How Big is a Brock Lesnar Win at UFC 116?

For many MMA fans, the first time they ever laid eyes on Brock Lesnar was at UFC 77 when Joe Rogan interviewed him to announce his signing with the UFC.

“I am here with one of the most exciting acquisitions ever for the UFC, Brock Larsoner...excuse me, Brock Lesner, not Brock Larson.”

Certainly, nobody would ever confuse those names today.

Two short years and just four UFC fights later, Lesnar is the defending UFC heavyweight champion, something nobody could have ever imagined back at UFC 77.

If you were to tell someone back then that Brock Lesnar would go on to possibly be the best UFC heavyweight champion ever, they would probably have reminded you that professional wrestling is fake.

Nonetheless, here we are approaching UFC 116 and Brock has the opportunity to make history.

Since roughly 2000, the No. 1 heavyweight has not been in the UFC. Starting with Mark Kerr and Mark Coleman, then Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and onto Fedor Emelianenko, the UFC heavyweight division has been pale in comparison to the great heavyweight fights happening on the other side of the world.

Last Saturday, that all came to an end.

For the first time in his illustrious career, Fedor Emelianenko lost.

Just 69 seconds into his bout with Fabricio Werdum, the being that had seemed above mere mortals proved human when he tapped to a triangle choke he simply could not escape.

Dana White must have been watching in a quiet shock with a devious grin on his face, knowing that for the first time in 10 years he would have the best heavyweight in the world.

That honor is to be decided on Saturday when Brock defends his title against undefeated Shane Carwin, and both fighters owe a debt of gratitude to Fabricio Werdum for pulling off one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.

But not only will Brock be competing for the ranking above all others, he will also have the interest of the record keepers.

Never in the UFC has the heavyweight title been defended more than twice in a row. With a win over Shane Carwin on Saturday, Brock will tie that record.

The record was first set when Randy Couture defended the title twice against Pedro Rizzo, the first of which is still a very controversial decision.

The record was then matched when Tim Sylvia defended the title against Andrei Arlovski and then Jeff Monson, but both of those fights were largely uneventful throughout five rounds.

If Brock can win Saturday, his two defenses would arguably be the best of the exclusive group.

The question would then be: if Brock breaks the record during the most dangerous heavyweight division in UFC history, is he their best heavyweight champion ever?

It would definitely be hard to argue against, but that is still a couple big steps away.

First, he must pass the biggest test of his short MMA career—get past Shane Carwin.

After that, there is only an equally perilous task awaiting him. For even before Fedor's loss the UFC heavyweight division was becoming the most elite group of big men in quite some time, possibly of all time.

One thing is clear in this deep pool of powerful heavyweights: anyone of these guys can be the one to make history.