UFC 91 Results: Lesnar TKOs Couture To Claim Heavyweight Title
Brock Lesnar (3-1) became the new UFC heavyweight champion in the UFC 91 main event on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, knocking out heavyweight title-holder and UFC hall of famer Randy Couture (16-9) with strikes midway through the second round of their championship bout.
Couture, who had a noticeable smile on his face prior to the beginning of the bout, looked good in the opening round, wearing Lesnar down in the clinch, but Lesnar was able to get Couture to the ground twice in the round and, though he landed little offense on the ground, took the round on the MMAFrenzy.com scorecard based on the takedowns.
Lesnar hurt Couture early in the second with an elbow but Couture survived and connected with some strikes of his own, opening up a cut above Lesnar’s eye. But Lesnar caught Couture with an overhand right behind the ear that sent the 45-year-old to the canvas and, despite Couture’s best efforts, finished him off with punches on the ground.
Referee Mario Yamasaki stepped in to save Couture at the 3:07 mark of the second round, declaring Lesnar the victor via TKO and the new UFC heavyweight champion. He’ll next meet the winner of December’s interim title matchup between current champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir in 2009.
“(Heavyweight champion) sounds really good. I cant believe it. I want to thank Dana, the UFC, and I want to thank this guy. He’s got a lot of balls to come back and fight a young buck like me.” said Lesnar after the victory. “I just believe in hard work. I may come off as a cocky SOB, but I’m just confident.”
“Those are some bigass hamhocks coming at ya. It’s hard to get out of the way. That’s just a big son of a bitch, that’s all there is to it,” said Randy Couture, who also addressed his fighting future and whether he’d drop back down to the 205-pound light heavyweight division. “We’ll let things settle out and figure out what we want to do. I still feel like I’m getting better. He’s a big guy and he just caught me with a big shot.”
Kenny Florian (11-3) earned a lightweight title shot in the UFC 91 co-main event with an impressive first-round submission of Joe Stevenson (29-9). After using precise striking and superior footwork early in the first round, Florian took Stevenson to the canvas and quickly finished from there, reigning down punches from mount before taking his opponent’s back and securing the rear naked choke submission. “I wanted to go out here and make a statement,” said Florian. “I want BJ’s belt. I think you’re a great fighter. I think you’re a master, but it’s time to kill the master.”
With yet another submission victory in the UFC, this time over Tamdan McCrory, Dustin Hazelett is on his way to accomplishing his goal of earning the most “Submission of the Night” bonuses. McCrory appeared to be getting the better of the early standup exchanges, but once Hazelett went to the ground McCrory was outmatched, eventually submitting to a painful armbar. “I want to be the best Jiu Jitsu guy in MMA,” said Hazelett. “There’s guys like Demian Maia and I don’t have the grappling credentials like that but I want to be the best in MMA.”
Gabriel Gonzaga cemented his status as a top contender for a heavyweight title shot as he dispatched newcomer Josh Hendricks with strikes in just 61-seconds. “Yeah, I hope so,” said Gonzaga of a potential title shot. “I worked hard for this (win). I want a title shot again. Next time I’m gonna get the belt.”
“I’m hungry. I’m hungry to make people happy and put on a good show,” said middleweight contender Demian Maia after picking up his fourth-straight UFC victory over Nate Quarry. He dominated from the opening bell, immediately shooting and taking Quarry to the canvas before mythodically locking up a rear naked choke that forced the knockout-artis Quarry to submit. When asked about a potential title shot, Maia said that choice is the UFC’s but that he feels Michael Bisping would be a good fight for him.
In the only decision on the card, Aaron Riley picked up a victory in his UFC return over veteran Jorge Gurgel in a “Fight of the Night” candidate. Despite being a Jiu Jitsu black belt, Gurgel was again baited into engaging in a standup war and again came out on the losing side following three-straight rounds of striking that the judges unanimously scored for Riley 29-28. “Gurgel loves to stand and bang, (but) I’ve been working on my boxing,” said Riley. “I guess it helped me out in this fight.”
