Do you agree with Joe Rogan that Brock Lesnar could have been the GOAT?

[shunyata]

You can play those kinds of mental gymnastics with a lot of fighters:

• What if DC transitioned to MMA earlier?
• What if Ronda left Edmund and joined a top gym?
• What if Conor didn't become a filthy rich drug addict?
• What if Shogun didn't have knee injuries?
• What if Lee Murray didn't become a bank robber?

Who knows? For Brock, I'm inclined to think he would have dominated the UFC in his 20s, if for no other reason than the fact that the UFC's HW division was extremely weak. But once the better fighters entered the fray, he would have fallen off simply because he didn't respond well to being hit.

Now we're cooking, I'll take AKA Rousey and sober Muslim Conor.

 

[m249viking]

Brock jumped into the deep end and did extremely well. Learning MMA from a young age would of course made him better. Going to a legit MMA trainer would also have made him better. Wish the diverticulitis hadn’t happened.

 

[pick999]

He would be a lesser yoel

 

[laleggenda27]

There absolutely is. They are noticed in childhood however, and funneled into more lucrative sport streams.

I don't even like Brock (will never look at him the same way after reading the McMahon lawsuit) but starting MMA so late and still becoming a champ is a sign of that.

What did the McMahon lawsuit say?

 

[RemyR]

 

[Fluffernutter]

I'd want him to compete in Freestyle

 

[ElLunico]

You could say that with like 90% of NFL players lol. There far better athletes than in the NFL than Brock Rogan knows this right? Lol

Like Imagine if Aaron Donald trained MMA since he was a kid instead of football or whatever other sport

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

for me, the "what if" game is complete horseshit. "what if" he wasn't taking steroids since he was in high school? would he still be a freak? he relied heavily on his size and strength that was obviously enhanced by his PED use. nobody says those "what if" scenarios though.

 

[NoSmilez]

I think it depends. If he came in early after college then he wouldn't have the money to get the private camps. He also lived in bumblefuck. It's also early 2000s. There weren't many gyms back then. Bork could have gone to Hammer House and burnt out.

 

[fedorthegoat777]

Maybe if he started striking 7-10 years earlier and didn't have diverticulitis.

Talented guy but poor striking defense, didn't take punches well, very sensitive to body shots (understandable given that his guts were torn up).

Wasn't it Overeem who was knee ing him up to pieces in the clinch right after surgery?

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

He hated taking shots so no.

 

[shunyata]

Wasn't it Overeem who was knee ing him up to pieces in the clinch right after surgery?

Yup

 

[Ibm]

Not sure about Goat but up there.

 

[Araquém]

There absolutely is. They are noticed in childhood however, and funneled into more lucrative sport streams.

I don't even like Brock (will never look at him the same way after reading the McMahon lawsuit) but starting MMA so late and still becoming a champ is a sign of that.

Brock Lesnar made to the UFC because he was a WWE star, if wasn't for his fame he would not even be in the UFC roster. He fought for the belt after be 2-1 and he first win was against a nobody in South Korea. He is not a A level athlete because sports aren't a super hero HQ with, there is no such a thing as people born with a gene that makes them good at every sport. He was a sucessfull wrestler at american level but could pretty much started in MMA earlier in life and be awful

 

[Ibm]

Brock Lesnar made to the UFC because he was a WWE star, if wasn't for his fame he would not even be in the UFC roster. He fought for the belt after be 2-1 and he first win was against a nobody in South Korea. He is not a A level athlete because sports aren't a super hero HQ with, there is no such a thing as people born with a gene that makes them good at every sport. He was a sucessfull wrestler at american level but could pretty much started in MMA earlier in life and be awful

Yes. Hong Man CHoi would have beaten him in his debut. I wonder if they would have still signed him.

 

[Mob69]

A very difficult question to answer, but given his ridiculous athleticism and what he achieved despite entering MMA relatively late, then one has to believe that he could have achieved way more if he came earlier...

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

He was a great athlete and obviously had he come in earlier he would likely have been a better all round fighter and picked up more notable wins, but saying he would have been the literal GOAT is way over the top. Theres no real reason to give him those kinds of props based on what he showed.

 

[Söze Aldo]

Brock Lesnar made to the UFC because he was a WWE star, if wasn't for his fame he would not even be in the UFC roster. He fought for the belt after be 2-1 and he first win was against a nobody in South Korea. He is not a A level athlete because sports aren't a super hero HQ with, there is no such a thing as people born with a gene that makes them good at every sport. He was a sucessfull wrestler at american level but could pretty much started in MMA earlier in life and be awful

Athletic talent is probably 80% genetic. Brock was not great at every sport, he couldn't make the NFL, however, wrestling is a great base for MMA.

CM Punk was a WWE star where did that get him in the UFC?

 

[wufabufa]

No. Brock was never going to learn to take a punch. Some guys have really awful instincts when they're hit. He's one of them.

 

[philcrow]

I'll echo everyone else. Amazing athlete. But not the natural instinct of a fighter when he gets hit. Cain made him disco spin afterall