Tag: brock lesnar

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UFC 141

I’m here in Las Vegas and I was able to catch the weigh ins yesterday, but unfortunately I won’t be seeing it live here.

This event is going to be a good one. The Lesnar vs Overeem bout is the fight I can’t wait to see. Finally Overeem is now in the UFC. He’s been destroying all the other heavyweights in other organization over the past two years, so now it’ll be interesting how he does it here in the big leagues.

My Picks:

Allistair Overeem beats Brock Lesnar
Donald Cerrone beats Nate Diaz
Alexander Gustafsson beats Vladimir Matyushenko
Ross Pearson beats Junior Assuncao
Nam Pham beats Jimy Hittes
Diego Nunes beats Manny Gamburyan

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UFC 121

Cain Velasquez has proven he is the #1 contender and has what it takes to be the champ right now. Brock Lesnar is physically powerful and fast which makes up for his lack of experience. What makes Lesnar so appealing is that he improves leaps and bounds every time he steps in the cage. So it would be difficult to study his fight style and develop an effective strategy.

Lesnar’s last fight showed that he can come back from adversity and still win and that’s what true champions are made of. But that fight also showed that he’s still needs to work on his defense. Lesnar’s stand-up is stiff and very telegraphic. It’s something that Cain and his coaches will be working to capitalize on. Cain Velasquez will be giving up about 30 lbs when he steps in the cage. This can be considered an advantage or disadvantage; it depends on the type of strategy he brings against Lesnar.

Velasquez’s quest to a shot for the title has been a long time coming. Being undefeated in the UFC and KOing one of the best HW in the world made it easy for the fans and UFC brass to give Velasquez the #1 contender spot. The way the styles match up it’s difficult to call this one. Lesnar will need to avoid a kickboxing match with Cain and take this fight to the ground and take control of top position. Lesnar is a mountain of a man and if he can put Cain on his back every second that goes by will suck the energy out of Mexican heavyweight. For Velasquez, he needs to keep the fight standing and put the pressure on the Champ. Lesnar has good cardio for a large heavyweight and Velasquez will need to push it to it’s limits. His best bet will be taking the fight deep into the later rounds or draw Lesnar in a boxing match where Cain where has the advantage and score points with the judges and maybe score a knockdown and hoprfully capitalize on it. As for Cain KOing Lesnar it will be very unlikely. In the end I see Lesnar getting the win. Lesnar is bigger and stronger and his superior wrestling will nullify Velasquez’s better cardio and better boxing.

My Picks:

Brock Lesnar beats Cain Velasquez
Martin Kampmann beats Jake Shields
Diego Sanchez beats Paulo Thiago
Gilbert Yvel beats Jon Madsen
Tom Lawlor beats Patrick Cote
Tito Ortiz beats Matt Hamill
Gabriel Gonzaga beats Brendan Schaub
Chris Camozzi beats Dong Yi Yang
Ryan Jensen beats Court McGee

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UFC 116

They should have named this event “Clash of the Titans” because that’s what it is. Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin will be entering the octagon tipping well pass the heavyweight limit. This is the epitome of a heavyweight match. Carwin is known for his knockout power and crushing all his opponents in one round, and Brock is just as powerful if not more, and is  more athletic and superior in wrestling. Lesnar has been sideline for about one year due to illness and many would say that ring rust will play a role in the outcome of the fight. But some people forget that Lensar had his illness for several years and didn’t know about it. He was never able to train 100%. Lesnar was beating people up and won the heavyweight title while suffering from diverticulitis.  Now that he’s all healed up and training at 100% will we see an even more powerful and faster Brock Lesnar?

Carwin’s 12 wins are impressive but he hasn’t shown any other abilities other than knocking guys out (maybe he doesn’t need to). We’ve seen what Lesnar can do and he gets better every time he enters the cage. I don’t see Carwin defending Brock’s takedown, and unless he’s powerful enough to knock people out from his back and I don’t see him getting Brock off of him. With Fedor’s recent loss this match up will show who is the true heavyweight champ in MMA.