Jeremy Stephens earned “Knockout of the Night” honors for his preliminary card victory, sending newcomer Rafael dos Anjos to the canvas with a vicious uppercut in the opening seconds of the final round. Dos Anjos looked impressive in his debut, dominating Stephens on the ground, but one of the best uppercuts in recent-history spoiled his debut as Stephens emerged victorious with the third-round stoppage. The winner, though, barely made it out of the opening frame: “(The omoplata) was tight. I thought my shoulder was going to pop,” said Stephens. “He’s an incredible opponent. He had me in some tough stuff. I have heart, baby.”
In other preliminary action Mark Bocek wore Alvin Robinson down on the ground before securing a fight-ending rear naked choke midway through the third round and Matt Brown overcame newcomer Ryan Thomas’ numerous takedowns before submitting him with an armbar early in the second round.
OFFICIAL UFC 91 RESULTS
- Brock Lesnar def. Randy Couture (c) via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 3:07
UFC heavyweight championship - Kenny Florian def. Joe Stevenson via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 4:03
- Dustin Hazelett def. Tamdan McCrory via submission (armbar) — Round 1, 3:12
- Gabriel Gonzaga def. Josh Hendricks via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 1:01
- Demian Maia def. Nate Quarry via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 2:13
- Aaron Riley def. Jorge Gurgel via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jeremy Stephens def. Rafael dos Anjos via TKO (strikes) — Round 3, 0:39
- Mark Bocek def. Alvin Robinson via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 3, 3:16
- Matt Brown def. Ryan Thomas via submission (armbar) — Round 2, 0:57
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too bad for Randy ……… why do I hear ‘This is the end ” being sung right now ? The fight with Fedor is now gone .. might be a good time to say thats it .a stint at light heavy is only gonna make it worse ..
Couture looked pretty good until he got rocked with that 1 punch. Do you guys seem him continuing? HW or LHW? Man I’d love to see him fight again and would think he would since he has 1 more fight on his contract if he was GOING to retire he’d likely do it in the cage.
I’ll also go ahead and say I think Lesnar will be the champ for a looooong time. He has a bit of a challenge with the Mir / Nog winner but after that the talent drops off. I think his strength, size and wrestling will compensate for a lack of MMA skill and he’ll only need to do that for a year or two until he learns more. Who could defeat him? Lesnar v Fedor? Haha… Lesnar all the way.
Also… 9 fights and 1 decision. Can’t complain about that… also being able to see all 9 fights on the PPV isn’t too shabby either.
Lesnar could be champ for a while, but with a BJJ guy he could lose very easily. Hard to tell. Oh well, I am done. What an utter disappointment.
I think if Lesnar makes it through Mir/Nog winner (which I think he will) the next “threat” or fight I think would be interesting would be with Shane Carwin…I know he’s not be around that long BUT he as similar attributes as Lesnar…
Agreed Ryan, the UFC did a wonderful job with this event. The media coverage in recent days was outstanding, the fights delivered great action, and the UFC fit the prelims onto the broadcast. Can’t really ask for more.
Ethan, that’s the big question: Can Lesnar go to the ground with a submission guy and survive? He couldn’t with Mir in their first matchup but he now has months-upon-months to work on his ground game because no matter whether he fights Nogueira or Mir, he’ll be fighting a very good ground fighter. I was still very impressed with Couture’s performance tonight. He proved, yet again, he has what it takes to be competitive in this sport even at 45-years-old. I think a drop to light heavyweight would be for the best, but there’s a lot of intriguing matchups for him over the next couple years til he retires.
@Ethan yeah a BJJ (like Nog) vs Lesnar would be a good match-up and a good test for Lesnar but I think he’d be able to just power out of A LOT of subs. Plus you know he’s working on the BJJ and will only improve.
I think the key to beating him is pushing him into the 4th and 5th rounds, working the leg kicks (while avoiding the take-down) and testing his ability to maintain stamina while lugging that huge body around. As much as I’d love to see him get owned for a few fights to pay his dues… I just don’t see it.
Randy did not get outclassed, nor out worked. He got clipped and Lesnar capitalized on it. No one has a heart like Randy and I will always have faith in that guy.
Brock does not deserve that title. Despite his gifts, he does not deserve it.
If ya’ll have a Digg account I’d appreciate your votes:
http://digg.com/other_sports/Brock_Lesnar_TKOs_Randy_Couture_Complete_UFC_91_Recap
Thanks!
randy shouldve won
Kris- thanks again for doing this coverage was great all week.
