The UFC 116 main event and heavyweight unification bout between reigning Champion Brock Lesnar and Interim Champion Shane Carwin at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. on July 3 turned out quite different than most people expected.
Lesnar managed to do what he does best: shock the audience. Only this time, he switched up the roles he was playing inside the octagon and turned the bout into a thriller that delivered an ending no one anticipated.
First, he allowed Carwin to take complete control and ground and pound him into oblivion in round one, or so it seemed to the unassuming observer's eye.
""Each shot was less dramatic than the one before and I thought I will just let him go on," Lesnar said in a post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.
Knowing that Carwin had never gone past round one in any of his previous 12 professional MMA bouts Lesnar played it smart rather than hard and endured Carwin's pounding apparently with only one goal in mind: to let Carwin wear himself out.
While no one would have expected Lesnar to take this kind of physical punishment it was even more surprising that his lack of actions actually served a purpose since Lesnar's usual fight strategy always centered around beating the living daylights out of his opponents.
Alas, Lesnar's recent bout with diverticulitis and his subsequent loss of weight and possibly strength might have led him to focus his fight game on other aspects and evolve as a fighter. In that case the illness might have been a blessing in disguise as Lesnar displayed patience, endurance and wit this time around. Instead of out-brawling Carwin he outsmarted him.
It should be noted though that the referee could have stopped the fight in round one when Carwin was unleashing hell's fury onto Lesnar who at one point was curled up in the fetal position while only protecting his head with his fists. Especially when Lesnar started bleeding from cuts on his face it just about seemed like the fight was over.
Obviously, the outcome of the fight would have been quite different if any other fighter had been the subject of Carwin's wrath. But given Lesnar's size and track record the referee apparently figured that he could take it and then some.
In round two the dynamics of the fight changed dramatically as Carwin was clearly out of gas while Lesnar was just getting started. Instead of trying to score a knockout Lesnar chose to take Carwin down where he pinned him to the mat and ultimately submitted him with one single arm across his throat (via arm triangle) which earned him the Submission of the Night bonus ($75,000). Needless to say, he also got to keep his belt.
UFC President Dana White now knows who the 'baddest dude on the planet' is.
- Click here for complete UFC 116 fight results.
- Click here for UFC 116 fight bonuses.
- Click here for entire UFC 116 coverage.
- Click here to see more articles on Brock Lesnar.
Comments
If only Carwin played his game a little smarter. I felt tired just looking at him in the second round, Brock is a big guy so he's gonna be able to take some punishment and to me, throwing flurrys of punches at his guard was not very smart at all. Credit to lesnar though, he showed he is more than a big senseless G&P machine, he earned a lot of respect. However I don't think he 'allowed Carwin to take complete control', cmon examiner he was rocked and you know it ;)
Oh.. Yeah.. Great strategy he had... How about he just got rocked and was hanging on for life, it was obvious who the better fighter was, if the fight happened 100 times carwin would win 95 of them
wow Screw you brock you got rocked and you won by doing the thing u said was gay. hes just saying to this to make his win better than it really was he got his ass wooped
You retarded Lesnar hating rejects! Lesnar takes a beating that would have killed a lesser man, pulls out the win and you say he sucks? He is and for a very long time will be the CHAMP!!!!!!!!!!!
Jamie, yes, he was rocked. No doubt about that. But at one point he made the choice NOT to fight back and just take the punches while covering his face quite strategically. I do think that he 'allowed' Carwin to take control, or at least let him believe he was in control only to surprise him later. That does not mean Lesnar is a puppet master. Just that he chose when to pull out the big guns. I call that fighting smart. His timing could not have been better as Carwin was clearly spent and barely defending himself in round two.
Of course, there will always be people who will attribute the outcome to luck and a bad referee. But no one can dispute the fact that Lesnar is the UFC Heavyweight Champion, and rightfully so.
lmao Lesnar sucks? He did not only win the fight he understood that he did not need to come out and win in the first round. It is a 5 round fight. Carwin is not regular guy. Those of u who think Lesnar was gonna just roll right over him are crazy. two big guys and it went down just the way I thought it would except for the submission. I knew Carwin would get some punches in and then figured he would lose in the 2nd round. Submission was sweet, because it shows ho Lesnar is maturin as a fighter!
Brad, he got his ass whooped? I do believe he won the fight. :) MMA so ur gonna get hit from time to time no matter who u are. He took some blows that most men would of been finished by. He let him wear himself out then with his monster strength finished him with a arm triangle. Very impressive! He knew Carwin would be ready for this ground and pound so he switched it up and made him tap. CArwin is a great fighter and I hope we get to see a rematch, so Lesnar can shut up the haters once and for all! The guy did what he had to and still not getting the respect he deseves. Sad sad
you guys all say he was fighting strategically no he got F'd up in the first round and he pulled a submission in the 2nd what happened to the brock before sayin shane your not gonan last long going toe to toe with me. thats the first time brocks been really hit and i can tell brock didnt like it to sit in the fedal position covering your head is not skill its just deperate to survive if that was yamasaki he would have stopped it
i am tired of ppl thinking just because lesnar used to be a pro wrestler he cant fight!!!! give him credit he was on the verge of being an olympic gold meddalest if the u.s. hadnt boycoted the olypics and instead of waiting another 4 yrs he took the wwe's money and made millions of dollars and after he was set for life from thier money he decided it was time to do what he wanted!! and as far as not being an athlete he ran a 4.7 40 yrd dash wieghing in at290 lbs and in full pads so he is an athlete O AND BY THE WAY HE IS THE CHAMP ALSO
Jab, jab, jab, punch combinations and Sprawl, when Lesnar shoots in and try and take Carwin down. Keeping the fight on his feet. This just may be, rematch strategy, if Carwin is to win. Carwin can do it on the rematch.
Here is the bottom line, carwin needs some seriouse cardio, and brock needs to learn how to fight. It was pathetic to see a guy like brock claiming invincibility running away from carwin with his head down, and shane with all his book smarts shasing him down with no legitimate strategy to finish the guy and wear himself out. I was very appauled by these two giants just mainly relying on pure streinght and no masterful display of true ufc fighting skilss. I must tell you I was very dissapointed. All that said this fight should have been stopped like a coons age before it has even started. Ufc should be really held accountable if anything crucially bad happen to any of their fighters who takes abeaten like that and they don't stepped in on time to stopped the bleeding. Also it is clear to all ufc funs that shne is probably the most dangerious fighter on the planet and if he can get his cardio right no one is beaten him again.He made brock look less than an average fighter
Well-written analysis, Astrid. keep up the good work.
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