era for all intensive purposes, as Lesnar’s unwillingness to take a punch was exposed once again. Lesnar immediately left back to his rural lifestyle and seemed to be off the UFC’s radar for the last few months, but somehow, someway, Dana White has convinced Lesnar to except this fight with Dos Santos and more surprisingly coach The Ultimate Fighter 13.

Junior Dos Santos'(ranked 3rd) viability as a pay-per-view headliner was tenuous at best, now with an upcoming fight with Lesnar and coaching duties at TUF 13, “Cigano” is going mainstream. Dos Santos is every bit the striker, that Lesnar is a wrestler. His takedown defense is superb and he’s literally run through all competition since he stunned the MMA world with his 1st round knockout of Fabricio Werdum. Dos Santos was set to face Cain Velasquez for the UFC heavyweight title, but with Velasquez on the shelf due to a rotator cuff injury, he likely jumped at the opportunity to face Lesnar.

This is perfect matchmaking for the UFC. Dos Santos was not an established pay-per-view star amongst mainstream fans, and now Lesnar will solve that problem for him. Plain and simple, Lesnar cannot take a punch, and Dos Santos is as heavy-handed as they come. Lesnar will clearly be the best wrestler Dos Santos has ever faced, but after Lesnar’s last two fights have shown, he withers under the pressure of getting hit and his wrestling almost becomes a non-factor. I think Lesnar is a fairly decent bet as an underdog, but only if he is able to take Dos Santos down within the first minute of the fight and finish him there quickly, otherwise once he feels Dos Santos’ power, it’s all over.