WWE Heavyweight Champion VS UFC Heavyweight Champion

[S.J. Maximus]

If anyone had approached me at the time of WrestleMania 32 and tried to convince me Brock Lesnar would have a match in-between his match with Dean and his impending return at SummerSlam I would've laughed in their face. I'd go as far to say that no one on this planet would've believed that including Brock Lesnar himself.

But as fate had it, Brock Lesnar broke a significant barrier and gave us the first glance at a WWE/UFC crossover opportunity. The idea of these two unique brands working together always seemed unfathomable despite being popular, with many people regarding a Ronda Rousey WWE match "an awesome fantasy" as opposed to an imminent possibility. I've always been in the camp that a WWE star thriving in UFC would always be a bigger draw due to the fact that casual fans would obviously assume the average UFC star would beat a WWE star in a fight. There is no real surprise behind Ronda Rousey being able to defeat Charlotte in a fight, regardless of if it's scripted. There is, however, a genuine surprise if Roman Reigns were to beat Cain Velasquez in a fight, especially if it's not scripted.

So the fact that WWE has an ace in the hole named Brock Lesnar who is a former UFC champion and just proved less than 24 hours ago that he still has what it takes to perform at a high level, should they put their strap on him and let him go back to the Octagon? The way I see it, Brock wants more and he's going to get it any way he can. Is there anything that would generate more buzz than a WWE Champion vs UFC Champion bout? Make it exhibition, it doesn't matter but if they can get some cross-brand promotion I don't see why Dana and Vince wouldn't pull the trigger on this. The floodgates have been opened, now let's see the flooding.

Soooo:

1. Do you think UFC and WWE would benefit from a Heavyweight Title Exhibition Match?

2. How likely is this fight now that Brock is back in the UFC mix?

3. Are Brock's days as a WWE-exclusive entity numbered?

4. Do you have any interest in UFC stars (McGregor, Rousey, Diaz, Silva) coming to WWE or would you rather WWE Stars (Rollins, Ambrose, Cena, Reigns) fight in an Octagon?

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

1 - When Lesnar competes in UFC, he shouldn't be labeled as that WWE guy or be thought of as that, so I don't think it should happen. With that said, I'm sure both companies would benefit if it did happen. UFC gets a major draw and a lot more buys, while WWE gets free advertising.

2 - He will probably fight two or three more times in UFC, but I don't see him being a serious contender for the World Title. With that said, he might still get a shot at it since he's such a big draw, and honestly you never know. He might actually win, but I doubt it.

3 - No, he said his latest contract was for 3 years, so he has over a year and a half in WWE. He might still leave after then, but I doubt he goes to UFC full-time.

4 - There's no chance any wrestler except for Lesnar should fight in UFC. The chance for injury is really high, and honestly most if not all would be downright embarrassed in the octagon. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind seeing fighters like McGregor, Rousey, or maybe a few others in WWE. They really shouldn't wrestle though, because that's too big of a suspension of disbelief. Something similar to what Rousey did at WM31 would be best.

 

[Navi]

Well first of all there is a huge difference between UFC and the WWE as I'm sure I don't have to tell you. One is real fighting and the other scripted. When UFC fighters walk into the Octagon who ever has the best offense that night will be the winner, WWE well not so much.

Other than a handful of WWE superstars like Lesnar, Lashley and maybe Barrett can't see any of the other members of the roster lasting long in a UFC fight.

Even someone like Cena as great a wrestler as he is, I don't believe would be able to stand up to a trained MMA fighter. Rollins, Reigns and the rest the same. While they are good in the WWE ring, in the Octagon different story.

Now some of the guys out of NJPW might stand a good chance like Nakamura because of his striking skills, but in reality these guys are part athletics, actors and good will ambassadors. MMA fighters are tough, gritty and can't give an interview without having half of it bleeped out because of cursing. See Nate Diaz for that example.

Just look at Punk. Two years after leaving the WWE he still has yet to make his first appearance. Heard the training wasn't going as planned. But anyway any exposure you can give either sport is fine and will bring more eyes to the product. I doubt McMahon wants his guys pummeled half to death and I doubt Dana White wants to see his guys out there acting like their fighting.

One is a genuine sport, one is sports entertainment. Huge difference and very few athletics will be able to make the switch. Lesnar and Lashley did, but there aren't many others that could.

 

[Bernkastel]

I like the possibility of this crossover a lot. There are several MMA/UFC fighters who have the natural charisma and showmanship needed to be successful in the WWE. Other than Lesnar, WWE has Jack Swagger, who defeated Cain Velasquez in collegiate matches, as someone who could excel in MMA. Alberto Del Rio has already found success in MMA. And I suppose Dolph Ziggler could as well, given his collegiate background.

