Cormier vs Lesnar: Right or Wrong

Cormier vs Lesnar: Right or Wrong:

It might not be the next fight for Daniel Cormier but it looks a certainty that early next year Cormier will square off against the WWE star and the former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. USADA will hold the fight up as Lesnar needs to be in the testing pool for 6 months which means Lesnar will not be able to compete until January at the earliest, so Cormier will probably have another fight before he faces Lesnar.

The big question arising from UFC 226 is, should Lesnar get an immediate shot at the UFC heavyweight title.

Lesnar hasn’t won a fight legitimately since he beat Shane Carwin in 2010 and is of course coming off a USADA suspension stemming from his fight with Mark Hunt at UFC 200.

Rankings should mean something and no win in 8 years and coming off a drugs ban and in a simple world of course Lesnar should not even be in the conversation to get an immediate title shot.

There are of course other contenders that have every right to feel aggrieved that they are being over looked for a title shot at the expense of Lesnar. The likes of Curtis Blaydes, Derrick Lewis and Alexander Volkov all are deserving of a title shot in that perfect world. They may not be big names or generate the required PPV numbers, but should that matter, it does of course but if you have rankings and you want them to be credible then they shouldn’t be ignored.

You could well argue with much justification that if Cormier wants the money fights,, then he should vacate his title/s. Would Cormier/Lesnar be any less of a fight without a title on the line, I would say no but a title on the line seems to be a requisite these days.

But we don’t live in a perfect world of course and with the likes of Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor not currently around and PPV numbers not at the level they used to be, Lesnar would give the UFC a much-needed boost in that department.

Lesnar was the first true crossover star the UFC had, he brought mainstream coverage and many of his WWE fanbase came over with him, and the UFC will hope he can have a similar impact again. I know some didn’t like the altercation after Cormier beat Miocic but it served its purpose, staged or not everyone is talking about it and the WWE heel promo added to the theatre. I personally didn’t have too much of a problem with it, as long as that sort of thing is kept to a minimum and if it gets more people talking about, reporting on or watching MMA then I’m fine with it.

The Lesnar show will be a short-lived ride and the UFC needs to push and promote more to create new stars and not rely on the old guard. But despite the problems around it on balance let Cormier and Lesnar do their thing title or no title, but the UFC needs to have more of an eye on the future going forward.