UFC 91 was a great event, but in the end, I sat in my seat depressed and wishing I hadn't seen what I just saw. I literally sat there until the usher told me I had to leave. I wasn't the only depressed face in the crowd, there was a couple a few rows in front of me that looked like their puppy had just been kidnapped.
If you're a frequent reader, you'll know that I'm not a Brock Lesnar fan. In fact, here's the shirt I wore to weigh-ins. I just don't agree with someone getting a title shot against a legend after only 3 fights (2 in the UFC).
After all was said and done, Brock had beaten Randy with a straight right that caught Randy behind the ear and dropped him. Without all of his wits about him, Randy just couldn't get Brock off of him. The ref gave Randy as much possible time as he could to recover, but Brock was just too much size to deal with at that point.
The size difference between Randy and Brock was evident even from the upper level seats in the arena. Randy came in at 220, and Brock said he weighed about 275 at fight time. Round 1 saw Randy work his game plan of head movement, combinations in close, defending the double-leg and keeping Brock against the cage. Even when Brock got him down, Randy was able to move to half-guard and use that to get back to his feet. Round 2 saw more of the same, until a straight right caught Randy behind the ear and put him down. Randy was clearly using head movement to avoid strikes, but in this case just didn't get far enough out ofthe way. As he told Joe Rogan after the fight, "those are some big ham-hocks comin' at ya".
What does this mean for the future of the heavyweight division? Given Brock's athletic ability, size and strength, it's hard to imagine anyone out-wrestling him. Some have the ability to out-strike the big man, but can they also defend the takedown well enough to keep the fight standing? Tough call. Even on the ground, what is the likelihood of catching a guy with a tree-trunk sized neck in a triangle? Not good. How about a rear-naked choke? You'd have to get his back first, and he's no slouch when it comes to grappling.
Ultimately, I think Brock's weakness will continue to be that which was exploited by Frank Mir, any type of submission on the legs or joints. Given that, I think the biggest threat to Brock's title remains to be Noguiera or Mir, but wouldn't be surprised if Gabriel Gonzaga could also give him a run for his money. Great on the ground and on his feet, Gonzaga is a young and strong fighter with great tenacity. Yes, he lost to Randy, but with the right game plan I could see Gonzaga posing a serious threat to Lesnar.
At the end of the day, Lesnar is an anomaly. He's clearly a very talented athlete with the ability to improve and become a good fighter. The sad part is, as a fan, I want to see a fight that is a war because the two fighters are evenly matched in skill, and it becomes a chess match. At this point the real challenge anyone faces with Lesnar is how to deal with his size and strength mixed with some athletic ability and skill. For the near future, you won't be hearing an opponent of Brock Lesnar saying they need a game plan to deal with his strikes, submission or grappling, but rather a game plan for dealing with his massive size and strength. That's too bad.
At his fairly young age, I don't think Brock will be going away any time soon, and there aren't a large pool of talented fighters that possess his same size and strength. So don't expect to see Brock tested solely on the merits of his skill level any time soon. I'll keep my fingers crossed that either Mir or Nogueira have the ability to test him, but it remains to be seen.
Kenny Florian VS Joe Stevenson
What can I say? Total domination by Kenny. I was VERY suprised to see Kenny get mount so quickly and to see Joe "Daddy" give up his back so quickly. I thought this would be a very technical back and forth battle on the mat, but hats off to Kenny. He came in and dominated... I hope he gets a crack at BJ Penn soon, he certainly deserves it.
Gabriel Gonzaga VS Josh Hendricks
WOW! Gonzaga is a BEAST! I love this guy... and I immediately found myself thinking that he has the right attributes to give Lesnar a run for his money. He dispatched of Hendricks quickly with superior striking.
Nate Quarry VS Demian Maia
I thought this would be a much tougher match for Maia than it was, and thought Quarry would be able to avoid the takedowns and possibly overwhelm Maia with his striking. But that wasn't the case. Maia came out and quickly took the fight to the mat with a single-leg takdown. Quarry just couldn't get away. Maia took his back, sunk in the choke, and it was over. Afterwards Maia stated that he thought "Bisping would be a good fight" for him. Very interesting prospects for this jiu jitsu ace, and with Wanderlei Silva in his corner, you know his stand up is coming along as well.
Dustin Hazelett VS Tamdan McCrory
Out of the gates Tamdan used his reach to put Hazelett up against the cage with a flurry of combinations. It looked as though McCrory might have a recipe for keeping the slick submission specialist at bay, but ultimately the fight went to the mat and Hazelett pulled rubber guard. From there he worked an amazing omoplata to armbar transition that seemed so effortless. I sat with my mouth gaping open in awe of his submission capabilities, and his beard. This guy is exciting to watch and very young. I look forward to more from Dustin Hazelett!