I have to agree about this card it was a well put on and promoted fight card. Even the decision was a great fight. Also have to say this is one of the few cards I can remember recently that left so many interesting lines and questions out there such as Florian vs. Penn, what’s next for guys like Maia and Gonzaga? how long will Lesnar reign? What lies ahead for Couture? While I disagree with this being the biggest fight in UFC history I have to say it was one of the more intriguing cards in awhile.
I tell you what I hope will happen with Couture…he’ll go out and finish up his contract and put on two more outstanding fights (which will hopefully be wins) and then hopefully he’ll retire gracefully and get back into announcing where he is awesome. He’s in that same position as Liddell where he can still fight and put on good shows but it comes back to what more does he have to prove and when will the body give out.
This Tells Me One thing. Fedor must come to the UFC in my opinion. He is the only one left that has shown the capability to beat the crap out of that cocky SOB. Lesner is huge! I am impressed with Randy’s Performance and I was so disapointed but i know he has done much more for this sport so to me that means he is more of a champ then Lesner, Randy Has one more fight on contract correct. So maybe the Light Hevy Weight Title next. I really don’t want Lesnar to be the champ this sucks. I hope he does not turn out to be a boreing fighter.
i think with this loss randy should show up as a coach on TUF…. who would be the opposing team coach? i dunno, but with experience and drive he would make a great coach to follow, and if he were to drop down to LHW it could make for some interesting fights
No problem Chris, glad you liked it!
Also i think Gabriel Gonzaga Would be a better Matchup To defeat Lesnar than Mir Or Nog.
Franklin or Hendo could be opposite Couture on TUF, but I don’t see that happening. I would like to see him drop to 205 but with such a limited time left in his career why waste it doing TUF when he could squeeze in another fight before retirement. After he retires, though, I could see him being a coach on the show and just not fighting the opposing coach afterward.
If Lesnar wants to beat Nogueira, he better fire the quacks who destroyed his wrestling and train with Randy for a while. Randy controlled that entire fight until that big punch. Anyone who tries to claim Brock out-wrestled anyone is on drugs. He got a take down and immediately put anyone near a tv to sleep.
He very well may have earned a TKO, but Yamasaki either stopped it too early or too late. If the hammer fists and punches didn’t merit a stop, there’s no way the rabbit punches did.
to all the guys who think lesnar could handle a bjj guy on the ground and power out of submissions, think again.. seriously think about it, he didnt even power out of Mir’s submission…and even if he has months and months of bjj training till he fights Mir/Nogueira…he wont ever be at the level of bjj that Mir and Nog are at. He could train for years at bjj nonstop and i still think he could not submit either of them. especially not nogueira. I think he could beat Mir if they fight again, but i doubt he could take nogueira. Nog knows how to fight against a striker…he just falls over and waits…till he can pull the other guy to the ground. JUST LIKE what he did to Cro-Cop when he was in his prime. And even though Brock is a wrestler, if Nog or Mir were to somehow get his back, or have lesnar in their guard, well, Lesnar would be screwed. It really sucks seeing Couture lose like that…but i think we all think that he most definitely not done fighting in the UFC. Lesnar is not a complete fighter, and wont be for at least a year or two. So until then, he has a great chance of losing if a bjj fighter gets him on the ground. No matter how strong he is. Either way. Nice fight for Brock. He earned alot of respect, but i still dont think he deserves it. I mean c’mon the guy has fought 4 times professionally… and idk what to say about Gonzaga. He would be a decent matchup for brock as well. I think he has more motivation than any of the heavyweights do now…
oh and kris…nice article man!!
What I meant to say in that last fight is I masturbate harder than Randy was getting punched at stoppage time.
Thanks jenkins!
jenkins, DBiz, Nico
Must be hard to type through all those tears.
There’s no way that stoppage was too early, Randy’s body went stiff about 3 times. Randy’s a legend and the fact that he was able to control the clinch game for a round was amazing to watch. But let’s face it, he would not beat Lesnar if they fought 10 times. That’s not because he sucks or Lesnar is the best, but just because of the massive size differential.
