Overall, I had a good night last night. I went 8-for-9 on picks and the fighters that I had hoped would be in peak form, Gonzaga and Maia, as well as Hazelett, looked phenomenal.
It seems weird, then, that the only thing on my mind is my mistake, the only thing I’m considering was my abject failure, with regards to the fight between Lesnar and Couture.
The majority of analysts considered the clinch with Brock Lesnar a death sentence, and I will say that one thing I expected from Lesnar (very explosive knees that landed high on the body) were definitely effectively demonstrated. However, I dusted off my tin-foil hat last night, and I’m waiting to see more angles of the punch that put Randy down.
Maybe Lesnar’s strong enough that a punch landing to the crown of the head could know Randy over, but I’ve watched the replay of the fight a couple dozen times now, and I see Randy’s feet buckling under the right haymaker.
The brief history of ghost punches aside, Lesnar is the champion now and I’m sure he’s happily awaiting the winner of Mir vs. Nogueira.
By the same token, the rest of us are waiting to see how that plays out. I think that Brock is a tough fighter, and demonstrated some great athleticism against a tough opponent, but it will be interesting to see how this tournament pans out.
Brock is strong, but he’s clearly still lacking in terms of technical skills, and there were moments last night where he didn’t look like the superior wrestler. He certainly will be against his next opponent, but it surprised me.
Looking ahead, we should be in for a good finale, but I’m not convinced that Brock is going to have an easy time on the basis of what seems like a fast win over Randy.
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November 16th, 2008 at 9:58pm
I never saw any other angle but the once shown on the main website. Shy no other angles? This punch looked a lot like the punch that dropped Sonny Liston back in whatever year that was (I was in my early 20s). A phantom punch? Did anyone see another angle? RAmdy seemed to go down before the punch hit and the punch seemed not to hit flush on any point that would have done that. I am perplexed.
November 17th, 2008 at 2:29am
I saw the fight, I saw the punch. It’s not really confusing. The punch that really hurts is the one you do not see coming.
“Honestly, I didn’t see it. I didn’t feel it. Next thing I know I was on the ground eating leather. My corner told me it looked like it caught me behind the ear. I slipped the punch, but again, he had such a long reach that I didn’t slip it quite enough, and the punch caught me right behind the ear.”
- Randy “the Natural” Couture
And if there indeed was some crazy-pre-planned crap going on behind the scenes . . . welcome to the fight business. Honestly, I doubt it. Great card, the only fight that went the distance became the Fight of the Night. Dana smiles.
Jeremy Stephens! Wow.
November 17th, 2008 at 10:34am
Thanks, VEel,
I figured it was square, but I just like to see more angles on a punch that wins a Championship. It is just odd to me that there were none.
ekw
November 17th, 2008 at 4:46pm
Dis-appointed about the loss. Lesnar did not beat him with skill - just the size. A wonder what steroids will do for you. Lesnar does not deserve to be in the UFC. He is a steroid made champ. No skill — just big.
November 17th, 2008 at 8:03pm
NOT WITH HIS SKILL?!!? What does Brock have to do to prove he doesn’t belong in the UFC. Did you hear Randy complain once or yet???
Ok, I’m not a huge Lesnar fan, but he’s entertaining.
First . . . not on steroid, but he used HGH. I always say, until caught or proven guilty.
“No skill, just big.” Damn, a big dude just doesn’t get any credit. The same argument was used against Tim Sylvia. Lesnar has the body mechanics that’s difficult to overcome AND he uses what he got to his advantage. I don’t know if you’re a boxing fan, but did you ever see Klitschko or Lennox Lewis bend down and then punch. Or did they just extend a stiff jab to overwhelm shorter, smaller opponents?
Did Randy wrestling abilities - tailor made for MMA dominate Lesnar? No, they were just about even.
Take note, Randy was not able to stop big Timmy, he just defeated him in by unanimous decision in 5 rounds. Tim was far from 100%. Fedor blasted through a fully recovered Sylvia in 36 seconds. Please seriously, stop the complaining. Stop the hate, just congratulate.
And for the record, guess what?? Frank Mir had a great game plan. Simply take Brock on the floor and submit him. Simple. He beat Brock, fair and square.