Though I do not see the possibility of a WWE vs UFC championship bout. WWE didn't use Lesnar right as champion last time, and I have extremely little faith that they could. As far Brock being a cross-contractual star, WWE and Vince would only allow this if they were to get something in return, like say for example a Ronda Rousey contract. Vince obviously did get something out of this UFC 200 deal, we just don't know what it is yet. And I doubt that it is Summerslam cross promotion.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

1. Do you think UFC and WWE would benefit from a Heavyweight Title Exhibition Match?

It'd generate a lot of buzz, I'm sure, but I'm not sure what it would really accomplish apart from that. Neither one of them really "needs" the other in terms of generating buzz and you also have to consider if the REPORTED new owners would be interested or not. One thing that I might be interested in would be for an exhibition fight to be turned into a worked shoot. Again, everything would have to be in place, the wrestlers would have had at least some proper training in each other's discipline to at least protect themselves, and maybe it could be set up where "tempers flared" with each of them getting under the other's skin, said exhibition turns into a wild brawl around ringside with the guys basically rolling around on the ground landing a few punches or kicks here & there, yanking on hair, etc. looking like an actual brawl rather than a staged fight scene. Make an announcement soon after in which one or the other makes a challenge for WrestleMania or SummerSlam or Survivor Series or something so that the MMA fighter could have a long time in which to get some more intensive pro wrestling training done while the wrestlers gets some MMA training to be able to mix it up a little on the MMA fighter's own terms. Maybe once a month, show a couple of vignettes showing each man training, working out hard, with the UFC guy stating that he's not going to be made a fool of by "some wrestling guy" while the WWE guy says that some MMA lackey isn't gonna walk all over him in his own house. The key to it would be to keep it "feeling" as genuine as they could.


2. How likely is this fight now that Brock is back in the UFC mix?

I don't think it's very likely whatsoever. The thing about an exhibition match is that both sides ultimately want everyone to come out of it looking good and training for MMA and pro wrestling are two entirely different things. In MMA, you're trained to hurt people whereas in pro wrestling you're trained to look like you're hurting people. Also, I'm not sure how much huge crossover appeal there'd be for a number of fans. For instance, I'm sure a lot of pro wrestling fans aren't all that familiar with Stipe Miocic, the current UFC Heavyweight Champion, just as many MMA fans aren't all that familiar with Dean Ambrose, the current WWE Champion. In order for this thing to come about and to come about in an ideal way, there'd have to be a lot of details ironed out and agreed to by both sides. Also, for all we know, this might be it for Lesnar and the UFC; Lesnar's getting older and Mark Hunt isn't exactly one of the top stars in MMA; The past few weeks have probably had more people interested in 42 year old Mark Hunt, who now has a record of 12-11-1, than there's been in years. For all we know, if Lesnar accepted another fight, he may wound up absolutely decimated.


3. Are Brock's days as a WWE-exclusive entity numbered?

Well, technically speaking, the fight last night makes Lesnar's 100% exclusivity to WWE a thing of the past. Whether or not it happens again in the future is entirely up in the air, but it won't happen without WWE giving the okay. Truth be told, so long as Lesnar is signed to WWE, it probably can't happen without WWE giving the okay. If Lesnar wants to fight in the UFC again, I don't think WWE will have any objections; they'll probably be more excited to see it happen as it does generate buzz and may well attract more viewers to WWE, at least for a while. But you also have to understand that, just like boxing, it's not at all uncommon for a fighter to only fight once a year or so; Lesnar's purse last night is said to be $2.5 million, the biggest guarantee in UFC history, but I do think we'll see Lesnar have at least one more fight seeing as how he was so successful last night.


4. Do you have any interest in UFC stars (McGregor, Rousey, Diaz, Silva) coming to WWE or would you rather WWE Stars (Rollins, Ambrose, Cena, Reigns) fight in an Octagon?

Not really because, as I alluded to earlier, they're sort of two different worlds. In order to wrestle in a way so as to look competent, to keep yourself safe and your opponent safe, it takes a LOT of time and training to learn what to do. The training will be physically demanding and will require a great commitment on the part of the fighters. On the reverse, it also takes quite a long, long time of highly intense training in MMA to even be considered ready for a fight. CM Punk seems to be an exception, though look at the criticism that the UFC has taken for signing him in the first place, and his first MMA fight will be in a few months after almost 2.5 years of training and being sidelined due to injuries suffered during training or nagging problems from his wrestling career. You can't just stick these people into each other's world and expect them to be safe without the proper training. I can see the appeal more from an MMA fighter's perspective to wrestle in WWE because I've little doubt that many of them would think it's easy money, just like Brock Lesnar did when he was first signed to WWE. Lesnar thought it was all glitz and glamor but found out that it was a helluva lot of work that you had to be massively committed to.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

Im not saying he will.....but Daniel Cormier is a huge pro wrestling fan, and i can see him to be a good pick for the crossover.

