UFC 91: Couture vs Lesnar

[Mik 0]

Not me! I've been riding that wagon since the very f'n beginning.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Brock as champion is still tough to wrap my head around but the road ahead for him isn't an easy one. Like Above said he's either facing a guy that has already beaten him (though I'd bet on Brock smashing Mir in the sequel) or a man who doesn't know how to die. And IF he gets past those guys the next likely challenger would be Gonzaga who is one of the only HW's who can match Brock in size and has better stand-up or fellow wrestling freight-trains like Velasquez or Carwin.

[AlwaysPissedOff 0]

Man, what a great night that was.

 

Quarry getting tooled by Maia, Haz utterly owning shit with a sick ass sub, Stephens winning with the "Die, Motherfucka!" Charging Uppercut™(sweet Jeebus did it make me cringe watching it on replay), and some drunk kid(he didn't look any older than 15 or 16) yelling all throughout the main "FUCK YOU, LESNAR!" only turn right around after Brock clocked Randy and start yelling "WHOOOOOOOOOOOO, BROCK! FUCK YOU, COUTURE!" was fucking surreal. Oh, I can't forget Kenflo dominating Stevenson and then talking about BJ being a master and how he has to now kill the master. Fucking AWESOME! WAR KENFLO!

 

God, I hope 92 is somewhat close to this card in delivering the good shit.

[Black Lushus 0]

That uppercut was awesome...we kept replaying that over and over again after the show was over.

 

That prelim. match they put on last was pretty darn good, talk about taking some fucking punches.

 

I thought Randy hung in pretty well there for a bit, Brock was looking awfully gassed for awhile, but you just can't let a man that size get a good clean shot on you.

[AboveAverage484 0]

I forgot about that prelim BL, that was the best fight of the night! Everyone had already cleared out by that point and there was only five of us watching two dudes beat the crap out of each other. Riley is fun to watch because although he is considered a brawler, he usually mixes his strikes up well and has good cardio. Jorge's game plan was crap; I understand catering to the fans, but sometimes you just have to look out for yourself, especially in a career where it's here today, gone tomorrow. Just ask Werdum.

 

And the Popeye Punch!, my goodness!

[Burning Pirate Ship Sex 0]

My friends and I were calling it the Mortal Kombat punch

[The Niggardly King 0]

Fuck man, Brock/Nog is going to be awesome in the spring or summer of '09.

[Twisted Intestine 0]

Wow, lots of Brock fans here. Everybody at the house I was at (around a dozen people) were cheering for Randy, as well as the crowd in Vegas.

 

Props to Brock for winning, but he will have his hands full with his next opponent. One has already beaten him, while the other is about as terrible a styles match up as you can get for Brock. Nog's taken shots from the hardest hitters in MMA and his entire game plan involves getting taken down and subbing his opponent.

 

I have to say Florian won me over last night, but really I guess I've always liked him except for his lame nick name.

 

At the bar I was at there was like 90% people cheering for Randy and only 10% of us cheering for Brock. When he won the whole place got silent except for a few of us goin nuts.

 

I think people here being wrestling fans (at least at the time Brock was in the WWE) makes up for some of the Brock love here.

[TheFranchise 0]

Wow, lots of Brock fans here.

I think people here being wrestling fans (at least at the time Brock was in the WWE) makes up for some of the Brock love here.

Definately. I'm one.

[Mik 0]

MMAMania is suggesting to maximize Randy's final two fights before he retires.

 

Their main suggestion: Randy vs. Anderson Silva at 205.

 

Yes, please. I like that idea.

[Mik 0]

This video interview is proof that Brock "gets it".

 

Total dickhead when the hype/camera is on but nothing but humble in analysis situations. He knows how to sell the fight.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/video?id=3705793

 

[Lord of The Curry 0]

MMAMania is suggesting to maximize Randy's final two fights before he retires.

 

Their main suggestion: Randy vs. Anderson Silva at 205.

 

Yes, please. I like that idea.

 

Fuck that. Randy vs Nog. Then again, Nog would need to lose to Mir for that to happen and I don't like that idea much at all. Goddamnit Brock.

 

[BruteSquad_BRODY 0]

I jumped off the Couch at Randy's knockdown, and yelled for about 2 mins straight.

 

Lots of alcohol aided in my celebration.

[Mik 0]

 

Oh, hey do you guys think Randy thinks that he can still beat Fedor? There goes that dream.

[AmericanDragon 0]

 

God damn look at how long Lesnar's arms are.

[Twisted Intestine 0]

I didn't see - were there any Wrestlers in the audience? Taker or anyone?

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

LOL @ Randy answer some chicks question Re: Brock being more of a threat than Fedor... very much a "bitch, please"... "no.. I don't think so... no... I think Fedor would tear Brock up at this point".

 

http://www.rawvegas.tv/watch/randy-couture...92d9aa7be64f677

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

The only aspect we didn't see of Brock's game in this fight was submissions. I'd say that every other aspect's been pretty much decided.

 

If Randy Couture couldn't get Brock to the ground (and when he did he got back up almost immediately) there probably isn't anyone in the HW ranks that will be able to do it. Randy has near perfect MMA adapted wrestling, and Brock was just too big and too strong.

 

Brock ate punches of the level that dropped Tim Sylvia. For *right now*, his natural defenses make up for his lack of standing defense. He took the shots and kept coming. This, along with knees to the face from Herring pretty much show that Brock has a very strong chin. He doesn't know how to defense or avoid them very well, but it's not like he's going to eat a medium/weak shot and crumble.

