By Hunter Homistek

Brock Lesnar will return to the Octagon on July 9 to face Mark Hunt at UFC 200.

It's kind of a big deal in the MMA universe right now, and rightly so.

Lesnar, one of the biggest draws in MMA history, is emerging from the shadows to return at the biggest UFC event of the year—and perhaps of all time. The news came out of nowhere, smacking fans in the face with a size-XXXL glove.

It created a buzz. UFC 200 will undoubtedly pull massive numbers from the box office. Lesnar is back, but his return is the less important story here. Look at the fight he accepted: Mark Hunt.

I'm almost positive Lesnar doesn't need the money from the UFC. He doesn't need the exposure (he gets plenty of that with the WWE). He already won and twice defended the UFC heavyweight title in the past, so he doesn't even need to prove that he can hang inside the cage.

Yet he signed on to face one of the greatest strikers in heavyweight history, a 42-year-old animal who has knocked out two straight foes in devastating fashion and owns nine knockouts in 12 overall wins.

A Hunt knockout isn't pretty, either. There's face-planting and rigor mortis. In seven UFC victories, he boasts six knockouts, including a one-shot stopper of Roy Nelson. To this day, Nelson has only been stopped via strikes by two men: Andrei Arlovski and Hunt. And that's despite facing some of the heaviest hitters of all time, including Shane Carwin and Junior dos Santos.

Hunt's power is just different.



That's what makes Lesnar's decision so damn ballsy. Of all people, Lesnar could have handpicked an opponent who posed less of a threat to him on his feet. The UFC would've been thankful to have him on the card in general. He didn't need to put himself in legitimate danger to secure his spot.

The WWE superstar's first stint in the UFC ended on a sour note. He was knocked out by Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem in back-to-back bouts, showcasing an inability to take a shot in the process. But he wasn't getting stone-cold KO'ed in these matchups, and that's the point. He simply didn't like getting hit, and he had no intelligent defense once the bombs started raining down.

Hunt will launch missiles. That is a guarantee. So long as the fight is on its feet, Lesnar is at a massive disadvantage—one he recognizes.

"I think I match up very well," Lesnar said during Monday morning's edition of SportsCenter. "If Mark Hunt ends up on the ground, the fight’s over. I’ve been working—obviously, I need to work on my stand-up game—but I’m excited and enthusiastic about doing so. That’s the difference."

Lesnar must get this fight to the ground—a narrative we've heard before when it comes to Hunt's opponent's. Frank Mir, arguably the greatest submission specialist in UFC heavyweight history, couldn't drag the New Zealander to the canvas at UFC Fight Night 85, and he paid the price with his consciousness.

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Mir whiffed on all three of his takedown attempts against Hunt. If Lesnar does the same, we should expect similar results.

Let's not pretend Lesnar's wrestling chops are the same as Mir's, though. Lesnar has a massive advantage over Hunt in the grappling department, but Hunt's improvements there are evident. One failed takedown attempt could spell the end for Lesnar.

The 38-year-old could've called for someone further down the ladder. With his status, a fight against literally anyone will sell. But that's not what he elected to do.

He agreed to fight Mark Hunt instead. For somebody with a poor history against powerful strikers, this could be a boneheaded decision of the highest order. Should he defeat Hunt July 9 at UFC 200, though, Lesnar will not only prove he can deal with an elite striker, but he'll also become a legitimate contender inside the UFC's heavyweight division once more.

So if fortune truly favors the bold, you have to feel good about Lesnar's chances here.