ShareThisThe line separating pro wrestling and mixed martial arts continues to blur.
While the former is what Vince McMahon coined "sports entertainment" and the latter is legitimate fighting, the crossover and similarities between the two are growing. The latest examples involve two of McMahon's former World Wrestling Entertainment charges: Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley.
Lesnar recently retained the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight crown by defeating Frank Mir in Las Vegas. The show was wildly successful, with "UFC 100" drawing more pay-per-view orders (a reported 1.7 million) than any pro-wrestling show in history. Some of the interest can be attributed to the legion of fans Lesnar built during his WWE stint from 2002 to 2004.
But even though he's atop the UFC, Lesnar isn't considered the world's top heavyweight. That honor belongs to Fedor Emelianenko, a Russian terror who sports a 30-1 record in a decade of international competition.
Emelianenko recently became a free agent after the Affliction promotion folded. UFC President Dana White thought he was on the verge of signing Emelianenko for a bout against Lesnar that would have drawn an even larger pay-per-view audience than "UFC 100." But the deal crumbled when Emelianenko and his handlers wanted to serve as co-promoters and keep the freedom for him to fight for other companies overseas. Emelianenko instead signed a contract with the fledgling Strikeforce promotion and will have his debut match this fall on Showtime.
The situation is reminiscent of an era when a sizable number of fans still thought pro wrestling was real. From the 1960s through WWE's takeover of the industry in the 1980s, grappling magazines debated who would win if matches were staged pitting champions of the top three companies. Such dream bouts were occasionally held featuring kingpins in WWE, the National Wrestling Alliance and American Wrestling Association, but always ended with an inconclusive finish so the champions could return to their own promotions with titles safely intact.
Rigging an MMA bout wouldn't be so easy. White also is smart enough not to sign Emelianenko to a one-fight contract against Lesnar. White would lose all leverage in future negotiations should Lesnar fall -- a strong possibility considering his relative inexperience in MMA -- and risk Emelianenko leaving for another company with the UFC heavyweight title in tow.
The odds actually seem better for a future Lesnar-Lashley fight, which was unthinkable just two years ago. At the time, Lashley was receiving such a heavy WWE push that he was paired with Donald Trump to battle McMahon and Eddie "Umaga" Fatu at "Wrestlemania 23." Lashley, though, quit WWE after a personal tiff with management and immersed himself in MMA training. An amateur wrestling champion at Missouri Valley College, Lashley has won all four of his professional MMA fights. That includes a first-round demolition of fading MMA star Bob "The Beast" Sapp in June.
Unlike Lesnar, Lashley isn't done with pro wrestling. He signed with TNA Wrestling (9 p.m. EDT Thursdays, Spike TV) and recently helped Mick Foley defeat Kevin Nash for the company's Legends title.
Lashley is expected to step in a TNA ring following his next projected MMA bout in October. If he wins, Lashley will find himself in a great MMA bargaining position.
White has tried to keep UFC from being mentioned in the same breath as pro wrestling, which is one of the reasons he got upset at Lesnar for his WWE-style celebration and interview after crushing Mir. But if Lashley keeps winning his MMA fights, don't be surprised if White makes a run at an athlete who can help bolster his thin heavyweight ranks. Otherwise, Strikeforce promoters may eventually make a run at Lashley for their own "super fight" against Emelianenko.
(Alex Marvez writes a syndicated pro-wrestling column for Scripps Howard News Service. Contact him at alex1marv(at)aol.com or follow him via Twitter at http://twitter.com/alexmarvez.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
Thin heavyweight division?
"...don't be surprised if White makes a run at an athlete who can help bolster his thin heavyweight ranks" What? You must be talking about Strikeforce, because the heavyweight divison in UFC is hardly in the shape it was years ago. First of all, Lesnar was scheduled to fight Mark Coleman first(former champion & Hall Of Famer who has since dropped out of the division, though admittedly past his prime) then Cheick Kongo(who seemed to be climbing the ranks), neither of which happened due to training injuries, and he trounced their replacements. Now, Kongo looks to be facing Frank Mir next as both are coming off losses to fresher heavyweights. Lesnar will probably be facing the winner of Minotauro Nogueira & Randy Couture, and I haven't even mentioned Shane Carwin Vs. Cane Velasquez yet(two undefeated fighters probably next in line for a title shot). So far, Lesnar has defeated two former heavyweight champions & a former Pride heavyweight title contender in his UFC run, and we haven't even mentioned Mirko Cro Cop or former contender Gabriel Gonzaga. Lesnar has plenty of interesting matchups and contenders at the moment, so even though Bobby Lashley or Fedor Emelianenko would make interesting and/or great additions to the UFC, I'd hardly say UFC has 'thin heavyweight ranks.'
Thin heavyweight division?
"...don't be surprised if White makes a run at an athlete who can help bolster his thin heavyweight ranks" What? You must be talking about Strikeforce, because the heavyweight divison in UFC is hardly in the shape it was years ago. First of all, Lesnar was scheduled to fight Mark Coleman first(former champion & Hall Of Famer who has since dropped out of the division, though admittedly past his prime) then Cheick Kongo(who seemed to be climbing the ranks), neither of which happened due to training injuries, and he trounced their replacements. Now, Kongo looks to be facing Frank Mir next as both are coming off losses to fresher heavyweights. Lesnar will probably be facing the winner of Minotauro Nogueira & Randy Couture, and I haven't even mentioned Shane Carwin Vs. Cane Velasquez yet(two undefeated fighters probably next in line for a title shot). So far, Lesnar has defeated two former heavyweight champions & a former Pride heavyweight title contender in his UFC run, and we haven't even mentioned Mirko Cro Cop or former contender Gabriel Gonzaga. Lesnar has plenty of interesting matchups and contenders at the moment, so even though Bobby Lashley or Fedor Emelianenko would make interesting and/or great additions to the UFC, I'd hardly say UFC has 'thin heavyweight ranks.'
Thin heavyweight division?
"...don't be surprised if White makes a run at an athlete who can help bolster his thin heavyweight ranks" What? You must be talking about Strikeforce, because the heavyweight divison in UFC is hardly in the shape it was years ago. First of all, Lesnar was scheduled to fight Mark Coleman first(former champion & Hall Of Famer who has since dropped out of the division, though admittedly past his prime) then Cheick Kongo(who seemed to be climbing the ranks), neither of which happened due to training injuries, and he trounced their replacements. Now, Kongo looks to be facing Frank Mir next as both are coming off losses to fresher heavyweights. Lesnar will probably be facing the winner of Minotauro Nogueira & Randy Couture, and I haven't even mentioned Shane Carwin Vs. Cane Velasquez yet(two undefeated fighters probably next in line for a title shot). So far, Lesnar has defeated two former heavyweight champions & a former Pride heavyweight title contender in his UFC run, and we haven't even mentioned Mirko Cro Cop or former contender Gabriel Gonzaga. Lesnar has plenty of interesting matchups and contenders at the moment, so even though Bobby Lashley or Fedor Emelianenko would make interesting and/or great additions to the UFC, I'd hardly say UFC has 'thin heavyweight ranks.'