UFC 131: Brock Lesnar and 5 Reasons MMA Fans Love to Hate Him

One only needs to mention the name Brock Lesnar and an array of emotions—mostly negative ones—will be stirred up in even the most calm of mixed martial arts fans.

Lesnar, since his UFC debut in 2008 at UFC 81 against Frank Mir, has been not a polarizing figure in MMA (because that would imply that approximately equal numbers love and hate him), but rather a figure that fans across the sport loath and bash at any opportunity.

There are many reasons for this hate directed towards Lesnar, but they all fall under the umbrella of five distinct reasons.

What are these reasons? Read and find out.

Diverticulitis

An animated depiction of diverticulitis.

UFC 131 marks the second event where Lesnar has had to withdraw due to a bout with the digestive disease diverticulitis.

While in the first instance Lesnar's life was at stake and everyone was pulling for his recovery and return to the UFC, this time it is different.

Lesnar has a case of diverticulitis that is not terribly serious and is expected to recover. Because of the disease, MMA fans have lost another chance to see Lesnar fight—or get beat up as his haters desire to see.

Stint in the WWE

Brock Lesnar's WWE fame is perhaps the main foundation of anti-Lesnar sentiment.

When it was announced that a 1-0 Brock Lesnar was coming to the UFC, many MMA fans were angered. Many asked "Why should a spot on the roster be given to a fighter who is only 1-0 and hasn't proven himself?"

But what was worse was the fact that Lesnar was famous not for his collegiate wrestling skills, but rather for his exploits in the WWE.

It was felt that having a "pro wrestling" star come into the UFC and be vigorously promoted would damage the sport's image since the casual fan and the layperson would then associate the UFC and MMA with the WWE and assume it was fake.

Thus, before Lesnar even entered the cage, he was a hated man.

Kimbo Slice Syndrome

Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images

MONTREAL- MAY 8: Kimbo Slice punches Matt Mitrione in their heavyweight bout at UFC 113 at Bell Centre on May 8, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

If there is a figure with a worse standing amongst MMA fans than Brock Lesnar, it is Kimbo Slice.

Kimbo Slice was a famous Internet brawler who achieved a large following and was picked up and promoted by the now defunct EliteXC organization.

EliteXC hyped Kimbo as the next big thing, and in doing so earned the ire of many MMA fans who felt that Kimbo was a mere brawler who didn't really have many MMA skills.

After EliteXC's demise, Kimbo was given a spot on the Ultimate Fighter reality show and had a brief stint in the UFC.

People truly hated Kimbo Slice because they felt that the UFC was just using him for ratings and that he was severely lacking in skill.

The same criticisms are directed towards Brock Lesnar.

The common anti-Lesnar line is that Lesnar isn't a skilled fighter and is kept around because he is a huge draw. The anti-Lesnar people point to the fact that Lesnar's "world class" wrestling was negated numerous times and that his stand-up skills—specifically his defense—are embarrassingly poor.

At the end of the day, these people view Lesnar as a repackaged Kimbo Slice.

Callous Personality

There were fans that were willing to give Lesnar the benefit of the doubt despite the unjustified hype and his days in the WWE. Unfortunately, Lesnar made enemies of those fans by his acts in the cage.

Lesnar dissed one of the UFC's sponsors, taunted Heath Herring and even proclaimed after beating Frank Mir that "Frank Mir had a horseshoe up his *** and I took it out and beat him over the head with it!"

Truly, Lesnar has the heart of a poet...

To be a little more abstract, perhaps Brock Lesnar represents the stereotypical jock that many people were bullied by in high school and those people now direct their hatred towards that jock or jocks in general towards Lesnar.

Psychology aside, Lesnar's abrasive antics have done nothing to win him any fans.

The Tattoo

This one speaks for itself.

Brock Lesnar's chest tattoo is one of the most infamous in all of MMA. Combined with all of the other reasons to hate Lesnar, the tattoo is simply the icing on the cake.

Fighters such as Frank Mir have used the tattoo to their advantage when crafting pre-fight trash talk, and the trend will likely continue as long as the giant phallic symbol on his chest remains there.