UFC 121: Can Brock Lesnar Become the Greatest Heavyweight of All Time?

This Saturday, UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar will defend his title against Cain Velasquez at UFC 121. However, Lesnar has his sights set much higher than simply holding onto a belt. Though it may have come to the dismay of some MMA purists out there, the former professional wrestler's transition to the UFC can't be considered anything less than successful.

Lesnar has said that his next goal is to become the greatest heavyweight champion in UFC history. With a win over Velasquez, Lesnar would become the first heavyweight champion in UFC history to successfully retain the belt in three consecutive title defenses. If successful, this means that Lesnar would accomplish something in just seven professional MMA fights that the legendary Randy Couture has never accomplished.

Alone, a third consecutive title defense would be enough to cause serious consideration for Lesnar being the greatest UFC heavyweight champion of all time. If you add into that consideration the amount of attention Lesnar has brought to the sport, far surpassing that of any previous heavyweight champion, it is hard to argue against naming him the greatest.

It would be an almost unfathomable accomplishment for Lesnar to become the greatest heavyweight champion in the history of the sport's most successful promotion in such a short time. Even more unfathomable would be Lesnar supplanting Fedor Emelianenko as the greatest heavyweight in MMA history.

So what does Lesnar have to do in order to accomplish that enormous feat?

In order to be the best, Lesnar has to beat the best. Since Fedor doesn't appear to be signing with the UFC anytime soon, if ever, Lesnar will have to clear out the heavyweight division. That path starts with beating Velasquez this weekend and continues with a victory over Junior Dos Santos. Since there are always skeptics, clearing out the division may also mean a rematch with Shane Carwin, a rubber match with Frank Mir and a fight against a future UFC-signee.

Through their first six professional fights, Lesnar matched Fedor's record of 5-1 against much stiffer competition. However, Lesnar has a lot of ground to make up in order to surpass Fedor's long list of accomplishments. At 33 years old, time may be a toughest opponent for Lesnar.

If nothing else, time will prevent Lesnar from matching Fedor's 32 career victories. However, if Lesnar is able to beat Velasquez and proceed to clear out the UFC's heavyweight division despite an ever-improving MMA talent pool, you can bet he will have my vote as the greatest of all time.

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