Brock Lesnar UFC Heavyweight Champion

Brock Edward Lesnar (born July 12, 1977 in Webster, South Dakota) is an American mixed martial artist as well as a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is currently the UFC Heavyweight Champion. He is currently ranked the #2 Heavyweight in the world by MMAWeekly.com.http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AloBtjRRGwUToCAAiwhj_1VZEo14?slug=ys-mmaweekdr112509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Lesnar was an accomplished amateur wrestler, winning the 2000 NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship and placing second in 1999, losing in the finals to future New England Patriots offensive lineman Stephen Neal. He then gained prominence in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he was a three-time WWE Champion and the youngest person ever to hold that championship at that time. Lesnar was also the 2002 King of the Ring, and the winner of the 2003 Royal Rumble.

After leaving WWE in 2004, Lesnar pursued a career in the NFL. He played during the preseason for the Minnesota Vikings, but ended up being a late cut. Lesnar returned to professional wrestling at the end of 2005, and joined New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his first wrestling match since leaving the WWE. He was stripped of the title in July 2006, although he held the physical belt until June 2007.

Lesnar started a career in mixed martial arts and had his first fight in June 2007. He then signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in October 2007. Upon signing with the organization he had an unsuccessful debut against Frank Mir, but has since remained undefeated, capturing the UFC Heavyweight Championship from Randy Couture on November 15, 2008 and avenging his earlier loss to Mir by way of a second round TKO at UFC 100.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a U.S.-based MMA promotion. Dana White serves as the president of the UFC while Zuffa, LLC (controlled by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta) owns the company.

Inspired by vale tudo competitions in Brazil, the UFC held its first competition in Denver, Colorado in 1993. Showcasing fighters of different proficiencies?including boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling and Muay Thai, among others?the UFC sought to discover which martial art was the most effective in a real fight. After a period of political backlash, the UFC gradually underwent reform by embracing stricter rules and achieving sanctioning with State Athletic Commissions.

With a cable television deal and expansion into Canada, Europe and new markets within the United States, the UFC has gained in popularity, along with greater mainstream-media coverage. viewers can access UFC programming on pay-per-view television, Spike in the United States and Canada, on ESPN in the United Kingdom as well as in 33 other countries worldwide.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full contact combat sport that allows a wide variety of fighting techniques, from a mixture of martial arts traditions and non-traditions, to be used in competitions. The rules allow the use of striking and grappling techniques, both while standing and on the ground. Such competitions allow martial artists of different backgrounds to compete.

The roots of mixed martial arts can be traced back to various mixed style contests that took place throughout Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim during the early 1900s. Modern MMA competition emerged in 1993 with the founding of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Originally organized with the intention of finding the most effective martial arts for real unarmed combat situations, competitors were pitted against one another with minimal rules for safety. Later promoters adopted many additional rules aimed at increasing safety for competitors and to promote mainstream acceptance of the sport. The name mixed martial arts was coined by one of the developers of these rules, Jeff Blatnick, a former Greco-Roman wrestler and Olympic gold medalist. Following these changes, the sport has seen increased popularity with pay per view reach rivaling boxing and professional wrestling.