My Picks:

Brock Lesnar beats Shane Carwin

Chris Leben beats Yoshihiro Akiyama

Chris Lytle beats Matt Brown

Krzysztof Soszynski beats Stephan Bonnar

George Stiropoulos beats Kurt Pellegrino

Gerald Harris beats Dave Branch

Forrest Petz beats Daniel Roberts

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UFC 100

ufc100

It’s been several UFC events since I’ve written any previews. I knew I could not skip this blog for UFC 100. Many of my friends wanted to know my thoughts on these fights. So here it is:

Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir
Their first fight proved that Lesnar was an inexperienced rookie in a sport that is very unforgiving. But he bounced back with two very impressive wins over Heath Herring and Randy Couture. Who would have thought a popular professional wrestler would storm into the fastest growing sport and quickly rise to the top of the food chain in the UFC’s Heavyweight Division. If it had to be anybody it would be Brock Lesnar. Lesnar is a one-of-a-kind physical specimen. He’s a mountain of muscle that is as agile as a lightweight; a combination that is rare and deadly. His quickness is attributed from his collegiate wrestling career and his professional wrestling days, and one would guess physique and strength is the product of Hercules and some mortal woman.

And across the ring from Lesnar is Frank Mir, the former UFC Heav weight champ. His career has been a roller coaster ride. He quickly rose up the Heavyweight ranks becoming the king of the division. And as quickly has he rose up in the ranks he faded away. It was mostly due to his motorcycle accident and his rough comeback fights. There was almost a time where Mir’s career looked as though it was about over. But then it all turned around after his stint in the Ultimate Fighter show where he then defeated Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Not only did he beat him, he did it in a fashion that we’ve never seen before. Mir’s boxing and movement has improved leaps and bounds. This much improved standup abilities compliments his excellent ground game now makes Mir a force to be reckoned with.

The fight between this time around will be much different. Lesnar now has the experience albeit not as extensive, and Mir’s improvement in his hands and feet will make for an interesting fight. Mir is a cerebral fighter and likes exploit his opponent’s weaknesses. Lesnar’s loss in the first fight was inability to control his emotions. Lesnar came out too excited and was careless and Mir weathered the storm and caught Lesnar in a text book knee bar. In this fight Mir doesn’t have the luxury of waiting it out to find an opening otherwise Lesnar will just impose his will. If Mir keeps his distance when standing he can out-point Lesnar, but to seal the deal he will need to put Lensar against the fence and work for the takedown to get a submission. For Lesnar to win he’ll need to do the same and put Mir’s back up against the fence and take him down and smother him like he did with Heath Herring. In the end I see Lesnar with the win. The biggest factor will be cardio. Mir was always had a cardio problems and going up against a big wrestler he will quickly deplete his gas tank after the first round.

GSP vs Thiago Alves
GSP is as a well-rounded fighter as they come. Whether it’s on the feet or on the ground no other fighter in his division has a significant advantage, if any, over GSP. Marred by an embarrassing loss to Matt Serra GSP has refocused and came back to avenge his loss and beat Jon Fitch and BJ Penn all in less than a year. Standing across the ring from him this Saturday is a fighter the likes he has not fought before will be looking to strip GSP of his belt.

Thiago Alves is a Muay Thai specialist with devastating strikes. His impressive wins over Koshcheck and Hughes earned him this title fight. With 7 straight wins in the octagon, five of which by KO, Alves is looking to add his 8th win by KOing the current reigning champ. A feat that might not be farfetched as one may think.

People said Jon Fitch would be GSP’s toughest opponent, yet GSP steam rolled Fitch. Now everyone is saying Thiago Alves will be GSP’s toughest opponent. This time there’s a difference. Fitch is a fighter that grinds his opponent down using his wrestling. What made Fitch so formidable is that he can equally take the same amount of punishment and still continue to move forward. Alves, on the other hand, doesn’t grind his opponent down, but rather he inflicts as much damage as possible with every strike. So standing toe to toe against Alves is a risky task. Alves will be looking to chop GSP down with kicks which is probably a smart move. So if he wants to walk away with the belt Alves will need to keep his distance, work his lateral movements, and utilize those low kicks to slow down GSP. Alves has great takedown defense, but GSP has always been successful with his takedowns even against high caliber wrestlers. For GSP clearly dominate he will need to take the fight to the ground which I believe he will be able to do so at will. This will be a close fight. As this may be the first time GSP has fought a fighter who is as strong as him if not stronger.