 

Right now, the only hw's in UFC (Aka ignoring Fedor, Arlovski, Barnett, etc, etc) I'd give an advantage over Brock is Nogueira. Brock's biggest weakness will probably always be a strong submission fighter and there's no one better in MMA at MMA adapted BJJ then Nog. However, Nog's ability to avoid taking shots and his ability to absorb them has significantly went down. Herring dropped him, and Sylvia dropped him. I'd say neither have Brock's sheer power. Furthermore, Nog won't be able to take Brock down unless he pulls guard. However, standing Nog should have a very sizeable advantage with his boxing traing as long as he can avoid the big shots. If he had to, he could just outpoint Brock to win.

 

The only other one I'd probably give even odds to now is Gonzaga. Gonzaga is insanely strong, and a hard hitter, and should be above Brock in every department. But he's already shown two big weaknesses. He mentally breaks when he's in an unfavorable position, and against Werdum and Couture (Granted because of his nose here) he gassed. Standing, Gonzaga's technique is better and he may have as much power as Brock. He probably won't be able to take Brock down, but his jiu jitsu is so high that he may be able to work well off his back. But he wasn't able to do much to Couture from the bottom, so I can't see him being able to do much with Brock on top of him. It'd be an interesting fight.

 

The other "young guns" I can't predict. Shane Carwin has not had a single fight last long enough to judge. It's hard to tell when no one's went past three minutes. Cain Velasquez really isn't worth even considering at this point. He's only 4-0, he has no name value, and he hasn't really beaten anyone that good. UFC would never in a million years make that fight. There's no way to gain anything from it.

 

And Frank Mir got DAMN lucky that he was Brock's first UFC opponent. The Brock that beat Herring and Randy would absolutely murder him. Brock only lost due to inexperience and being too excited. This Brock won't make that mistake, and Mir was already about dead.

 

[Mik 0]

Everybody blowing up the comments sections and sherdog talking about how those were "weak shots" on the ground only needs to watch that MMA fix video... Randy's face is decimated.

 

I agree... those shots didn't look like much but damn.

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

The thing about Brock's GnP, is if he'd just calm down a little and pull back his arms more he'd *KILL PEOPLE*. Instead he just hits those rapid succession hammer blows. If he just pulled back a few more inches? Mah gawd.

[Burning Pirate Ship Sex 0]

Everybody blowing up the comments sections and sherdog talking about how those were "weak shots" on the ground only needs to watch that MMA fix video... Randy's face is decimated.

 

I agree... those shots didn't look like much but damn.

 

Weak? Brock was bouncing Randy's head off the mat with those hammerfists. I love Randy, but come on.

 

The reaction amongst MMA traditionalists is going to be hilarious to watch, especially if Brock keeps winning.

[AmericanDragon 0]

[Youth N Asia 0]

go on...YOU make fun of him

[Mik 0]

[Toxxic 0]

From what it looked to me, when he was pummelling Randy on the ground he was just looking at the ref going "how long do I have to keep hitting him until you call this?" I think he probably COULD have killed him, but he knew Randy wasn't going anywhere and just wanted to keep doing enough to get the decision.

 

Granted I know slightly less than fuck all about MMA, so I could WELL be wrong...

[The Metal Maniac 0]

I can see why some would think the hammerfists didn't look like much - Brock really wasn't pulling back much on them. Of course, with hands that size, it's not like he needs to. That said, it sorta looked to me like Brock was just hitting as fast as he could, showing the ref that Randy wasn't defending and it had to be stopped.

[Lei Tong 0]

Entertaining night, but I didn't dig it quite as much as some other people. Too many easy fights to call with little competitiveness throughought. However, it was an obvious slam-dunk for winning over casual fans, with almost no lulls in the action (mid-fight, at least) lots of finishes, and of course, a main event they could get excited for. In that sense, it reminds me a bit of UFC 40.

 

Individual thoughts:

 

- Brown/Thomas was entertaining, though I can't bring myself to root for Brown after his postfight whining against Kim.

 

- Glad to see Bocek finally show something other than positional grappling skills, though Robinson's worth as an opponent has quickly dropped.

 

- Stephens looked as good as he ever has, but his seeming refusal to defend submissions before they're nigh locked is still troubling.

 

- Didn't watch Gurgel/Riley too closely. Too drunk by then. Von Flue > Gurgel. 'Nuff said.

 

- Maia shows us more of what we already know about him, though questions still exist about his chances against a higher class of opponent.

 

- Gonzaga looked good, as expected, though Hendricks wasn't much of a test. Napao still needs to show he can win in the face of adversity.

 

- Hazelett continues to be one of the most entertaining fighters to watch, especially in regards to the grappling game. As far as McCrory goes, dude's gonna' lose an arm permanently if he keeps trying to Gumby his way out of submission attempts.

 

- It's amazing how many people are still barely coming around to how good Florian actually is. It was also a nice return to form after dissapointing showings against Lauzon & Huerta. Granted, Stevenson has never been great off of his back, but Kenny has shown himself to have one of the most well-rounded top games in MMA.

 

- Props to Lesnar for beating Couture in a slightly different fashion than I predicted, but it still goes down as a good style match-up for him. Randy simply doesn't punch as hard as most other UFC HW's, he doesn't work off his back and even if he could outwrestle Brock, who else was expecting to? Luckily, Brock still has room to grow, but that's assuming he doesn't become too full of himself and assume he simply needs to become more of what he already is.

 

Oh, and 8/8. Wish I had put some money down on this card.

[HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0]

How was Ken-Flo disappointing against Lauzon?

[Lei Tong 0]

I felt he gave Lauzon far too much respect in their fight and surrendered much of the initiative when he didn't need to. It din't much matter in the end, but he looked extremely gun-shy early and arguably gave the first round away.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

This pretty much confirmed that the HW division is a joke. Am I really supposed to buy Brock's strategy of cutting to 265 at every weigh in and then getting huge in the time between that and the show?