Brock Lesnar at the UFC 116 post-fight news conference. He defeated Shane Carwin via submission in the second round.
On the evening of July 3rd, fists were hurled, elbows were thrown, and knees were launched with such ferocity that it will take months to find the remains of the vanquished and clean up the carnage from inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the site of UFC 116. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating, but it’s not hyperbole to say that UFC 116 was THE event of the year in MMA thus far and if my reaction to it can be distilled down to only one word, it would be “impressed.” Though he lost, I have to admit that I was quite impressed with Shane Carwin. I was also impressed with lightweight George Sotiropoulos, who defeated Kurt Pellegrino by Unanimous Decision. And I’ve also became a fan of Brock Lesnar as I was impressed by his gracious and humble post-fight press conference.
So what did I learn? I learned that Carwin can definitely compete with the UFC’s most physically imposing fighter. Actually, I was stunned by how completely he dominated Lesnar in the 1st round. I was also astonished to discover that Carwin’s wrestling skills are, at least in an MMA setting, commensurable to Lesnar’s as he was able to successfully counter several of Lesnar’s takedown attempts. I was also impressed by Carwin’s athleticism – especially considering his size – as it was during one of those attempted takedowns that Carwin effortlessly transitioned from defense to offense in order to give Lesnar a departing shot with a Muay Thai knee strike. And finally, I found it somewhat astounding that Carwin’s sprawl was as effective as it was in countering Lesnar’s attempts to shoot-in as I had predicted that Lesnar would takedown Carwin “with impunity.”
None of these positives, however, could mitigate Carwin’s biggest negative: his over-aggressiveness. This tendency, along with the technical and strategic disadvantages of lacking submissions, is a wrestler’s greatest liability because it negates the discipline and patience needed against an opponent like Lesnar. Hence Carwin’s desire to end the fight in the first round rather than wearing Lesnar down over a period of time ultimately cost him the belt. So will Carwin always be in Lesnar’s shadow? Not if he follows Lesnar’s lead and continuously improves as a fighter. That means he needs to improve the technical aspects of his game: He needs to be more disciplined with his striking and he needs to learn submissions. He also needs to learn patience and to fight within himself. If he had pursued Couture’s original strategy of attrition, I believe Carwin would have won.
As for Lesnar, he has become one of the most fascinating and intriguing men in mixed martial arts. He survived a bludgeoning from Carwin in the first round and patiently executed his strategy on an obviously fatigued Carwin in the second round and I believe that it was this patience – and Lesnar’s ability to take punishment – that gave Lesnar the victory. Lesnar also impressed me by submitting Carwin via arm triangle choke, which demonstrated that Lesnar is becoming serious about developing a submission ground game. Personally, Lesnar earned my respect by the way he overcame his health issues and the emotional trauma and doubt that such adversity usually creates and maybe it was because of this experience that the “new” Lesnar is so appealing to me as his post-fight presser was refreshing for its lack of braggadocio and venom.
Next up for Lesnar will be Cain Velazquez, who possesses far better skills than Carwin, but lacks Carwin’s size and power; meanwhile Carwin will probably fight the winner of the Roy Nelson-Junior dos Santos fight or maybe Ben Rothwell prior to a rematch with Lesnar.
|
Notes: My favorite part of the evening was at the beginning of the 2nd round in the Lesnar-Carwin tilt when Lesnar smilted at Carwin who winked and smiled in response and then they “high-fived” in mutual respect as they met in the center of the Octagon. Just as the rainbows and unicorns arrived to celebrate the uniting power of sport, Carwin got choked out, thereby nixing the rainbows and unicorns moment. Good stuff.
|