I think Mir has no chance against Lesnar again, only because he was getting completely controlled in the first fight until Lesnar got overanxious. I do think Nog is going to beat Mir though and can/will beat Brock because of his iron jaw and great subs. That’s really the only way to beat him is have great BJJ and/or a great jaw
I think a decent wrestler could beat Brock, since he got pushed around the cage by a guy 60 pounds lither than him. His wrestling has gone deep in the crapper since he went WWE. If he had any skills left at all he should have been able to finish in the first.
Like I said up there. He needs to fire the quacks that train him on the ground and go to XTREME COUTURE for a while.
ha ha ha, couture is done. He was done in my mind when he tried leaving his contract. This is what he deserves, his fall from grace!
Kris,
Nice work, thanks for all the coverage this week, I will be creating a Digg account soon just so I can vote for stuff here.
DBiz,
I think Brock got “pushed around” because Randy had better leverage in a few places, but also, Brock didn’t want to expend energy fighting for position when he could have the cage hold him up while Randy leaned against him until he got the right leverage position to make a quick reversal. However, I do think he would benefit from training at a real gym, like Xtreme Couture, or MFS, or with Greg Jackson.
All the people that are complaining about “He didn’t deserve a title shot.” (now, not before the fight) He won. As far as I’m concerned if you win the fight when you get a title shot, you deserved to be there. Granted, he didn’t have to “pay his dues” like some other fighters, and I would have liked to have seen that. But if you win when you get a shot, regardless of when it comes in your career, you deserved it.
Ryan in NY,
re: “As much as I’d love to see him get owned for a few fights to pay his dues… I just don’t see it.”
What I gather from that is you’d like to see fighters lose a few fights, to pay their dues before the get a title shot. And I realize this is a slippery slope argument, but that implies that because Fedor hasn’t gotten “owned for a few fights” he hasn’t paid his dues?
about the event,
all the other media coverage in the run-up was great. Seeing most of the fights end in a stoppage was great, and seeing all of the fights was great, nice job UFC.
Kris,
Forgot to mention this, this was Aaron Riley’s return the UFC, he previously fought on an Ultimate Fight Night a few years ago, which was a loss, then he joined to police academy and fought in a few smaller shows before returning tonight.
Gonzaga would do well against brock until R2.. Gonzaga is so freaking tired after R1 in EVERY fight. And after EVERY fight they always talk about how Gonzaga is working on his strength and conditioning, yet he always is huffing and puffing big time after it. Soooo if he doesn’t sub/tko brock R1 then he aint ever gunna win…
Brock will be the HW champ for a long time, but he’s gunna be another Tim Sylvia. I’m not saying Brock wont finish guys, cause I think he will, I’m just saying the people aren’t going to like him. He’s too cocky for having 4 fights. But the problem is he WILL muscle outta most every (if not every) submission and pound people with his king kong hands until he wins. Then the crowd will Boo him and move on.
Brocks wrestling is still top notch. Randy is a world class wrestler, gold medal even in Greco (not olympics) I believe soo that has a lot to do with why Randy made his wrestling look bad. watch the Herring fight again where he dumps Herring at will.
Another thing about Brock’s wrestling, when it didn’t really look like he was trying to wrestle Randy had his way, but as soon as Randy tried to take his back those wrestling skills came in and he schucked him off and to the ground pretty quickly. Take downs were 2-1 in the fight in favor of Brock, and his take downs had more emphasis to them. I don’t think anyone can say that Brock’s wrestling is not there or good, but he needs to work on his wrestling as it applies to MMA vs just wrestling as it applies to wrestling.
Lenar’s a great fighter. Let’s wait until Bobby Lashley comes to the UFC.
The UFC Needs Fedor. Or Lesnar reigns a HW Champ for awhile. i just hope he not boreing to watch. And I dissagre with Nog having a good enough chin to take a shot from Lesnar. Hearing Pretty much almost put him to sleep. I know that he has taken bigger shots befor but thats not the point he is also older and moving away from his prime. I’m Telling you man Fedor is the only sole alive to have a chance to beat Leasner. Oh ya and as far as paying your dues, people saying that you need to get owned to pay your dues… I say the only way you pay your dues is time. Not just wins or looses but Putting the time and heart into the sport and Fedor Has done that, Randy has done that But Lesnar Has Not.
