Whether you love Lesnar, or just love to hate Lesnar, it appears that he is here to stay in the UFC heavyweight division. Since the fight between Couture and Lesnar began to gain steam, alot of the professional fighters and "experts" were predicting Couture to somehow find a way to overcome the odds yet again to beat Lesnar.
But despite the legend that Couture created for himself, I wasn't so sure that he would win. Yes, he beat Gonzaga and Sylvia in his last two fights, and overcome the odds many times, his MMA record stood at only 16-8, with losses to some of the best fighters in the sport.
Now, after the fight, it seems clear that the combination of age and size difference, against an equally skilled wrestler, was just too much for Randy to overcome. That being said, what else is there to say about these two fighters, the main event, and the UFC heavyweight division as a whole?
1. Couture: As an amateur fighter, and fight fan, I'll always be a big fan of the fighting spirit of Couture. That being said, I don't feel bad for Couture after this loss anymore.
After the fight, I posted on my Facebook account that I wasn't feeling happy even though I had picked Lesnar to win. My MMA coach quickly posted a response, and said "u r a fruity", and then "he made enough money and became Hollywood , he needed to past the torch." After thinking for a minute about what he said, I realized he was right. Randy Couture is a multimillionaire, who was compensated handsomely in his loss to Lesnar.
Furthermore, by stepping into the Octagon against a 163lb Sylvia for the UFC heavyweight title, Couture put himself in harm's way. If a fighter weighs anywhere between 205lbs and 230lbs, they should be cutting weight, and fighting at 205 lbs. Anderson Silva walks around at over 220lbs, and gets down to 185. And if you are going to argue that people shouldn't cut weight, let me say that it is a reality of the sport, and you're going to have to live with it. Couture chose his own path, and this loss was just a necessary consequence.
- B/R Ticket Guide
2. Lesnar: Did Lesnar deserve to be fighting for the title?
Well I suppose that depends on what you mean by "deserved." Lesnar didn't have to work his way up the chain, and pay his dues. Instead, he brought his incredible athleticism and WWE marketability. In the fight business, the two things that the promoters ask themselves are A) Is it an appealing fight? and B) Is it a fight that will make money?
Despite a (2-1) record, Lesnar showed that he had the fighting ability to be in the Octagon against the best in the world. The other big difference between Brock and upstarts like Kimbo Slice, is that Brock Lesnar actually came from a competitive athletic background. Furthermore, whether you like him or hate him, Lesnar is a big personality that will draw in viewers.
The big thing though, is that you're not truly a champion until you defend the title. Brock Lesnar will get that test soon enough when he faces either Frank Mir, or "Minotauro" Nogueira.
3. The Matchup: Was this "the biggest fight in UFC history"? No, it wasn't, but don't be deceived,... Dana White is very happy with the event as a whole. Dana White knew that this fight was unlikely to break the UFC ppv buy record, but he is a promoter, and as a promoter, he is going to exaggerate. If you have a big fight, it's better to call it "The biggest fight ever", than to call it "a fight between a fake wrestler and an old man". That being said, the fight was pretty big, and pretty well anticipated.
4. The Heavyweight Division: This fight was able to bring some legitimacy back to the heavyweight division with the return of Couture.
People are always saying that the UFC heavyweight division is weak, especially with the losses of Sylvia, Arlovski, and Cro Cop, and now possibly Werdum.
They forget that Sylvia and Cro Cop have looked terrible in their past three fights each, Arlovski was beaten twice by Sylvia, and Werdum's striking skills are still mediocre at best.
The UFC has a whole host of up-and-coming heavyweights, including Cain Velasquez, Shane Carwin, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Junior dos Santos, as well as gatekeeper vetrans like Heath Herring, and Cheick Kongo. At the top, the UFC boasts the consensus world #2 heavyweight in the world in Nogueira.
Brock Lesnar's victory over Couture adds further legitimacy to the division. Outside of the UFC, the only other Heavyweights I see near the top are Josh Barnett, and Fedor Emelianenko. Unfortunately, Barnett and Emelianenko are friends, and it has been reported that they won't fight each other, so they are left to themselves to fight relatively weak competition.
Moreover, as Barnett relies upon his wrestling, I doubt he would make it to the top of the UFC anyway. He has already been beaten by Nogueira, and while I think he would have good fights with Gonzaga, Kongo, or dos Santos, his wresting might be nullified against other great grapplers like Velasquez, Carwin, and Lesnar. I think especially against Lesnar, Barnett would actually be an underdog, as he would be facing a larger and better wrestler for the first time.