 

[OYDK]

Only way this works is in the Octagon and not a WWE ring so I'll frame my responses as such.

1. Do you think UFC and WWE would benefit from a Heavyweight Title Exhibition Match?

I don't think UFC necessarily benefits from a champion vs champion match. In fact, they risk alienating their core audience by booking and advertising a match this way, because many UFC fans view WWE as basically a joke. They do however benefit from having Brock Lesnar fight as he's one of the top 3 draws in UFC history and if they layed off the "WWE Champion" aspect of it, it could work. It'll never happen though. WWE would definitely benefit more from the exposure and from possibly proving, however unlikely, that their champion could compete and possibly even defeat the "real" fighting champion so to speak.

2. How likely is this fight now that Brock is back in the UFC mix?

Not likely bordering on no chance in friggin hell. Brock will only fight the UFC Heavyweight Champion if he decided to fight full time again and he'll never do it as WWE Champion. The only way this POSSIBLY happens is if a title contender goes down late with an injury, UFC calls up Brock to fill in in a non-title match, and Brock happens to be WWE Champion at the time. Every single piece has to fall into place perfectly though.

3. Are Brock's days as a WWE-exclusive entity numbered?

Honestly, I think so. I understand that he's under contract right now but Brock's going to do what he wants to do. If that's fight, than he'll fight whether Vince likes it or not. If he weren't 38 years old, I'd wager he'd be gone after his next contract expired but he'd be dumb at this point to give up the easy money in WWE to try and rejuvenate a UFC career at 40. But I do see him fighting the odd fight for UFC now and again for many years.

4. Do you have any interest in UFC stars (McGregor, Rousey, Diaz, Silva) coming to WWE or would you rather WWE Stars (Rollins, Ambrose, Cena, Reigns) fight in an Octagon?

Maybe UFC stars to WWE but no interest in WWE guys in the Octagon. Even the wrestlers with MMA training like Rusev and Del Rio are very amateurish compared to the legit, big-time UFC fighters. It's dangerous and it puts the wrestlers at serious risk. Since the WWE is all scripted, it's at least possible to believe we could see Rousey or McGregor in a WWE ring.

The only guy I'm interested in seeing in UFC at this point is Brock Lesnar.

Edit: Wow, I actually didn't realize Del Rio has nearly 15 MMA bouts under his belt with a winning record. Perhaps he would do well in an undercard match.

 

[King Patrick Star]

1. Do you think UFC and WWE would benefit from a Heavyweight Title Exhibition Match?

Yes!!

2. How likely is this fight now that Brock is back in the UFC mix?

Very likely!!

3. Are Brock's days as a WWE-exclusive entity numbered?

Yes, but they could always come up with a new deal.

4. Do you have any interest in UFC stars (McGregor, Rousey, Diaz, Silva) coming to WWE or would you rather WWE Stars (Rollins, Ambrose, Cena, Reigns) fight in an Octagon?

Both!! The possibilities are endless.

The way I see it, this can only be a win-win situation for both the WWE and the UFC. I would love to see WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar vs. UFC World Heavyweight Champion, Stipe Miocic. First I'd have them fight in the Octagon. Then I'd have them Wrestle in the Squared Circle. They could even trade wins, to somewhat sweeten the deal.

 

[enviousdominous]

1. Do you think UFC and WWE would benefit from a Heavyweight Title Exhibition Match?

Like most have pointed out; the UFC no, and the WWE yes. Whatever happens, the WWE could simply turn it into a storyline. If a WWE champion beats a UFC champion under any circumstances, that's the end for that UFC champion's credibility.

2. How likely is this fight now that Brock is back in the UFC mix?

Brock isn't exactly in the UFC mix, he's only able to compete in the UFC if Dana and Vince can find the time to negotiate. I'd say that the fight still has a 0% chance of ever happening in that -- even though he's been booked as an unstoppable behemoth -- the WWE is apparently trying to get beyond Brock Lesnar in terms of putting the world title on him. He's great for exhibition matches, but there's really no need to make him the world champion.

3. Are Brock's days as a WWE-exclusive entity numbered?

No, not by a long-shot. I don't see Brock ever going back to the UFC full time, in that he's approaching 40 years old and the competition is only getting more fierce in the UFC. TNA would never be able to afford Brock's plane ticket, let alone his salary. NJPW might get to use him in the future, but it would be a huge step down for Brock.

4. Do you have any interest in UFC stars (McGregor, Rousey, Diaz, Silva) coming to WWE or would you rather WWE Stars (Rollins, Ambrose, Cena, Reigns) fight in an Octagon?

