Carwin (top) file photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Posted on 07/03/2010 1:46:03 PM PDT by downwdims
Carwin (top) file photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
With just one tap by Fedor Emelianenko, UFC 116 “Lesnar vs. Carwin” went from being headlined by a heavyweight title unifier to a battle for status as the world’s premier heavyweight.
Airing live on pay-per-view from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the cost of admission is worth it just for the chance to watch Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin decide who is the heavyweight alpha male of the moment.
For a proper breakdown of this massively important fight as well as the rest of the main card proceedings, read on and get your knowledge right.
Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin
A few days ago the title unification bout between Lesnar and Carwin was the biggest heavyweight fight on the UFC docket. Then Fedor Emelianenko lost, the Internet blew up and the No. 1 spot in the division is now all but reserved for the winner of this fight.
Who exactly holds the edge in the race for heavyweight supremacy is anyone’s guess. Lesnar has been on the shelf for a year thanks to a life-threatening case of diverticulitis, and Carwin still has yet to fight past the first round. For all the questions on the table, however, both fighters are still unbelievably talented prototypes for the next generation of physically dominant heavyweights. With that much freakish DNA in the cage, strategy is going to be what separates these two.
Known for being a pure power puncher and little else, Carwin actually showed surprising fight IQ in his fight with Frank Mir by pressing him against the cage and clubbing the former UFC heavyweight champion in close quarters. Just a little bit of strategy makes Carwin’s sense-shattering punches that much more dangerous, and it’s hard to imagine Lesnar going blow for blow with his ginormous counterpart. That’s not to say Lesnar can’t crack; rather, he hasn’t shown Carwin’s willingness to brawl nor his ongoing improvements as a boxer.
What Lesnar does have on Carwin is wrestling. The hulking South Dakotan has a preposterously fast shot and real wrestling skills to back it up. Just from a technical perspective, Carwin relies heavily on his strength to get takedowns, which won’t work against a wrestler of Lesnar’s caliber. Getting stuck underneath Lesnar is a scenario he has to avoid at all costs considering the smothering top control and rapid-fire ground striking synonymous with the reformed pro wrestler.
Those are all skills Lesnar has refined in a shockingly short amount of time while Carwin’s game hasn’t changed much since bursting onto the scene. While Lesnar’s recent dance with death has many wondering what sort of shape his body is in, he hasn’t fought in nearly a year, which is plenty of time to regain his form. All that time sitting on the sidelines also gave Lesnar the chance to continue making quantum leaps in his game.
Assuming full health and massive improvement from a guy who had a hole in his guts not too long ago may seem like a leap of faith, but Lesnar has proven many times over that he simply defies human physiology. As long as his strategy doesn’t defy logic, he has the edge on Carwin, who needs to be upright to win this fight. Every second this fight is on the feet will be a nail-biter, but Lesnar will keep them to a minimum by ground-and-pounding Carwin for the win.
Nice comeback and heart from Brock!
Amazing to see him Sub with an arm triangle tho. Lesnar just tapped someone.
MMA..What a Sport
WOOOOOOOOOOOO!
At first I was thinking that’s a bad arm triangle. Then he figured it out too and then got it cranked! It was a beautiful and surprising finish.
I would say nobody can beat Lesnar on the mat, but I remember that rather embarassing first encounter with Frank Mir...
BONUS FIGHT:
Kendall Grove (11-7) vs. Goran Reljic (8-1)
I’ll leave you to it; thanks for the updates, guys!
I think Velasquez finishes that fight, but now that the ring rust is gone I don’t know
Give Mr. Legs a thanks from us here in Freeperdom
I agree that Cain finishes that fight. The big concern was Brock’s ring rust. He weathered the storm and got the win. I think he’s got a susceptible chin, so someone can catch him.
I don’t know how susceptible consider the guy that was hitting him, hits like a mule. No one came close to surviving the first round against him. So, I suspect it is the punch more the chin, since Brock survived getting kick by a mule several times.
Until he fights Fedor..well....
....
He got dazed 3 times by Carwin’s Shots. The man has a serious Beard. Lesser men, well they went down like a chinese hooker at a gangbang
I checked around. Apparently he said some things about Silva and his mgr. that could be construed as racist.
Surprised he would do that. Any time I’ve seen him he always praised his opponent.
I don’t think he has a chance against Silva. Sadly
You could care less? Then why did you respond? The fact that you get upset because someone says something you don’t like about your “sport” shows the type of person who watches this crap. I like college football. But if someone says they don’t like it and people who watch is are stupid, wouldn’t bother me a bit.
Education? You have no idea about my education. And that shows your ignorance. Do you believe that only higher educated people watch this? Or could it be that it bothers you that the education level of the typical “fan” is down on the grade school level.
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