UFC 131: Will Brock Lesnar's Return to the Octagon Be Successful?

On June 11, 2011, the UFC's highest draw will make his return to fighting.  

Brock Lesnar will square off against the rightful No. 1 contender, the hard hitting Junior dos Santos.  

Since the matchup was announced, fans have been at loggerheads, debating who will be successful in the battle and how.

The main focus surrounding Brock Lesnar has been on his apparent inability to take a punch; this was brought to the attention of fans in his previous two fights. Shane Carwin's uppercut had Brock backpedaling across the Octagon. Carwin's punches eventually became too much for Lesnar to bare, and he lay curled up on his back in an attempt to survive the round.

To his credit, he did survive the round—although had it not been a title fight, there is no doubt in my mind that the ref would have called a halt to the fight much sooner.  

Regardless, Lesnar was able to come back strong and catch Carwin in an arm triangle in the second round, earning himself a Submission of the Night in the process.

Although Lesnar retained his championship, serious questions were raised about his ability to take a punch.

In the champion's next fight, these questions were answered.

Cain Velasquez utterly destroyed Brock when they faced off at UFC 121. Once again, Lesnar was sent flying across the octagon after being hit and was finished off after turtling up and failing to protect himself.  

In many fans' eyes, Lesnar was done. People could not see how he would be able to reclaim the championship belt if he was incapable of trading punches with his opponents.

Step up Junior dos Santos. 

This hard hitting Brazilian was next in line to face Velasquez for the heavyweight championship, but opted to take a coaching role on The Ultimate Fighter and fight against Lesnar at UFC 131.  

Immediately, the fans were counting Brock out. They refused to believe Lesnar stood a chance against someone who had knocked out two-thirds of the opponents he had faced.

While I can understand the fans' point of view, I can't help but feel people are counting out Brock too soon. Yes, he has flaws and yes, these flaws were heavily exposed in his last two fights. However, I feel that to discredit the former champion so soon is naive.  

A brief look at Lesnar's record shows that he is talented. People may say he was rushed into a title shot, but he was able to capture the title and defend it.

Fans seem to believe that after one TKO loss, Lesnar will be unable to finish an opponent with heavy hands. They appear to have the mentality that dos Santos is the hardest hitter Lesnar has faced.  

While dos Santos' standup is no joke, I find it hard to believe that he hits harder than Carwin, who failed to knock Lesnar out. It can also be argues that Velasquez is a harder hitter (his power was measured at 2230 lbs of force); Velasquez also failed to knock Lesnar out, regardless of the fact that he had him dazed for a large portion of their fight. 

Add that to the fact that Lesnar was able to destroy Frank Mir, who is no slouch in the standup game (just ask Big Nog), and it becomes clear that Lesnar has a very high chance of beating dos Santos.  

We have yet to see dos Santos' ground or wrestling game, and it will be interesting to see how he deals with a 280 pound beast sprawled on top of him dropping bombs.

After viewing Lesnar's recent interview appearances, it seems clear that he is both refocused and humbled (although, the less said about his ridiculous rear naked choke against Jimmy Fallon, the better).

He no longer sees himself as the "baddest man on the planet," but as a serious fighter—one who is capable of defeating dos Santos and reclaiming the title he feels he truly deserves.