Btw, nothing personal . . . but just accept it. Brock Lesnar is THE “other” HW champion. Well he should be a SUPER HW champ, but that is another argument.
November 17th, 2008 at 9:49pm
V,
Why do you say he took HGH? I have looked and have not been able to see anything about it or him taking roids, just that he got caught with a boat load of supps.
November 17th, 2008 at 11:43pm
Ooops, you right. I read it wrong. I guess I can see why Lesnar gets really really angry when the subject comes up again and again.
“While a Louisville detective told TSG that the material was some kind of growth hormone, Lesnar’s defense attorney, Scott Cox, characterized the confiscated pills as a “vitamin type of thing.” According to Cox, officers seemed “very apologetic” when lab results cleared Lesnar. It is unclear how investigators concluded that the parcel sent to Lesnar may have contained illicit substances.” - Source: The Smoking Gun
November 18th, 2008 at 1:50am
V, glad to have your thoughts, as always. Admittedly, though, I still can’t recognize anyone as the “other” heavyweight champ until this tournament is over. If Lesnar wins, then he’ll have earned that title.
That said, Brock is not comparable to Fedor, and I honestly wouldn’t be that interested in seeing a fight between the two unless Brock beats Nog at some point.
A fight between him and Bob Sapp, in my opinion, is much more interesting (and I’d pick Sapp).
November 18th, 2008 at 6:06am
Hey,
we all know its not a HW tournament. Dana just wants to paint it like a “Pride” thing. No one is fighting twice in a night, or within a week.
Forget Fedor, I don’t see Brock getting past Shane Carwin or Cain Velasquez. But you know, Joel Silva and Dana has to sell fights, and Dana has to talk crap. Wait till Dana hears the fact that Fedor recently lost his Sambo championship, you know he’s going to say “See I told you guys, Fedor sucks. Randy would beat him and Brock would steamroll him.”
I don’t want to see Sapp cry in the middle of the ring again.
November 18th, 2008 at 8:47am
“You guys teach me to football”
Sapp lost horribly in his last fight, he has tested positive for roids before, and overall he is just a big guy. He should do more acting and movies than fighting. However, he is HUGE in Japan! They love him win or lose.
November 18th, 2008 at 2:12pm
I dunno, man. Sapp’s standup is way better than Brock’s, from a technical standpoint, and he almost beat Nog (and piledrivered him). I’m not sure how Brock will do without a size advantage.
As for Dana talking about Fedor’s loss, if he does come out like that, it will be a stupid statement and we all know it.
Shane Carwin would definitely give Brock a tough fight. His wrestling is at least at the same level and his boxing is way better. As for Cain, he’s a little smaller, but it’d still be an interesting fight (especially since Cain has some real jiu-jitsu).
November 18th, 2008 at 8:02pm
I am not sure if it is much better at this point or not…Brock did just drop Randy… If Brock and Sapp were fighting (ofcourse in a reinforced cage) I would still take Brock. As much as it hates me to say.
Could it be the time where the heavyweight champion of the UFC will be a good wrestler/ huge person? Usinng their size and strength to simply over power their opponents and win? Just a thought…
November 19th, 2008 at 10:16am
Brock won the fight and I tip my hat to him. Congrats! I wanted Randy to win though, but, it did not happen. He lost to a very big guy who is coming along in his MMA. He has twice hit someone and dropped them so he could take advantage of his size on the ground.
I am waiting on the Mir vs. Nog fight. My opinion is Nog will win. Then it will be Brock vs. Nog. I will predict Nog to win via submission.
Fedor would own Brock at this point of the game. He has superior striking and his submissions are very slick.
Bob Sapp? Never liked him as a fighter and he cannot take a punch. Been proven several times. Like VEe! said…I don’t want to see him cry in the ring again either.
December 4th, 2008 at 8:02pm
The punch was one that totally knocked Randy off his equilibrium, it was a straight right that was more of a push rather than a smack. Brock can bench close to 600 lbs, to that was a monster punch that jolted Randy’s skull thats why he buckled and stumbled to the ground awkwardly.