Thoughts & Shots From UFC 200

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

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The slow build to UFC 200 took on a life of its own over the past couple of weeks, but it was only during fight week that the real chaos hit. Scheduled headliner Jon Jones was removed from the card and former middleweight champ and beloved legend Anderson Silva stepped in on short notice. We got a women’s title fight as the headliner to go along with the Frankenstein fight, but when all was said and done, we were all reminded that this is Brock Lesnar’s world and we just live in it.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder and current World Wrestling Entertainment superstar made a triumphant return against 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix winner Mark Hunt and made off with a unanimous decision. The fight was billed as the co-main event, but apparently, quite a few people were in the building to see Lesnar and couldn’t have cared less about the Amanda Nunes-Miesha Tate headliner that followed. Reports of people heading for the exits after Lesnar had his hand raised were disturbing but not wholly unexpected.

From the time Lesnar’s return was announced, it was apparent he would be the featured attraction at the UFC’s bicentennial extravaganza. The reaction to the news being leaked should have told you how important his inclusion on the historic card was to the company and its pay-per-view prospects. If you still had any doubts, Lesnar’s reported $2.5 million guaranteed purse -- the highest disclosed payout in company history -- should have settled the argument without any further debate.

The actual fight wasn’t much about which to write home, but the former University of Minnesota wrestler showed he still has the grappling chops to compete with the big boys of the UFC’s heavyweight division. Lesnar grounded Hunt in the first and third rounds and battered him on the mat en route to a clear unanimous decision. Whether or not he’ll be back in the Octagon anytime soon was still up for discussion after the dust settled on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Lesnar’s statements after the bout indicated he may well be ready to continue on as an MMA fighter despite the fact that UFC President Dana White stated he was still under contract to the WWE. Perhaps the promotions can find some common ground and get Lesnar back into the heavyweight fold. I don’t see him beating a guy like Cain Velasquez who can wrestle with the one-trick pony, but is there anyone who doesn’t think he could possibly ground-and-pound his way to another title against a guy like Stipe Miocic?

It’s unlikely, but stranger things have happened in this sport. Add in the fact that he’s an absolute bonanza for the UFC at the PPV window and it isn’t hard to understand why he’s so coveted by the promotion. The guy knows how to work the mic, and, as he showed against Hunt, he’s still one hell of an athletic specimen. The juice is definitely worth the squeeze when it comes to Lesnar.

The one thing we didn’t really get to see was how he would react if he found himself under heavy fire. I was pretty sure we’d see Hunt get loose at some point, but his fear of the inevitable takedown kept his weapons holstered for most of the bout. In the past, Lesnar has had serious issues staying disciplined once he finds himself on the receiving end of a big exchange; that situation never really manifested itself at UFC 200.

If he indeed returns, that will be the biggest question he has left to answer. If he can stay in the pocket and refrain from full-out retreat when the going gets tough, Lesnar will be a very tough opponent for anyone. If he can’t, he better keep taking down people and smothering them; otherwise, he’ll get buttered up by some of the top strikers in the division.

I don’t want it to seem like I’m not excited about Lesnar’s return, as I think it’s great for the sport. What I don’t care for is his continued insistence that his losses were products of his well-documented battle with diverticulitis. I must have heard the statement 20 times over the last week, but no matter how many times the promos played, all I could think of was Velasquez beating the brakes off of him so badly it turned into a breakdancing meme.

To do what Lesnar has done with as little specialized training as he has is really a special feat. However, if he’s serious about making a run at another heavyweight title, he better have done a ton of standup training or we’re going to get a repeat performance every time he’s forced to stand with a high-end heavyweight.

Hot Potato

The UFC women’s bantamweight title has become quite the hot potato since Holly Holm ripped it off the waist of Ronda Rousey in November. Three straight title fights have seen the challenger finish the champion in highlight-reel fashion, the latest being Nunes’ destruction of Tate in the first round of their main event. It wasn’t even a contest. Nunes cracked early and often before tapping her out with a rear-naked choke at 3:16 of the opening period.

Nunes savaged Tate, bloodying her face and possibly breaking her nose with hard, accurate punches. Tate, known for her stirring comebacks, could not even get out of the blocks, much less mount any semblance of offense. She now finds herself in the unenviable position Holm found herself in just a few months ago.

The ironic thing: White during a post-fight show promised Rousey, the UFC’s golden goose, a title shot upon her return. These ladies, all vying to grab a bit of the shine Rousey has brought to women’s MMA, are embroiled in a battle of attrition while the former champ kicks it on the sidelines, biding her time for a possible return. White also hinted that her return may not come before 2017. So how many more times can this title change hands before then? Who knows? Nunes will likely fight before the end of the year, provided she isn’t injured too badly after her big win.

If Holm wins later this month, perhaps we’ll see her and Nunes square off, with the winner facing Rousey. That would be about as circuitous a route as possible for a Holm-Rousey rematch, but I’d take it. Nunes-Rousey would also make for an intriguing matchup. The possibilities are as endless as the supply of women’s bantamweight upsets.

Vengeful Heart

Jose Aldo diced up Frankie Edgar in impressive fashion to earn an interim belt and a rematch with Conor McGregor. However, I’m not so sure he’s going to want to hold his breath for that to happen. McGregor has shown a propensity for doing whatever he pleases, and it hasn’t seemed like a return to featherweight and the tremendous weight cut that comes with it are high on his priority list of late.

According to Twitter translations of his post-fight rant in Portuguese, Aldo cut a promo on McGregor, calling him a “piece of s---” and promising to reclaim his undisputed title. We’ll have to wait and see what happens in the aftermath of the Irishman’s rematch with Nate Diaz, but a UFC 205 date at Madison Square Garden sure seems like a no-brainer -- if McGregor actually does intend to cut back down to 145 pounds.

Call it a hunch, but I have a sneaking intuition that Aldo is going to have to chase McGregor up to lightweight if he wants to get his redemption. If you saw how much bigger he was than Edgar, then you know it wouldn’t be a big problem for the former pound-for-pound king. He’s intimated his intentions to fight at 155 pounds in the past, and this could be the impetus he needs to make the jump.

Either way, he looked tremendous in his dismantling of Edgar. He countered well the entire fight and showed an edge to his game that was missing in the lead up to the fight with McGregor in December. It will be interesting to see how he handles a second chance if he should get it, because it was clear as day that McGregor was deep inside his head before the first affair.

Sherdog.com Executive Editor Greg Savage can be reached by email or via Twitter @TheSavageTruth.