You’ve got that right. Someone like Nogueira, with an iron chin and great submission skills, is exactly the fighter to beat Lesnar. Even if Brock’s sub defense has improved since the Mir fight, you’ve got to figure Nog could last five rounds if necessary, and sooner or later would catch him with something.
But as for Couture, the matchup doesn’t favor him as much stylistically – mostly because I think there’s a good chance Lesnar can put him on his back, and that’s not a position where Randy is particularly comfortable. Still, it’s hard for me to pick the guy with three career fights over the guy who’s won multiple championship belts.
I’m not much for critiquing MMA, but to me it was kind of a routine looking punch that happened to catch Randy in the ear and put him down. Brock was on the ball, jumped on him, and finished him. I’m sure stiffer punches were thrown by both fighters, but this one just happen to hit the right place. Of course, Brock is big and strong enough that there is probably no such thing as a routine punch from him.
I’m going to sound like a hater here but I don’t care. I’m not a mindless Randy fanboy and it really doesn’t bother me that Brock worked for the WWF. My honest, at least somewhat unbiased opinion, is that the tide was turning towards Randy and Brock landed a lucky punch. Say what you will about either fighter but Tim Sylvia is 10x the technical striker that Brock is and he was never able to land that punch on Couture.
Yeah, Brock is listed as 1" taller but it seemed like he was clearly about 4" taller. I don’t think they measure them; I think it’s like your driver’s license where they just ask how tall you are.
The first punch of a 5-round fight? The classic step-fake overhand right that he is on record saying he planned to open the fight with? I really don’t think so.
Everything I’ve read so far said that this was a great card all-around. I’m sad that previous plans kept me from seeing it. I’ll have to look for Spike to show it sometime soon. Anyone else suprised that Florian was able to dispatch Stevenson so easily? I really did think that was gonna be a long drawn out battle. Also glad that there are so many fans on the Dope. I’m glad to discuss MMA with some rational people. Every conversation on the MMA boards always seem to turn into flame wars.
I think the entire production last night was filled with entertaining fights.
Lesnar is just… HUGE. I had bet my buddy $20, and took Couture. My thought was just the skill level of Randy, the fact that he would tire out Brock and eventually get him. And it looked like he was doing that in the fight.
It’s just that Lesnar is HUGE. Seriously, I can’t get over how big the guy is. Not only that, but if you look at his first fight to last night, he’s obviously done a lot of training and learning. He looks more smooth, and technical than he has prior.
I’m not sure who fights him next, but I hope it’s entertaining.
Yes, very surprised actually. I knew Kenny had a good chance of winning but I thought for sure it would be a decision. I didn’t see either one of them stopping the fight. I think Joe underestimated Kenny’s ground game and got sloppy. In terms of a contenders fight though, this was unexciting. Neither one of them are going to beat BJ.
(What was the reference Kenny made about killing the master? I’ve heard that somewhere before – Buddhism?)
It was a really solid fight. Both men got a chance to demonstrate their skills. It whent back and forth a few times before it ended. Each fighter had moments when they appeared to be winning. I expected Randy to display extreme skill, but I was surprised at how polished Brock was. Like an earlier poster said, the man appears to be learning the MMA game very quickly. While he size and strength certainly help, the man has skills. If he continues to improve he will be a serious contender for years to come.
If I understand correctly his next fight will be either Nog or Mir. I think either man could defeat Brock. Mir already did it once and Nog is arguably the best submissions fighter in the game today. Nog is also closer to Brock’s age and weight than Randy.
Brock’s entrance into MMA worries me. MMA’s greatest attraction is its authenticity. An MMA match is about as close to a “real” fight as will ever be sanctioned. I worry that the sport will go the way of pro wrestling with worked matches and soap opera story lines. Brock’s background and personality (several of his comments in interviews have sounded a bit over the top) have the potential to push MMA toward pro wrestling. The question is; will MMA change Brock or will Brock change MMA? I hope for the former and fear the latter.
. . . That’s the one I was referring to . . . the first punch of a 5-round fight . . . the one Randy said he planned to open the fight with, and did. Not lucky or a fight decider IMO.
I had a huge bet on Lesnar and I was lucky to get him as the odds put him as the favorite at -110 (I think he ended up being -135). Brock still doesn’t look that impressive as a fighter (unless you count putting your body weight on someone as a skill). He looked more impressive and faster in his last fight vs. Herring. He still looked like he had quick hands, just not as fast across the ring. However, I’m now convinced that no one has a shot against Lesnar, except maybe Fedor. Brock is just too big and too fast. And, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, there’s no way he’s 265. Did anyone see the post interview with Randy in his locker room? He was severely bruised. He had a bruised forehead and eye brow. He was literally black and blue (mostly blue). I think this is ample evidence that even a slight hit from Brock is just too dangerous.
That’s pretty much what I saw. Randy’s face was bruised up pretty badly but that wasn’t from the punch that put him down, it was from the *thirty plus frickin’ punches* Brock hit him with before Mario stopped the fight. I kept wondering what the heck Mario was looking at while Brock was hammering him, if maybe Randy was mouthing “I’m okay!” at him or something. I know it’s a championship fight and all and they’ll let it go a little longer, but yeesh.
The actual punch that put him down was…I’m not sure how to put it. “Lucky” or “fluke” are both too strong a word and not fair to Brock, but he didn’t hit him with the punch he intended. He hit him a few inches behind the ear with an unintentional rabbit punch that would have disqualified him if he’d intended it. Obviously, he didn’t intend to punch to the back of the head and it was a legit win for him, but it wasn’t the win everybody was predicting for him. I was starting to half believe the hype in spite of myself and almost expected to see Brock to roll over Randy like a tank, but Brock didn’t look dominating and controlling the way he did against Herring, he looked frustrated and unable to control Randy on the ground or in the clinch, with Randy landing the better shots. I had the first round going to Randy and the second round shaping up that way until the knockout.
One thing I was pleased with, though: I don’t know if it was because of the hostile crowd (quit booing fighters, you jerks!), but Brock showed a lot of respect after the fight, and good for him. He’s got a great career ahead of him.
Nah, Nog and Mir both have a shot, maybe even better than Randy did. You’re right about Brock not being at 265, though; he had to cut down to 265 to make the upper limit. The day of the fight he was probably at 280+!
Nog maybe, I really like Nog a lot. He almost loss in the first round to Herring though, and comparably, that makes the match up more in Lesnar’s favor. Granted, Mir took out Brock just as fast (whereas Nog escaped (why didn’t Herring follow up?)), I think Mir was way more lucky than Herring. Mir was seriously getting rolled for the first half of that round. Brock won’t make that same mistake, and if things got dicey, I bet he would actually help Mir off the ground to continue the fight standing.
I see a Mir fight going like this: hard take down by Lesnar, some ground and pound, then Lesnar standing up Mir again. Repeat.
Vs. Nog, I’m not sure. He’ll try to Lesnar, because that’s how he lost before, but even Nog will be overwhelmed at just how fast and ferocious Lesnar is. There has to be some rule that you can’t pack on another 20 lbs after weigh in.