LAS VEGAS – JULY 03: Brock Lesnar reacts after his second round submission victory against Shane Carwin to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship Unification bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on July 3, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Forget life imitating art. Sometimes, when things get really strange, life imitates pro wrestling promos.

For evidence, consider the following video, from March of last year, when Paul Heyman, “advocate” for Brock Lesnar in the wild world that is the WWE Universe, decided to hold court on contract negotiations for his “client.” Working himself into a proper lather regarding Lesnar’s future opportunities, Heyman eventually delivered the most memorable line of the night.

“If Brock Lesnar wants to spend his summer unifying the WWE and the UFC title,” exclaimed Heyman, “that’s what he’s going to do!”

Fast forward a little more than a year, and no, Heyman’s prediction has not come perfectly to pass. His Saturday night fight, with Mark Hunt, at UFC 200, will not be for the UFC Heavyweight Title. (Although if Lesnar is victorious, it is certainly not hard to imagine Dana White and company quickly fast-tracking Lesnar to a title shot.) And sure, Lesnar is not, currently, holding on to the WWE Title either. (However, with a “brand extension” coming to the biggest company in the business, it also stands to reason that Lesnar will re-enter the title picture sooner or later.)

But even without belts on the line, it’s hard to overstate just how remarkable the next few weeks will be for “The Beast Incarnate.” On Saturday, he steps into the Octagon for the first time in more than five years, suddenly the centerpiece of one of the biggest UFC cards in history, and carrying even more of the promotional weight on his shoulders, following Jon Jones’ removal from the card following a failed drug test.

Then, as we learned Friday, Lesnar will step back into the squared circle on Aug. 21, taking on Randy Orton at Summer in a WWE “dream match. Titles or not, there is only one man with the drawing power, the stature, the leverage, and the sheer brazenness to hop back and forth between the world of legitimate fighting and scripted sports entertainment.

And to steal a phrase from Mr. Heyman, that man’s name, is “BRRRRRROCK LESSSSNAR!”

 

The man himself, at the center of it all, appears to be having one hell of a time. During Wednesday’s UFC 200 press conference, Lesnar was the life of the party, smiling broadly, sharing his joy at simply being able to participate in such a highly anticipated event, and detailing his rather prolific training regimen.

About Alexander Goot

Alexander Goot is a sports television producer, and a writer whose work has appeared at The Cauldron, Vice Sports, Fansided, Sports On Earth, and the Classical. He is a passionate fan of jambands, NASCAR racing, and New York sports, and believed in Kristaps Porzingis from the very beginning. He can be reached at alexander.goot@gmail.com if you'd like to discuss the Mets rotation, or the music of Phish.