It's certainly not an opportunity I'd be yearning for, but Cain Velasquez is licking his chops.
That's because the two All-American wrestler at ASU has the chance win the UFC Heavyweight Championship and the unofficial title of “Baddest Man on the Planet” that accompanies it.
The only problem?
Half-man, half-beastly animal Brock Lesnar stands in the way.
After holding off an early onslaught from latest challenger Shane Carwin, Lesnar, whose dimensions are incomparable to any human I've ever seen, will now look to defend his shiny title belt against Velasquez, who holds a professional record of 8-0, on Oct. 23 in Anaheim, Calif.
Unlike me, Velasquez isn't plagued by the fear of being punched by a fist packing the power of the hadron collider, and, as a result, has the opportunity to put ASU on the map in a sport that is seeing a growing amount of former Sun Devils join its ranks.
Former ASU grapplers Ryan Bader, C.B. Dollaway and Aaron Simpson — also an assistant coach in Tempe for nine seasons — are among a growing group making a living in mixed-martial arts.
UFC is providing, as current ASU wrestler Bubba Jenkins pointed out last month, a future for collegiate wrestlers who previously were largely unable to use their talents to make money professionally.
“A lot of guys that are doing [the UFC] are really good wrestlers,” Jenkins said. “What intrigues me about it is that wrestlers can now pick a sport and go professional with it with just the basics of what they know already.”
The fever for MMA locally could grow even hotter if Velasquez becomes the first former Sun Devil to win a UFC title.
Here's hoping he can avoid some of those bruising blows.
