Hit The Mat 11.17.08: I Think They Meant to Say Lesnar is Good...

Posted by Matt McEwen on 11.17.2008

But forgot an "O." Brock Lesnar is the champion. Brock Lesnar is the best in the world. Brock Lesnar is the greatest of all ti.....oh, wait a minute. I guess Matt McEwen doesn't quite agree about that one.

A right hook to the temple and twenty unanswered, odd looking hammerfists laid out the legend, and the guy who was the punch line of every imaginable pro wrestling joke less than a year ago was able to strap the UFC heavyweight title around his waist.

Brock Lesnar has truly arrived on the MMA scene.

In light of beating the most recognized heavyweight in the sport, a lot of normally reserved pundits are crowning Lesnar the best heavyweight in the world, one of the best fighters pound for pound and I've even seen it written that he will hold the UFC title for as long as he wants to. While my seat on the Lesnar bandwagon has been secure for a while, I'm just not ready to put it that way. While Saturday night certainly told us a few things we didn't know about Lesnar, there are still some unanswered questions and some interesting possibilities.

So, what did Saturday tell us? It gave us an answer to a question many people asked, but which they probably didn't need to, but it also brought up another question – glossed over in most assessments of the fight – which is a bit surprising.

First, it answered any question anyone may have had about Lesnar's chin. I'm not sure how anyone who has a head the size of an anvil and no neck could possibly have his chin questioned, but after Couture landed several flush, big, hard punches to Lesnar's mug to no affect, those who did have their answer. The man can take a punch. While Couture may not be the heaviest hitter in the division, he did drop Tim Sylvia with one punch just 18 months ago, so he's no slouch either. Anyone hoping to step in and get a KO win over Lesnar certainly needs to rethink their game plan after his showing this weekend.

The glossed over fact about the fight is that maybe, just maybe, Lesnar's wrestling is not as dominant inside the cage as we may have thought. Yes he was able to take Couture down during the fight, but the former champion was able to get back to his feet and even take Lesnar down for a moment himself. By no means am I saying that his wrestling is a weakness, or that it's not the best in the division, but the fact remains that he was not able to hold down a fighter who likely weighed 75lbs less than him. Against some of the larger fighters who also have a wrestling or grappling pedigree out there, it could very well be something that gets even more exposed. But more on that in a moment.


In his immediate future, Lesnar will look to unify the title against the winner of next month's Frank Mir/Antonio Rodrigo Nogeuria interim championship fight. If beating Couture was passing test #1, consider this fight test #2. Whoever wins the right to meet Lesnar will be able to answer questions about Lesnar's submission defense which have existed since Mir submitted him in his UFC debut earlier this year. Lesnar is likely to be favoured over either fighter, but Nogeuria especially will have a chance to get Lesnar in trouble. While he has a bad habit of letting his opponents beat the holy hell out of him before finding an opening for a submission, he has shown the ability to survive the onslaught and pull out wins. Of course, he's likely never taken a beating from anyone like Lesnar, but it still leaves open the question of whether Lesnar can finish him.

Assuming that Lesnar makes it through his next fight as the undisputed champion – and for the record, that's my pick as of now – there are some interesting challengers looming on the horizon inside the UFC. First, AKA product Cain Velasquez is probably the most impressive heavyweight to debut since, well, since Lesnar did. A former All American wrestler, Velasquez has displayed a multi-faceted, high end MMA game that would make him the talk of the division at any other time in recent history. With Lesnar on the scene however, he's been flying under the radar to most fans, but anyone who has been labeled as the best fighter training at AKA won't stay there for long. Missing his last fight due to injury, Velasquez is likely 2-3 fights away from having the momentum and hype behind him to be in the title picture at all, but his skills make him a threat to anyone in the division. Against Lesnar, the real question would be size, as Velasquez fights at around 245lbs.

One fighter out there who will not have the problem of a size disadvantage is the other young rising star of the division, Shane Carwin. Like Lesnar, he cuts weight to make it to the 265lb heavyweight limit, and like Lesnar he had to have specially made gloves. Of course, that was because the custom made gloves for Lesnar were too small for him. Yes, his hands are bigger than Lesnar's. He's also a more well rounded fighter than Lesnar, having won half of his ten victories by submission and the other half by TKO. His striking is more technical than Lesnar's, and given his size, he could very well be able Lesnar's power and answer back. If I had to put money on one man currently in the UFC who could handle Lesnar right now, Carwin would be my pick at the moment.

If you expand that quest to include fighters outside the UFC, I would take either Fedor or Josh Barnett over Lesnar if they were to fight inside of the next six months. Both those fighter are large and powerful in their own right, but each has such a diverse set of skills at their disposal that they would likely be able to handle Lesnar while at the same time exposing his weaknesses. I'm not one for ranking fighters, but if you put a gun to my head, I'd say the top three heavyweights in the world right now, in order, would be Fedor, Barnett and Lesnar. Is it wrong that I'm hoping Affliction goes out of business so we can see these fights?

So, yes, Lesnar is here, he is for real, and he is really, really good. But is now untouchable on top of the heavyweight heap?

Not yet.


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Quick side note – If you're a fan of the ground game like I am, how much did you LOVE watching UFC 91? An absolutely great card from top to bottom, but it really showcased the ground more so than a lot of cards have recently. With guys like Dustin Hazelett and Damian Maia getting through fighters with good sprawls and imposing their wills on the ground, it looks like the ever evolving sport is starting to turn back to fighters with good submissions.