Fedor remains the only real heavyweight question outside of the UFC. Let's hope Affliction dies a quick death, so that Fedor can come to the UFC and unify the division.
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about 1 month ago
I did not like the comment you left on my article, but you invited me to read this article, so--I liked it, which was completely unexpected, but I gave you five stars.
from about 1 month ago
Thank you very much! Sorry that you didn't like my comments on your article, I just disagreed with a lot of the things in the article.... We're definitely not going to agree on all things MMA, (especially BJ Penn/Lesnar issues) but I respect your opinions.
about 1 month ago
You are totaly right here Wong, although you should space more in your article to make it easier to read. I think it is spot n, I mean in seing that fight and watching a young fighter in Lesnar take out a legend in his 40s Couture I seemed as if he was passing the torch. Although I don't think Lesnar will hold onto that belt very long it was a pretty cool to see. Lesnar just overpowered him and I thought Couture would last but he let go. And we may never see him in the octogan again.
I can't say the same about Lesnar though. I think the winner of the interm belt will be Mir and since Brock Lesnar has to fight the winner he may be in trouble, I mean he did lose to Mir. It was close but Mir caught him and now that he has had time to see how Lesnar is in the ring he may do better agauinst him, and it is the same for Lesnar, he now knows what mistakes to not make. It will be an interesting fight. But who knows maybe Mir will lose so we may be reading into the future a little to much, good article, but again work on the spacing, I'm sure an editor will fix it, but next time, don't make them have to, your a good writer, just work on that and you'll be great.
-Joe Burgett
from about 1 month ago
Thanks for the feedback. You're right about the spacing. That is definitely one area where I need to improve.
I think that Mir is going to have a tough time with Nogueira, though. Both that fight, and the winner vs Lesnar will be great fights.
from about 1 month ago
No Joe, you are wrong and Nogueira will face Brock as his first challenger.
As a fighter, mma practioner or simply a fight fan, you should know that it is written in stone "Never Count Randy Couture Out!" You will be seeing him in the octagon again; you can count on it!
about 1 month ago
"Passes the torch"?? More like Lesnar beat the torch out of the old geezer.
from about 1 month ago
Couture is far from done. He actually looked good in the fight, before the dubious ending. He was able to work his clinch, get Lesnar agaisnt the cage, land some good shots, and escape Lensar's guard. His wrestling worked.
But Lesnar proved he is a different kind of animal and his ham hock hands are just too much for small heavyweight to handle. Kudos to Lesnar. He has a tough fight ahead of him when he faces the winner of Nog/Mir.
Couture has two options:
1) He can stay at HW and either take a rematch with Gonzaga or fight the loser of Nog/Mir. Winning either of those fights would set him up for an immediate rematch with Lesnar, a fight I am sure Dana White would be happy to put on.
2) Drop to LHW and get a few superfights or make a run at the LHW belt. The division is loaded with talent and lots of intriguing matchups. Couture vs. A. Silva, Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, or W. Silva. You cant tell me one of those matches wouldnt intrigue you. Also, there is the possibilty of him fighting Chuck Liddell in their final fight.
from about 1 month ago
One of the reasons I think it was a "passing of the torch, is that Lesnar is in some ways a bigger version Couture. The Couture who spanked Tito must have smiled just a bit at the Lesnar who nodded his head to his name while beating Heath Herring.
Couture still probably does have a few fights left in him, but at this point, as a fan, I don't know if I am interested in seeing him get beaten up by Anderson Silva. Chuck Liddell seems like a real option, except that the loser of that fight would seemingly be in an even worse situation.
about 1 month ago
I'm not so sure that Brock is here to stay.
He might be too big to get out of his own way when he takes on Big Nog or Gonzaga. Of course, I could be wrong.
from about 1 month ago
When I said that Lesnar is here to stay, I did not mean that he was necessarily going to remain champion and beat all comers. I simply meant that he has gained enough legitimacy that he will have the power to stay in the UFC and be thought of as a legitimate top heavyweight.
That being said, I believe that Lesnar would be considered the betting favorite against most of the people at heavyweight, as he has shown himself to be capable on his feet, and is obviously more than capable as a wrestler. The only HW fighter in the UFC at present who most people would pick to beat Lesnar is Nogueira.
Moreover, Lesnar's training partners say that after only a year of training in BJJ, Lesnar is already nearing Purple belt skill level. Lesnar's progress as a striker and a BJJ grappler is nearly unprecedented. Combine that with his natural physical gifts, and you have one scary fighter.
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