Bring in Fedor to fight Brock. I don’t know why but I’d love to see that albino gorilla get his ass kicked.
maia should get out of mma and go do some bjj tornaments, im not down for watching this guy just pull guard then submit his opponant boreing as hell imo, but im sure some people get a kick out of it, maybe if he striked for a bit 1st got the takedown then subed the guy it wouldn’t be to bad but pulling guard like that sucks!
big nog will take lesnar to skool
I don’t think Couture should retire or move to LHW.
Up until he went down, he held his own in there. As we all know, Randy is the king of game plans. I wouldn’t mind seeing him go home, work out another game plan and come back to see how he does against Lesnar for a second time.
In all honestly, we all knew this was going to happen. You can have all the experience in the world, but if you don’t have youth on your side you are as good as done.
Couture is now showing the signs of getting old but that isnt enough for him to back off. I think he still has some to offer.
I know Couture is a fan favourite in the sport and all, but I don’t see why nor do I see the point of booing or bad mouthing Brock.
Brock went in there, no trash talking, all respect on the line and beat his man. I’m excited for Brock, this is big in the respect that you have a guy beating your champion on 4 fights experience!!! I cant wait for his next fight and don’t see why people still want to see him get beat. Its not as if he got in there and cheated.
This guy is special.
It is so funny to see people change their opinion after one fight.
Before this fight everybody thinks Lesnar is crap and now it is like he will be the champ for a very long time… which I kind of doubt. Everybody lose if you stay in the octagon long enough. I will see Randy making a comeback.
randy should go down to lhw and chin anderson silva!
Brock Lesnar def. Randy Couture (c) via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 3:07
UFC heavyweight championship
thats what matters brock is the champ and its a new era
BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!
I heard that Brock failed his drug test? Is there any truth to this Kris?
I don’t think the fight between Randy and Fedor is gone. It could and SHOULD still happen. It’s a much better matchup with both contenders weighing roughly the same.
Brock is setting the 265 standard in the heavyweight division and could leave all the 210-240lb heavyweights scratching their heads and going on a protein shake fiesta. 265 is the new weight to make and Brock proved it.
Most think that Nog is going to handle Brock easily…I’m not so sure. Especially when they are seeing Mir as a breeze fight when Mir is one of the best Jiu-Jitsu guys in the world, just like Nog.
Bottom line is there are a lot of great matchups coming up and I think Brock stands more than a puncher’s chance against either opponent.
I still think BJ will beat Florian…but it could very well be a 5 round war. BJ just needs to watch the Sherk/Florian video to expose weakness in his game. Believe me he has weaknesses.
I hate say this but i called it i knew even though i was 100% behind Randy the size was a factor.
Also i don’t believe that Randy controlled the fight as someone suggested it looked more like Brock was being very careful and respectful of Randy’s clinch game you have to remember he dominated both Tim Tim & Gonzaga in the clinch and did not do much to Brock.
Hey gang…I am a H-U-G-E Randy guy, but face the facts here. Lesnar did dominate him AND proved he could take a punch. Brock had two big takedowns, and rode Randy to wear him down. Randy, who can take down anyone, could not take Brock down, period. Also, it is amazing to watch Brock throw tight, short, straight punches as he did last night and against Herring…he is only going to get better.
Well said Dannyboy and Us And Chuck
man i was well impressed with demian maia, thought his transitions were top knotch, dont no if hed beat bisping thou? Cant wait for brock vs nog tht is an awesome fight, hes got 6 months solid jui jitsu defense to work on. Anyone think tht randy could fight lidell at 205 both there last fight, i think tht would make sense both believe they could beat each other, hope they make tht fight, maybe UFC 100 or summat, any thoughts?
Mir has already beat Brock and if he gets through Nog I predict the same result. I know people are going to say: “he’s got better since then” but, as a lot of people have pointed out, his size is the main reason for his success and that hasn’t changed. The bigger question is: why did Brock get a title shot before Mir?
The bigger question is: why did Brock get a title shot before Mir?
Basically because Randy retired for 15 months and, by the time he came back, Mir and Nog had already filmed TUF and been booked for December. There was no way to cancel Mir and Nog, and they were not going to have Randy sit around and wait for the winner.
Throw in the fact that Brock is the #1 draw and there were no other Heavyweights deserving of a shot with Nog and Mir booked (unless possibly Werdum pre KO) and Brock was the only thing that made sense.
Besides Werdum, no one else even had a case. Gonzaga was already dominated by Couture, Velzquez injured, Kongo got beat by Herring who got dominated by Brock.
