Monday 5 July 2010

Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry

Sometimes the hardest tests in life are the ones that you see coming. Everyone knew that Carwin had nuclear punching power and would be looking to decapitate Lesnar but it didn't make this fight predictable. I had very few questions of Brock before this fight but they were all answered in emphatic fashion.

Can Brock Lesnar take a punch?

Yes he can. 61 of them to be precise.


If 61 strikes from Shane Carwin don't knock you out I'm lost as to think of what actually will. I heard a few people saying they should have stopped it but I completely disagree. You're going to stop a heavyweight title fight when a guy takes a few shots? That's why we have referees like Josh Rosenthal, Herb Dean and Marc Goddard who clearly understand the intricacies of the fight game. At no point watching the fight did I fear for the safety of Brock Lesnar. I think the fact he was bleeding a little bit added to the hysteria of it all in some eyes but I was extremely impressed by Josh Rosenthal and his performance.

What is Brock Lesnar like on his back?

It's harder to gauge this one as the time he spent on his back he was under a siege of strikes from Carwin but overall I think he did what he had to do from this position. He covered well and waited for his time to explode out. There's a time and a place for a technical half guard but when the man in that technical half guard is Shane Carwin you've got to look at your options. Brock weathered the early storm and was able to get up when his moment arrived.

Who's next for Brock Lesnar?

Dana confirmed that one and the 'lucky' recipient of Lesnar's attention will be Cain Velasquez. This match up presents us with another series of questions that I look forward to finding out the answers to. Cain won't gas out after he throws 61 strikes that's for sure, he hit 262 against Kongo and that was 12 months ago. Interestingly if Brock gets past Cain he'll fight the winner of Junior Dos Santos and Roy Nelson. I see Junior winning that one but just imagine if Roy Nelson wins and so does Brock. Nelson vs. Lesnar? I can only imagine how they'd market that one. Greek God vs. Burger King maybe?

In short Lesnar impressed me. His battle with illness has forged him into a much humbler champion, I think in all honesty it was simply Frank Mir that got into Brock's head at UFC 100. Brock raised the hand of Carwin and admitted that he'd taken some hard shots from his foe. He showed a much improved game both in the face in adversity and in his grappling ability. To sum up I'll leave you with one thought. If someone had told you that Brock Lesnar would have been hit 61 times by Shane Carwin in the first round and then have gone on to submit him in the second, would you have believed them?



7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Everyone talks about Carwin's punching power, how about some love for Lesnar's chin?

Unknown said...

Completely agree it shouldn't have been stopped, and I was extremely impressed with Lesanr, but I also thought at times Carwin seemed a bit lost? It reminded me of watching Manchester United play back in the late 90s, even if they were 3-1 down in the 70th minute, you still knew they were going to pull something back and go onto win it. Exactly the same with that fight, even with Carwin hammerfisting Lesnar into the floor I just didn't think Carwin had enough to finsih it.

Ben Cartlidge said...

You're right Jim, I had an accumulator and Lesnar was the final one that I needed so I can't say I didn't get a bit nervy when Carwin was ground and pounding him but Lesnar did enough in mine, and more importantly the referee's opinion.

Carwin gassed big time and that takedown that Lesnar got was the end of it really. I like Carwin, he'll be back and I hope he gets a crack at someone like Roy Nelson.

Lesnar proved how much his game had evolved in that fight and that's the name of the game.

Anonymous said...

Lesnar will beat Cain, JDS will destroy Nelson.

I can't see who stops Lesnar at this point....

MMA Maniac said...

No way should they have allowed that, Brock was getting smashed. 9/10 that fight gets stopped and Carwin wins.

ASOCF said...

I don't think Carwin seemed lost at all! He totally dominated the 1st round! If it had been anyone else then they would have been out in the first punch....but Brock is a freak of nature!

ASOCF said...

I don't think Carwin seemed lost at all! He totally dominated the 1st round! If it had been anyone else then they would have been out in the first punch....but Brock is a freak of nature!