Brock Lesnar’s debut in the UFC has brought about a question that has been asked by mixed martial arts fans for some time now. Can a professional wrestler transition from an entertainment-based wrestling promotion to a real life, in-your-face martial arts promotion in which fights are battle in an eight-sided cage and a fight can be ended by a breakage? It’s the sole question that drives the UFC to create this fight, sign Lesnar to a contract, and to see if the wrestling fanbase will tune in and watch the matchup as well. It’s an interest in numbers from a business standpoint.
From a mixed martial arts fan’s standpoint, the question doesn’t add dollar signs to the equation. Instead, it offers something that many fans haven’t seen before. A very large, intimidating, muscle-ridden wrestling monster against a black belt in jiu-jitsu with much more experience than his opponent is the matchup that is being advertised. It’s reminiscent of Gracie vs. Severn, but without the ridiculous weight difference. Mir vs. Lesnar will prove to be our modern day comparison in a smaller capacity.
The more important question is whether or not Brock Lesnar can actually win this fight. The entire MMA community seems to be split down the middle on this one. One half says that Lesnar will simply crush Mir from the top, and the other half says that Mir will transition to a submission to win the fight. In order to get a good grasp at what Brock needs to do in order to win; we can look historically at successful wrestlers in mixed martial arts.
Historical numbers
Fortunately for us, Dave Meltzer over at Yahoo! Sports dug up the dirt on the wrestling elite that have made their way into mixed martial arts. Most notably, he names off Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, “Rampage” Jackson, Dan Henderson, Matt Hughes, and Josh Koscheck along with a slew of other names as high level amateur wrestlers who made the transition to MMA.
The two key factors in the successful reigns of some of the sport’s elite wrestlers have been some great strategizing and the evolution of their own skillsets beyond wrestling. Couture is a master at creating gameplans that counter the exact set of skills his opponent will use. He doesn’t wait to be stuck in his opponent’s own game, but instead imposes his own gameplan on his opponent.
Other fighters have simply improved their other skills so much over time that their wrestling has become their defensive weapon. Chuck Liddell’s primary weapons are his fists, and he uses a counter-striking tactic that isn’t seen in wrestling ground and pound fighters too often. He does, however, use his wrestling ability to stuff takedowns and get himself out of jams, and did use his takedown abilities to stop Wanderlei Silva from mounting an offensive late in their matchup at UFC 79.
The main point here is that a good gameplan and a strong skillset are ideal for a wrestler in mixed martial arts. Wrestling is known as the easiest combative sport to transition from into MMA because its base skills are significantly useful to fighters in the sport. It’s an advantage. The problem is that many wrestlers who have gone on to be defeated in the cage haven’t taken the time to improve their other skills. Some wrestlers hit the Octagon without any striking training, and simply think they can takedown their opponents and thrash them. We know from experience that this doesn’t necessarily mean victory. Lesnar’s other skills will definitely make or break him in this fight.
The rumors
Lesnar’s other skills have been on display at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, the home of Sean Sherk, Nick Thompson, and even the newest addition to the women’s division Kaitlin Young. Young is an up-and-coming force in the women’s division, and will be featured at BodogFIGHT this coming Friday night. She also happens to be a good source of information regarding Brock Lesnar:
"I think it's funny," she says, "because you see on the internet that everyone is like 'he's just a wrestler, blah, blah, blah', but people are going to be very surprised at how well all the other elements of his game are coming along. They're grossly underestimating him. He's in there firing away at the pads and he's fast. His kicks bring [trainer] Greg [Nelson] right up off the ground, and sparring he looks really good too."
If this is true, it seems that Lesnar’s standup will be decent and he’ll have other offensive weapons to pick from. It’s also a good sign that he is seriously considering making a run for fame in the UFC.
Transitional MMA and Frank Mir
How can Mir counter the wrestler in Lesnar? Transitional MMA is his weapon.
In the past, wrestlers have had a distinct advantage at pounding opponents while in top control. Unless they were surprised by a submission attempt that they were unable to power out of, it was certain they would either win the fight by a decision or put their opponent out cold at some point in the fight. As the sport has evolved, we are now seeing fighters emerging from the dust with other skills that are beneficial to defeating wrestlers.
The most intimidating skill to the classic wrestler is the transition game. The exact skills a fighter possesses that embody the transition game would be speed and flexibility. Classic wrestlers like Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, and even Randy Couture have all been defeated by a quicker, more flexible transition game of their opponent. If an opponent can move from full guard to an armbar position in a half second, the payoff can lead to a win, it’s that simple.
Classic examples would be Mark Coleman’s fights with Fedor Emelianenko. Coleman was in top control trying to beat down on Fedor. Fedor transitioned to an armbar like lightning, and ended both fights fairly easily. Couture lost to Enson Inoue back in ’98 in a nearly identical manner, but has since evolved his MMA skills to counter such submissions. Again, evolution of a skillset is a major factor.
The question
So, I suppose the question is… has Brock Lesnar’s skillset evolved enough to counter a good transition game from Frank Mir? To be honest, Frank Mir doesn’t possess a quick transition game in his arsenal, but Lesnar may not have the experience to recognize certain holds or attempts. Lesnar’s gameplan in this fight will probably be fairly predictable. Get on top of Mir and crush him. It’s up to Mir to counter that problem.
If Lesnar improved his skillset and uses some good gameplans against opponents, he could be a force in the division. His physical attributes only heighten that possibility. Mir has an out though, and it lies in how quickly he can surprise Lesnar with a submission attempt. Will Lesnar become a wrestler who has the ability to be a hybrid fighter with multiple skills to pull from, or will he be the typical wrestler who hasn’t evolved and be beaten? We’ll find out Saturday.