Also, speaking of Riley, greanted Gurgel’s not the most powerful striker, but I think his jaw is made of pure iron
only if couture didn’t stop fighting but no he hadn’t fought in a year and that affected him i think and that fight with GONZAGA! was tko ya right that guy was cold out he was lying flat not moving so he hit him one more time since the ref didn’t stop it
dauminator,
So we shouldn’t expect the #1 contender to be the one who gets a title shot? They should have waited. Brock’s win says more about the talent in the HW division than it does about Brock’s ability.
Gonzaga.. size +strength +KO power + BJJ = lesnar gets owned
I think if Lesnar makes it through Mir/Nog winner (which I think he will) the next “threat” or fight I think would be interesting would be with Shane Carwin…I know he’s not be around that long BUT he as similar attributes as Lesnar”
agreed!!!!!i was betting on lesnar and was glad too see a new champ but damn….randy looked awesome!~!~ very impressive fight which leads me too believe that randy could still beat the lhw champ if he chose too. i think he would wreck evans or forrest judging by last night!
Gonzaga got owned by couture did you not watch the fights lastnight couture just got owned by lesnar,, I said it before and i will say it again lesnar is the force to be wrecken with he is the hw champ and here to stay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by the way good job by florian woulda liked to see joe daddy on top but nice effort by kenflo
Randy should go down to 205 and fight Liddell. I think Randy would win this time.
I didn’t say Gonzaga is great.. but I think he would tool up Lesnar, Randy could have beat Lesnar.. he was dealing with the size fine but got caught. Randy does not have the knock out power of Gonzaga..
I wouldn’t say Randy was dealing with Lesnars size too easily. I noticed that Randy didn’t even bother with some of his trademark dirty boxing. Sure he didn’t get over powered by his size, but all he did was weather the storm/took the sting out of the bite!
I don’t see Gonzaga being much threat to Lesnar. Sure the guy is a beast but he is a beast that can be and will be beat! Brock is something else and by that I mean something special. I don’t see anyone getting that belt from him for a while.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Randy step down to 205lbs and take on Anderson Silva. Whats left for Silva at 185lbs???? This fight really makes marketing sense. Maybe a fight with Rampage/Wand?? I don’t see the point in him fighting Liddell again. If we see Fedor in the UFC, will Dana want him to fight Randy or will he go after Brock? Exciting times ahead for the UFC/MMA fan!
re: mir-lesnar fight
everyone forgot that mir got saved by the referee in that fight. if the ref hadnt stopped lesnar from the ‘back of the head’ punches, mir woulda folded like a house of cards.
so, in my book, lesnar ‘almost’ won that one as well.
i think mir was just lucky with the submission.
we are forgetting the weight factor here, we MUST PIT BROCK AGAINST SOMEONE AS HEAVY AS HIM, otherwise it is no contest.
randy was going thru the right moves, but brock is just too big n strong.
is there another big motha’ who could tango with brock?
i know u all hope for fedors’ salvation
BUT I’M NOT SURE IF EVEN FEDOR COULD NEUTRALIZE BROCK.
THERE SHOULD BE A SUPER-HEAVY WEIGHT DIVISION.
and i am sure that randy is 100% right in coming down in weight to 205. it is more natural for mr. natural. u could see how much smaller he is than brock on the weigh-in picture.
I CALLED IT GUYS, SORRY!
I’M GONNA SAY IT AGAIN- BROCK IS SO STRONG, I’M NOT SURE EVEN FEDOR COULD TAKE HIM AT THIS POINT.
GO KIMBO-VS-BROCK !!!!
I agree that its exciting times for UFC/MMA fans. I am personally predicting that the loser of Mir vs. Nog will fight Randy for a shot at the winner of Lesnar v Mir/Nog if Randy stays fighting at HW.
Re: “The bigger question is: why did Brock get a title shot before Mir?”
Like dauminator said, the contract was already in place for Mir/Nog, so they weren’t going to change that fight, so they had to have someone fight Randy. At the time the contract was signed for Lesnar/Randy, (I believe) Werdum only had one fight left on his contract, the UFC does not give title shots to guys with one fight left, that way they’re less likely to have champs sign with another company. Since then Werdum has lost, which would prove (some) people’s argument that he didn’t deserve the shot anyways.
