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I was watching the title match between Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez the other night and was surprised at how well Velasquez did! Not that anyone is unbeatable but Lesnar seemed to be the nearest thing to it because he would smother guys on the ground and pound the side of their head until they tapped.
Lesnar took out Carwin and Mir in the last couple of bouts demonstraiting (I thought) his transition from wrestling to MMA. Watching the Shane Carwin bout, it was apparent that Lesnar had a hard time with a striker but he was always able to wether the storm and own the opponent in the ground game.
I have some interesting old ideas about this but first take a look at Lesnar’s first UFC match.
See how Lesnar kept his advantage on the ground seemingly so easily? One thing to remember before we forget, fighting takes strategy and skill. All things being equal – the fighter with the best plan will win the day. What does that take? It means a fighter has to see the other fighters weaknesses and then exploit them!
Velasquez did not allow Lesnar to smother him by rapidly putting space between them and getting up. He obviously trained for that so he could land some leather on Lesnar. Brock Lesnar while certainly a big, strong, quick guy, had not yet picked up striking skills. That along with his endurance (not sure about this but it seemed like he would not do well in later rounds) gave the advantage in this bout to Velasquez.
Unfortunately a win against Lesnar will not ensure a win against Mir as each fighter matches up differently. Mir could not hang with Lesnar’s ground game as he probably thought his jiu-jitsu was superior to Lesnar’s wrestling. Not sure how Velasquez would match up to Mir but I hope to see it soon!
Hopefully Lesnar will work on his striking and endurance (against guys that can hang with him) and come out better for future showings. By the way I’d like to say how pleased I was at the sportsmanship Brok Lesnar displayed in this match.
October 26th, 2010 at 1:42 am
John,
Sounds like you confirm what I heard in class and only seen video snips of. Lesnar’s punching looked pretty clunky and he pretty much had zero kicks. One would think he could at least learn the shin kick!
He’s also so top heavy with bulk that it sounds like he punched himself out. Velasquez’s trainers obviously did a good job of planning for Lesnar!
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October 26th, 2010 at 1:46 am
[...] John Zimmer also reviews the fight at this link. tweetmeme_url = 'http://strikingthoughts.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/you-heard-it-here-third/'; [...]
October 26th, 2010 at 6:02 am
Wow, I am shocked. First Emelienko, then Lesner. This must be the year of upsets. Just goes to show, on any given day……..Never underestimate your opponent. Agree with Bob, a one-dimensional fighter is at a disadvantage, regardless of how good he is at wrestling.
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October 26th, 2010 at 10:30 am
Lesner should have improved his fighting skills outside wrestling. Working on your weaknesses is something everyone should do, overconfidence must be a reason in his lost.
October 27th, 2010 at 10:03 am
Hey Bob, Lesnar actually seemed to me to be in better shape… not really sure though. I think he spent his time trying to learn defenses against jiu jitsu and not kicking – cardio. I think he is going back to the drawing board and will re-invent himself!
Matt! Yep another one bit the dust. Good advice and I’d add with a good camp & plan, anyone can beat anyone else… the tough part is the roadwork and sticking to the plan.
Brain – You nailed it I think. A fighter has to work on the weaknesses as well as strengths. Not sure how Lesnar planned this fight but striking does seem to be a weakness.
October 27th, 2010 at 10:42 am
i dont care what anyone says about cain winning..Lesnar is a great well rounded fighter but to be expected he is also huge and gets tired really fast..i have watched lesnar dominate people through wrestling and ufc..so to all those that are putting lesnar down [deleted]… i would like to see any of u try to mess with him
October 28th, 2010 at 9:30 pm
Hey Dorthy, I am a fan of Lesnar. I did not think he could hang with Mir at first but he proved his ability to overcome adversity and come back!
Very true that any world class fighter would take on any average Joe.
The wonderful thing about watching the UFC, it is like watching every other sport – you get to Monday morning quarterback. I think most commenters were speaking about critiquing his skills and game plan – all very valid topics for discussion.
Thanks for your comment!
October 31st, 2010 at 5:27 am
What can you say about UFC 121. It was a superb event. Alot of energy and alot of good fights. To bad that almost all my predictions was wrong. An outstanding win for Veasquez against Brock Lesnar. I though that Brock was going to be to big for Cain. But boy was I wrong when Velasquez took Brock down and just bullied Brock Lesnar around.
November 1st, 2010 at 3:33 am
I don’t think anyone here is putting Brock Lesnar down, Dorothy. You have to be the best to get where he has, no question about it, especially in the short time it has taken him. But every upset I have seen, it was due to a weakness that was exploited, and every fighter has one. Whether it be conditioning, stand-up fighting, grappling, speed, you can’t be the best at everything. But you can be sure Brock knows it himself and is at this very moment shoring up those weaknesses. I would not be surprised to see him back on top again at some stage.
And no, why would I get in the ring with him, I am not a professional mma fighter, and I don’t thing Brock would get any satisfaction from wailing on a 51 year old man that weighs 100 lbs. less than him. But we all have our opinions. That is what makes debate (and John’s blog) so interesting.
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November 1st, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Thanks for your insight Matt Hamill!
Well said Matt Klein!
November 8th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
I never thought Brock was invincible. It was a matter of time before someone was able to combat his very one dimension technique. I just hope he takes this as a reason to expand his arsenal. That is one thing I have found with a lot of the guys who come over from other areas, they are never given the full spectrum of tools to compete.
November 11th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
I Agree,It Was A Great Showing Of What The Arts Are Really About, Technique, Technique, Technique!!!!! (Train.Train,Train.) Thanks, Al, (UKF), A.K.K.Assoc Austin,Tx.