Amid some controversy, Kyle Nelson claimed his first knockout victory since 2019. On the UFC Atlantic City Main Card, the Canadian strung together his biggest string of wins by knocking out Bill Algeo in one round in what was a short but intense bout. With a minute left in the first round, Nelson hit Algeo who stopped responding to the strikes, which made it easier for referee Gary Copeland to stop the action.
While fans are divided on the stoppage, what caught a lot of attention was how much the referee Gary Copeland looks like Brock Lesnar.
Gary Copeland, the MMA referee
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A U.S. police chief, the village manager of Waynesville, North Carolina, a former U.S. Marine, and an MMA referee. Gary Copeland graced multiple roles in his lifetime. And after his recent refereeing at the UFC Atlantic City, he is making news as a Brock Lesnar stunt double. At least that’s what the fans have to say after noticing the uncanny resemblance between the two. However, that is not the only reason Copeland’s making news. As he has fans divided.
ANOTHER missed eye poke and then early stoppage. UFC referee Gary Copeland is doing an atrocious job tonight #UFCAtlanticCity pic.twitter.com/A6826FnFT8
— Brasco Bets (@BrascoBets) March 31, 2024
Several stormed to Twitter after his refereeing in the Chris Weidman and Bruno Silva fight, where Weidman poked Silva in the eye several times. That should’ve made it a no-contest. Many other fans took to Twitter to share the funny side of things as they compared Copeland and Lesnar.
Copeland, the Lesnar stunt double
It seems like fans are missing the Beast Brock Lesnar quite a lot. So much so, that after the recent UFC event, they stormed Twitter and shared tweets on the uncanny resemblance between the referee and the WWE superstar. Here are some of the reactions:
This fan hilariously points out that Copeland looks like a Lesnar action figure.
Gary Copeland looks like a Brock Lesnar action figure
— MMA_Stupid (@stupid_mma) March 26, 2022
One fan claimed that if Lesnar gets hit by a shrink ray, he’ll turn into Copeland.
Gary Copeland looks like Brock Lesnar if he got hit by a shrink ray #UFCAtlanticCity pic.twitter.com/blFqPswNPV
— Olin aka MMAnomaly👊 (@MMAnomaly) March 31, 2024
Another name is added to the list of lookalikes by this fan.
Gary Copeland is what we’d get if Brock Lesnar and Keith Peterson had a baby #UFCAtlanticCity
— Sam (@he11fire217) March 31, 2024
This fan claimed that the Beast and the referee might be brothers.
Brock Lesnar’s lil bro
— McGregor vs USADA (@BoNickalFan) March 31, 2024
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One fan says that Copeland looks like a child version of Lesnar.
Referee Gary Copeland looks like Brock Lesnar at 11 years old.
— Evan Shoman (@shomanart) January 30, 2016
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Well, they surely do look alike. But while the fans got to witness Copeland on the screens, the wait for Lesnar is still on. Ever since his removal from the WWE, fans have awaited his return. But there are rumors of a Mania appearance. What do you think? Will we get to see Lesnar return? Let us know in the comments.