Brock’s definitely got a good six months that I’m sure he’ll spend training BJJ, if he doesn’t he’s dumb.
is flo getting a shot @ penn???
i mean hes good and i am a fan…but he has to defeat one more contender imo.
i say maynard, sherk, diaz…
I think Kenflo has done enough for a title shot. I mean, how many more guys must he beat before he gets his shot.
Sherk isn’t even close to being a contender in my eyes. He had 1 fight since losing in horrible fashion to BJ and that was a very close and i mean VERY close decision win to Tyson. I think he needs to get some more wins under his belt!
Maynard would be a good test for Florian but why must he fight him just to earn a shot?
omg kimbo vs brock are you serious!?!?!?!
brock would own him so harshly with an immediate takedown/beatdown it would be laughable.
kimbo needs 2 years of training/fighting scrubs.
I think Kenflo is as ready as he’s going to be for a shot at BJ. He’s done well at 155, I think his only loss in the weight class was to Sherk, and that was a decision. In the fight against Stevenson he looked the best I’ve ever seen him, and I believe that was already announced as a number one contender fight.
This would be an interesting fight to see …. lesnar vs overeem !! Two big dudes with different syles going at it … And I think I’d go with Overeem to win . call me crazy …. butt Alistair is on a roll and has serious skills . Overeem vs Congo is another winnner as I have mentioned before .
“Like dauminator said, the contract was already in place for Mir/Nog, so they weren’t going to change that fight, so they had to have someone fight Randy.”
I would question if they actually did need someone to fight Randy. Fight the interim contract fight, winner faces Randy. That works just as well doesn’t it?
It’s all water under the bridge, but you have to wonder if the UFC really was setting him up as many predicted they would. (I don’t think I did, but you know what I mean)
DBiz,
True they don’t *have* to have someone fight Randy – they don’t *have* to do anything they don’t want – but obviously if you’re the UFC and you work out your contract with one of the biggest name fighters in your organization, you want them to fight, it makes good business sense. If they happen to be the champion, and they haven’t defended that championship in over a year because of a contract dispute, if they are in fact going to fight, they need to be defending that championship. So in a way, they do have to have someone to fight Randy. If they don’t do this fight now, you’re looking at Randy being on the shelf until March(ish) which would be around a year and half since his last fight in your organization. Why would you wait that long to make money on him when you’ve already worked out the contract?
i think the only people who could beat lesnar are fedor, andre arlowski, and gonzaga(since he is like a young nog) and florian better train his as.s off since bj will hurt him if he doesnt the scary thing about penn is that he doesnt really use his submission skills except in the pulver fight bj just loves to stand in the pocket and bang he has one of the best jabs in mma good luck florian
I never admitted it (or maybe I did?) but in a dark plack in the back of my mind, I knew Brock would win. 40+ lbs is a lot of weight to give to a guy. I’m a big Randy fan and I think my “hope” stiffled what I knew would be a landslide.
…And Im gonna call it a landslide. I do think Randy controlled the fight, but controlling a fighter Brock’s size for 5 rounds would be an amazing feat. With Brock’s size, the smallest opening results in a ham-hock to the face, hammerfists ad-noseum, and game over.
Brock is the future. As much as none of us want to admit it (and I dont want to either!), he is. He HAS improved. He has shown that he can be patient. He has the makings of a good fighter. His size will hold his spot until his skill catches up. I would like to see him move to Team Couture.
We all complain about the HW division being a lack of tallent and it probably always will. Brock might make the division better in the long run because someone will either need great skill or to bulk to and fight mutant size. HW will NEVER been like the other division though. The extra size of a HW makes everything more effective. A sloppy choke can choke a fool. A sloppy arm bar can snap an arm. In practice, the extra muscle makes up for the lack of skill, it just doesnt make for great TV.
Nog fought Bob Sapp and after he took the beating of his life an arm bar ended the fight. I can see the same thing happening to Brock.
Sorry for the delay, but nope Dave – at least not yet. The NSAC did test him but the results aren’t back yet and won’t be for a few more days.
Thanks for the heads up about Riley Justin, I’ve corrected the article.
Hammer fists ad noseum. Brilliant, sir. Absolutely brilliant.
You’re welcome Kris.