Brock Lesnar enters heavyweight rankings after dominant UFC 200 win

MANILA, Philippines – As Brock Lesnar’s future in mixed martial arts (MMA) remains uncertain, he surprisingly barged into the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s heavyweight rankings after his dominant performance against Mark Hunt over the weekend. 

Lesnar landed on the number 8 spot in the organization’s heavyweight division, which was recently occupied by Hunt, who dropped to the number 9 seat.

The 38-year-old native of Webster, South Dakota made a triumphant return to the Octagon after nearly 6 years as he outclassed Hunt in the co-headliner of UFC 200, winning a unanimous decision of 29-27 on all 3 scorecards. 

It was not the most aesthetically pleasing display, but his size, power and wrestling were more than enough to get the job done against Hunt.

Lesnar will head back to the professional wrestling scene in August as he faces Randy Orton at the World Wrestling Entertainment’s “SummerSlam” event, but he is not closing the doors on a potential UFC fight down the road.

“Brock Lesnar does what Brock Lesnar wants to do. I believe that my future is already laid out for the next month,” he stated during the post-UFC 200 press conference.

Lesnar’s heavyweight encounter versus Hunt was supposed to be a “one-off” deal by WWE, but the exact terms of the agreement are still a mystery. 

“Once the dust settles there, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Lesnar said. “I had one hell of a time tonight, and I enjoyed myself, so we’ll see what happens.” 

Aside from picking up a unanimous decision victory over Hunt, Lesnar also earned a reported $2.5 million for his appearance on the blockbuster pay-per-view card, making him the highest-paid fighter in UFC’s 23-year history. – Rappler.com