I would rather see MMA stars try professional wrestling. I think it's more likely that we'll see prowrestlers trying MMA. Prowrestling is a tricky game where the majority of an MMA fighter's training would go into being an entertaining character, I more-so want to see an MMA fighter flex his/her acting chops than I want to see a stone-faced professional wrestler just go out there and tussle on the mat.

 

[RedRegan1005]

WWE is happy now because their signed talent just walked back into a UFC ring after a 3 year absence and won. Now they are going to beat that fact into the ground as it adds even more credibility to Lesnar who is arguably the most legit and credible "beast" we've seen in WWE in an extremely long time. However was it just me or didn't it seem WWE was saying very little about Lesnar's UFC return leading up to the match? I don't think they wanted to push that into their fans face with their being any kind of possibility that Lesnar could've gotten beat down or knocked out. But he didn't he won, as predicted, just saying, and now its safe for WWE to talk about cause it can't really hurt them. Its that uncertainty of whether or not the WWE guy involved could end up looking bad that will stop them from doing very much cross promotion stuff with UFC.

Despite Vince McMahon's idea that UFC and WWE are in totally different areas of business and aren't competition, I doubt they would ever want a UFC fighter making one their guys look bad. Unless its a former UFC fighter under a WWE contract and its taking place in a WWE ring where McMahon has no uncertainty of it hurting his talent or his product, I can't imagine seeing it. Unless however, the WWE wrestlers name is Brock Lesnar. Lesnar is massive star for WWE and I imagine was able to secure himself a good amount of leverage or freedom in his contract. So for that reason if he wanted to fight again and it would line up and work with his WWE schedule then I wouldn't be surprised to see Lesnar step back into the ring while being signed with WWE. However, between the time of the announcement of the match and the outcome I think WWE wouldn't draw much attention to it until he won and they were sure it would be beneficial for them.

All that hoopla said, from a fantasy booking standpoint I always thought there was money in a Ronda Rousey vs Charolette match, in a WWE match that is. Seeing the biggest name ever in Womens MMA face off with the daughter of arguably the greatest wrestle of all time would be a great story to be told.

 

[Trill Co$by]

I don't see why it wouldn't help UFC nor WWE. Let's face it guys, getting a legitimate athlete in the WWE to go into Wrestlemania has been an attraction since literally the first Wrestlemania. And need I remind you guys how much buzz the Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show match drew for both the WWE and the Boxing World? Let's not be stupid here and think that the same wouldn't happen for UFC. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if CM PUNK was to become a Light Heavyweight champion and then entered into a match against the WWE's Intercontinental Champion or United States Champion as a secondary matchup. Let's face it, this is the ultimate dream here and having a guy like Lesnar holding the UFC title while fighting someone like Roman Reigns or Rusev at Survivor Series or WrestleMania... because Ambrose won't be champion past SummerSlam... is leaps and bounds better than anything you can draw up in creative.

Other than a handful of WWE superstars like Lesnar, Lashley and maybe Barrett can't see any of the other members of the roster lasting long in a UFC fight.

Let's go ahead and debunk this once and for all so people will shut up about it.

1. Alberto Del Rio has a current MMA record of 9-5... with two by way of Knockout. So clearly he can hold his own in the Octagon.
2. Shinsuke Nakamura has a current MMA record of 3-1... all three of his victories coming by way of submission. So again, he can hold his own in the Octagon.
3. Big Show has training in Boxing
4. Baron Corbin is a former NFL Offensive Guard, which are men known for blocking not one but usually two or three men weighing around 300lbs coming at full speed. Also, he has experience in competitive Amateur Boxing, with offers to go to pros before siding with professional football.
5. Big E Langston, Rusev, and Mark Henry are power lifting champions, with Henry holding the title of the World's Strongest man. Sure, they're not fast but anyone who's able to pull a Semi-Truck (we're talking legit, not the Smackdown taping incident) can do damage to a normal person if they wanted to.
6. AJ Styles, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, Chad Gable, Jason Jordan, and many many others are former Collegiate level wrestlers... the same collegiate level that the likes of Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley hail from. And the same collegiate level of wrestling which usually has the best Win-Loss records in MMA.
7. Tyson Kidd and Natalya were trained in the Stu Hart dungeon style, which is known to teach MMA as well. In fact, learning traditional wrestling such as the style taught in the Collegiate levels is the first thing they learn in the Dungeon. Which, as I've explained, gives them quite an advantage in MMA.
8. Randy Orton is a former United States Marine... the ones that are sent in to do the dirty work in War. And even the most basic military training is leaps and bounds above anything you can learn in MMA.

So clearly the notion of "fake wrestlers" not being able to hold themselves in a real fight scenario is stupid as fuck, and honestly it's a myth that needs to go away. Plus, had MMA been around or as popular back in the day, I'm pretty sure Kurt Angle would've made the transition from Olympic Wrestling to MMA.