"Brock Lesnar and the Argonauts"

Mr. K

Over the next year or two I believe the heavyweight belt is to be heavily contested on it’s feet. The top tier of Heavyweight fighters are incredible strikers with ground games that essentially nullify each other forcing the fight to take place in a boxers world.

Lets look at the contenders…

In my opinion the number one contender and soon to be champion once he returns from surgery is Shane Carwin. Weighing in at 265 pounds he is one of the larger heavyweights in the division. Shane was a division 2 wrestler and possesses enough power, experience and base to keep a fight on it’s feet, and let’s not overlook the fact he hits as hard as a freight train.

I realize that Shane was taken down by Brock and submitted, but had he not gassed (which I am sure is a problem that he will rectify quickly) Shane would have handed Brock Lesnar his ass in round 2 (much the same as round 1) and walked away the champion.

Cain Velasquez has a gas tank that rivals a Prius (excellent mileage is the point I am trying to make, but I hate Prius’ so I won’t use that reference again, that and the fact it’s a girls car).

Velasquez has excellent boxing, great power and was a Division 1 wrestler at Arizona, and did I mention he just demolished Brock to become the Heavyweight champion of the world.

Every time Brock Lesnar tried to take Cain down he popped back up quicker then you can say Mexican champion. And once on their feet, Cain made a mess of Brock Lesnar’s face.

Cain’s first title defense… Junior Dos Santos.

Although Junior does not have the wrestling background to compete with the likes of Cain, Carwin or Brock Lesnar, he is a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu under the guidance of legends Antonio Nogueira and Anderson Silva.

That kind of tutelage is enough to make anyone think twice about taking him down. Junior has knock out power in his hands and some say the best boxing skills in the division. The point I am trying to make is that these guys’ ground game is so competent that they nullify other fighters wrestling backgrounds and take down attempts, thus keeping the fight on it’s feet and dictating where and how it takes place.

The problem for everyone else is that no other fighter in the division can match their stand up ability. Carwin, Santos and Velazquez hit harder, faster and more accurately than any other heavyweight in the UFC.

Let’s turn our attention back to Brock. I still rate Brock Lesnar as one of the elite fighters in the Heavyweight division, but after his fights with Shane and Cain his stand up has been exposed like Pamela Anderson walking down the streets of Afghanistan, or Bin Laden sun tanning on the White house Lawn, orlike... well you get the point.

Brock Lesnar’s talents cannot be denied, he’s a natural. His size, strength and speed make him a match up nightmare, and his wrestling and subsequent ground and pound are poised to become legend. But what Brock provides in ground game he seriously lacks on his feet. If Lesnar fails to take his opponent to the mat then he is in serious trouble.

Carwin out punched Lesnar and embarrassed him (once again, I know Shane was taken down in round 2 but that was a Gassing issue, not a skill set issue). Cain Velasquez used his wrestling experience to avoid getting pinned on the mat and as a result used Brock Lesnar’s face as a punching bag.

With this being said, the blame cannot be shouldered by Brock alone. He is a product of the promotional juggernaut that is the UFC. He has not been groomed like Ryan Bader or Jon Jones.

Instead he was pushed into the spotlight (actually, I think he kinda chose to run into it) and he razzled and dazzled in his first few fights, but how could we be so naïve to think he was going to be a match for fighters in the caliber of Fedor?

Brock Lesnar still has too many holes in his game that only time and experience can fix. I think he is still a top contender due to his natural skill and attributes, but until he gains the necessary experience and talents in the stand up game, Cain, Junior and Shane will punish him every time.

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