Will
01-25-2008, 06:11 AM
The UFC is heading to London for a show on June 14, and Brock Lesnar — a former collegiate wrestling champion and WWE performer — will headline the event if UFC executives get their way.
The news comes from our friend Mark Gilbert at The Sun, a U.K.-based newspaper/tabloid that began covering the UFC extensively with Manchester’s UFC 70 event this past April.
According to the report, UFC executives want Lesnar to headline the show because of the popularity he garnered from his days with the WWE. Lesnar was signed by the professional-wrestling organization in 2000, he debuted in 2001, and he made his final appearance at WrestleMania XX in March 2004 before a short-lived career with the Minnesota Vikings.
The fact that the UFC would want Lesnar to headline an event is intriguing, considering he hasn’t even made his UFC debut yet. That fight comes in 10 days, when Lesnar takes on former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir in the co-main event of UFC 81.
With only one professional fight and 69 seconds of fight time, Lesnar remains a huge question mark in MMA. It’s not known if he’d still be targeted for the UFC 86 main event if his debut turns out to be a total flop. Then again, a victory over Mir could thrust the versatile athlete into immediate title contention.
News of the UFC’s June 14 show first appeared here on MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) when site writer John Morgan reported that Marcus Davis had already been told he’s been scheduled for the event.
UFC 86 is tentatively scheduled to take place at London’s O2 Arena.
The news comes from our friend Mark Gilbert at The Sun, a U.K.-based newspaper/tabloid that began covering the UFC extensively with Manchester’s UFC 70 event this past April.
According to the report, UFC executives want Lesnar to headline the show because of the popularity he garnered from his days with the WWE. Lesnar was signed by the professional-wrestling organization in 2000, he debuted in 2001, and he made his final appearance at WrestleMania XX in March 2004 before a short-lived career with the Minnesota Vikings.
The fact that the UFC would want Lesnar to headline an event is intriguing, considering he hasn’t even made his UFC debut yet. That fight comes in 10 days, when Lesnar takes on former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir in the co-main event of UFC 81.
With only one professional fight and 69 seconds of fight time, Lesnar remains a huge question mark in MMA. It’s not known if he’d still be targeted for the UFC 86 main event if his debut turns out to be a total flop. Then again, a victory over Mir could thrust the versatile athlete into immediate title contention.
News of the UFC’s June 14 show first appeared here on MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) when site writer John Morgan reported that Marcus Davis had already been told he’s been scheduled for the event.
UFC 86 is tentatively scheduled to take place at London’s O2 Arena.