Brock Lesnar is the new UFC Heavyweight Champion, but he faces an uphill battle in a quest to earn the respect of MMA followers

Sunday, November 16 – 10:57 A.M. (CT)

-I never would have guessed when I interviewed Brock Lesnar this summer that he would be UFC Hvt. Champion just a few months later. At the time, Lesnar was 0-1 in his UFC career (he won a prior non-UFC fight) and was on the verge of facing a tough veteran in Heath Herring. Meanwhile, Randy Couture was still in the midst of a contract dispute with UFC and there was no reason to think that standoff was going to end.

The events that have unfolded since then are amazing. Lesnar dominated his three-round unanimous decision victory over Herring, and I'll never forget how surprised I was to hear that Couture was ending his contract dispute and returning to the octagon to defend his title against Lesnar.

One can argue that Lesnar didn't earn his shot at the UFC title. Chris Kanyon wrote a long article explaining that Brock has been handed everything on a silver platter. With a 1-1 record, maybe the fight should have gone to a more experienced veteran. However, UFC officials recognized the money drawing potential of a Couture vs. Lesnar fight and jumped at the chance.

You can argue that he didn't deserve the title shot, but the only thing that matters today is that Brock made the most of his opportunity by winning the first round and knocking out the legendary Couture in the second round. Critics will continue to question whether Brock is truly the best heavyweight in UFC, but he'll get another chance to prove himself when he faces the winner of the Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira sometime next year.

Brock will either avenge his only MMA loss or face a dangerous fighter in Nogueira. If Brock wins that fight and unifies the titles (Nogueira holds the interim title that was created during Couture's hiatus), he'll technically be the undisputed UFC Hvt. Champion. I use the word technically because the Lesnar haters will still come up with reasons to dispute whether he's the best heavyweight in the company.

And, of course, the legend of Fedor Emelianenko will still loom over Lesnar and the entire UFC heavyweight division. Brock already cracked when Fedor's name came up repeatedly during the Lesnar vs. Couture conference call, and you can be sure that it won't be the last time his name comes up. Brock still has a long way to go when it comes to earning the respect of MMA fans, but he took a big step in the right direction last night.