Dan Henderson vs Michael Bisping
Dan Henderson is a veteran fighter that has been in numerous battles. With knockout power in both hands Henderson is always dangerous whether it’s in the first or fifth round. As the former Pride Middleweight champ Henderson is a tough-as-nails opponent for anyone in any weight division. Henderson has always fought top competition and this time is no different.

Michael Bisping has been on an impressive run in the middleweight division. Dropping down to 185 was the best decision for his career. At this point Bisping has not fought anyone with the credentials close to Henderson, so a win on Saturday night will quickly boost him to title contention.

Henderson is a fighter that likes to stalk his opponent and loads up on that right hand of his. The dangerous part is that everyone knows it’s coming yet his opponents still gets caught. Bisping has to use his footwork to keep Henderson at bay, and for him to win the fight Bisping will need to stay away from Henderson’s clinch and street brawl mentality. I’m sure every MMA betting line has Henderson as the favorite, but I think Bisping will pull the win. Henderson’s last two wins weren’t as impressive. It shows that age is catching up with him his reflexes aren’t as quick and his counters aren’t hitting their marks. Bisping is hungry for the belt and just like Henderson he has fought in the Light Heavyweight division before so going up against the strength of Henderson is nothing new to him. If Bisping keeps moving and landing his strikes he can out point Henderson for the decision win.

My Picks:

Brock Lesnar beats Frank Mir
George St. Pierre beats Thiago Alves
Jon Fitch beats Paulo Thiago
Michael Bisping beats Dan Henderson
Alan Belcher beats Yoshihiro Akiyama
Stephan Bonnar beats Mark Coleman
Mac Danzig beats Jim Miller
Jon Jones beats Jake O’B rien
Dong Hyun Kim beats TJ Grant
CB Dollaway beats Tom Lawlor
Matt Grice beats Shannon Gugerty

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UFC 91

ufc91

Randy Couture is back and this time he’s taking on a mountain of muscle, a juggernaut named Brock Lensnar. Let’s get to the fight picks.

Brock Lesnar beats Randy Couture
Many may see Brock Lesnar as too inexperienced in MMA to beat Couture. It is true that Lesnar is inexperienced, but what those same people don’t know is that Lensar is acompetitive athlete that knows how to use his physical abilities to his advantage. Fighters with a strong wrestling background like Lesnar’s do very well in UFC; Matt Hughes, Mark Coleman, Sean Sherk, Matt Lindland, Frank Edgar, Gray Maynard, and Randy Couture himself. One thing to take notice is that Randy hasn’t fought in over a year. Will he have ring rust? Probably not, but at his age the sharpness of his skills maybe affected. Randy has always had trouble with bigger guys with a decent ground game. Ricco Rodriguez and Josh Barnett beat Randy. Those losses may be ancient history, what did Randy do after those losses? He dropped to 205 and since then he fought fighters who likes to strike rather than take it to the ground. In this fight I see Randy trying to be elusive using hit and run tactics, but as much as I like Randy I see Lensar ending up getting the take down and overpower Randy for a TKO stoppage.

Joe Stevenson beats Kenny Florian
Earlier this week I had Florian winning this fight, but I believe Florian and his camp underrates Stevenson’s striking. Stevenson also has a good ground game and can surprise Florian with well-placed striking and a takedowns. If Stevenson takes Florian down I can see him controlling the top position as Sean Sherk did. This is going to be a very close fight, but I Stevenson getting the slight edge and pulling an upset.

Demian Maia beats Nate Quarry
Nate Quarry is a tough fighter. He has decent striking and wrestling. A jack of all trades, but an ace of none. Demian Maia is a submission machine, and if the fight goes to the ground Quarry’s decent ground game won’t cut it. Demian Maia is not going to stand and will look to take the fight to the ground as soon as he can. Quarry will have to the get the quick KO if he wants to win this fight.

Tamdan McCrory beats Dustin Hazelett
Aaron Riley beats Jorge Gurgel
Jeremy Stephens beats Rafael do Anjos
Alvin Robinson beats Mark Bocek
Ryan Thomas beats Matt Brown
Gabriel Gonzaga beats Josh Hendricks