After over four-and-a-half years away from the sport, Brock Lesnar will make his long-awaited return to UFC against Mark Hunt at UFC 200.
Lesnar and Hunt are both known for finishing fights. Four of Lesnar’s five career wins have come inside the distance. Hunt is coming off back-to-back first-round knockouts.
However, Lesnar relies on his wrestling and ground-and-pound, while Hunt relies on his stand-up striking skills.
Lesnar hopes to bring fight to the ground
Lesnar, a former two-time All-America wrestler, is at his best when he can take his opponent down and use ground strikes. He ranks third in UFC heavyweight history in takedown accuracy, as 55 percent of his takedowns are successful in the organization.
Lesnar was not nearly as successful in his last three fights. After 10 of his first 13 career takedown attempts were successful, he was 2-for-6 in his final three fights, according to FightMetric.
As a result, he was not able to use his ground-and-pound. In his first five career MMA fights, the significant ground strike differential was 110-to-1 in favor of Lesnar, according to FightMetric. In his last three UFC fights, opponents out-struck him on the ground, 51-to-5, including 20-to-0 in his last two UFC losses.
Hunt, on the other hand, has 10 takedowns in 23 career MMA fights. He ranks fifth in UFC heavyweight history in takedown defense, defending 76 percent of takedown attempts, according to FightMetric. He successfully defended all three takedown attempts in his last fight against Frank Mir in March.
Hunt will try for the knockout
Hunt is one of the most dangerous stand-up strikers in the division. Since making his UFC debut in 2011, he has six career knockouts, tied for the most in the heavyweight division in that span.
Each of Hunt’s last five wins have come via knockout, with his last two fights both being first-round knockout victories. Lesnar was knocked out in the first round in each of his last two fights.
Hunt’s eight career knockdowns in UFC rank tied for fifth most in heavyweight history. Lesnar was knocked down four times in his last three fights after not being knocked down in his first five career fights, according to FightMetric.
Lesnar’s UFC legacy
Lesnar won his first UFC title in his fourth career MMA fight. That’s tied for the fewest fights ever before winning a UFC title. Lesnar won the UFC heavyweight title after defeating Randy Couture in 2008.
Lesnar is one of five UFC heavyweight champions to defend his title twice. That’s tied for the most title defenses in division history.
He is also the most successful former WWE superstar in MMA history. Former professional wrestler Bobby Lashley is 14-2 in his MMA career, but has never fought in the UFC. The UFC also signed former pro wrestler Phil “CM Punk” Brooks to a contract in 2014, but he has yet to fight in the organization.
Other long layoffs
Lesnar has not fought in over four-and-a-half years, an unprecedented layoff for a fighter of his caliber.
Last year, Cain Velasquez returned from a 20-month layoff to fight Fabricio Werdum. He was upset by third-round submission and will fight next at UFC 200 against Travis Browne.
In September 2014, Dominick Cruz returned from nearly a three-year layoff against Takeya Mizugaki. He won that fight, and regained his bantamweight title belt 15 months later.
In 2006, Frank Mir came back from nearly 20 months off after a motorcycle accident, losing to Marcio Cruz in his return bout. He came back to win the interim heavyweight title in 2008, only to lose it to Lesnar.