Brock Lesnar defeated former UFC rival Cain Velasquez via submission to retain his WWE Championship at the Crown Jewel pay-per-view.

The match only last 2:10, with Lesnar getting Velasquez to tap out to the Kimura lock. Rey Mysterio proceeded to attack the WWE Champion with a steel chair numerous times before Lesnar finally departed.

Even if the match between Lesnar and Velasquez disappointed fans, it was at least quite a treat for many fans to see the two UFC legends duke it out in the middle of a ring. And there's a strong chance that we'll see them go at it again down the road.

But the company apparently had a different opponent in mind for Lesnar at first.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Ringside News), the original idea was to have Lesnar go up against boxer Tyson Fury, who wound up fighting against Braun Strowman instead.

The Observer noted that this idea "was discussed," but it didn't end up going far. It was suggested that WWE chose to have Velasquez face Lesnar instead since the former is "the bigger star in the U.S. market."

Related: WWE Finds Way To Save Face In Fury Vs. Strowman Crown Jewel Match

With that, Fury engaged in a singles match against the Monster Among Men, and the undefeated 6-foot-9 boxer emerged victorious via countout in a match that lasted eight minutes.

Velasquez signed a three-year contract with WWE, so there's plenty of time for him to go up against Lesnar and even Strowman down the road. We also shouldn't fully rule out the chances of Lesnar one day going up against Fury in the ring, given how big of a money draw that showdown would be.

Matches Weren't Great, But Experience Was Worthwhile

The Lesnar-Velasquez and Strowman-Fury matches weren't strong in quality, and they've both received strong negative reviews from pundits. But the experiences were simply well worth it, because few could have expected to see Fury and Velasquez enter a WWE ring. The latter especially will continue to get better in the ring as he competes more in WWE.

Next: Stephanie Explains WWE Choice Of Evans vs Natalya For Crown Jewel Match