Brock Lesnar
- Thread starter Howard
- Start date
I like Lesnar. It would be nice to have Lesnar as the top heavyweight for the next year or 2 before his speed and athleticism really starts to decline (Brock is 33 y.o. after all).
Lesnar has recently proclaimed himself a modern day Viking warrior and he certainly fits the mold.
Alas, Lesnar has been a victim of a combination of mistake training decisions and frankly, a victim of his own Dana White fueled pushed success and most importantly, his health scare that shelved him for a year.
Lesnar's rise to the top is unprecedented and obviously was a combination of his specific skill set and pure size and natural power. Yes, commendable and nothing wrong with that.
Although as we all (honestly) know, UFC and White wanted to push Lesnar because of his name recognition, reputation and just overall marketing strategy for the benefit of the company as whole.
Hey, that's a rational predictable decision and any promotion would have done the same thing.
However, this was done at the detriment to Lesnar's skill development. Lesnar got by on sheer natural athleticism, strength and wrestling ability. All elite level obviously.
Yet, Brock has been exposed the last 2 fights against other elite Heavyweights. The recovery from his condition (which almost killed him btw) also plays a key role here.
Will Brock get back to his old self? Perhaps, yet this will take time and skill learning.
Frankly, Brock did not look that aggressive vs Cain once his initial blitz attempt to get Cain down and keep him there failed.
Personally, it looked to me that Brock started to panic in that 'oh man, what did I get myself into' feel...a bit of self-doubt and the rest is history.
Maybe Lesnar is not used to other fighters really fighting back and he relied on getting Cain down to the ground and then what didn't happen, perhaps the result was predictable.
Again, I admit, just amateur fan speculation here and my 2 cents.
I would love to see Lesnar avenge his loss to Cain. Will this happen? Maybe, but time is not on Brock's side sadly.
He will need at least a full year of striking training and ground defense training to have any true hope of being champion again.
The new guys coming up are just so skilled in all facets. Lesnar was always a wrestling. Not even a true natural brawler and kicking? lol, no.
So this leaves Brock with a real choice: to avenge and get back to the championship he will need to focus on striking, ground defense and technique.
I hope it happens. I think he should fight others and get true ring fight experience to sharpen his skills and re-gain his confidence.
Nelson would be good.
Training sessions are no match for real competition fights.
Lesnar has recently proclaimed himself a modern day Viking warrior and he certainly fits the mold.
Alas, Lesnar has been a victim of a combination of mistake training decisions and frankly, a victim of his own Dana White fueled pushed success and most importantly, his health scare that shelved him for a year.
Lesnar's rise to the top is unprecedented and obviously was a combination of his specific skill set and pure size and natural power. Yes, commendable and nothing wrong with that.
Although as we all (honestly) know, UFC and White wanted to push Lesnar because of his name recognition, reputation and just overall marketing strategy for the benefit of the company as whole.
Hey, that's a rational predictable decision and any promotion would have done the same thing.
However, this was done at the detriment to Lesnar's skill development. Lesnar got by on sheer natural athleticism, strength and wrestling ability. All elite level obviously.
Yet, Brock has been exposed the last 2 fights against other elite Heavyweights. The recovery from his condition (which almost killed him btw) also plays a key role here.
Will Brock get back to his old self? Perhaps, yet this will take time and skill learning.
Frankly, Brock did not look that aggressive vs Cain once his initial blitz attempt to get Cain down and keep him there failed.
Personally, it looked to me that Brock started to panic in that 'oh man, what did I get myself into' feel...a bit of self-doubt and the rest is history.
Maybe Lesnar is not used to other fighters really fighting back and he relied on getting Cain down to the ground and then what didn't happen, perhaps the result was predictable.
Again, I admit, just amateur fan speculation here and my 2 cents.
I would love to see Lesnar avenge his loss to Cain. Will this happen? Maybe, but time is not on Brock's side sadly.
He will need at least a full year of striking training and ground defense training to have any true hope of being champion again.
The new guys coming up are just so skilled in all facets. Lesnar was always a wrestling. Not even a true natural brawler and kicking? lol, no.
So this leaves Brock with a real choice: to avenge and get back to the championship he will need to focus on striking, ground defense and technique.
I hope it happens. I think he should fight others and get true ring fight experience to sharpen his skills and re-gain his confidence.
Nelson would be good.
Training sessions are no match for real competition fights.
JReb1
Mentor
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2009
- Messages
- 838
Nelson. Brock needs a confidence building fight and to see if he still has the explosiveness that he had before his intestinal problems sidelined him. Brock just hasn't been explosive since his return, he really should have had 2-3 tuneup fights before he took on Carwin or Cain and he should still have a couple of tuneups before rematching either IMHO...
DixieDestroyer
Hall of Famer
I voted Nelson as well. He has heavy hands, but isn't as quick as "Mud Pride". Big Coutry's BJJ is better than Mud's...but not his wrestling.
As I've stated...Brock needs to upgrade his striking via an "Elite" camp (Jackson/Winklejon, etc.) or bring in some world class strikers & trainers into his camp. As Borussia mentioned, Brock has relied on his massive size, raw power, brute strength & wrestling vs. honing his striking and (all around) BJJ skills. He is the alpha-male/super-stud of his camp & that doesn't lend itself to improvement. I'd like to see him face Nelson & improve his striking (offense and defense) & BJJ before he fights for the strap again.
As I've stated...Brock needs to upgrade his striking via an "Elite" camp (Jackson/Winklejon, etc.) or bring in some world class strikers & trainers into his camp. As Borussia mentioned, Brock has relied on his massive size, raw power, brute strength & wrestling vs. honing his striking and (all around) BJJ skills. He is the alpha-male/super-stud of his camp & that doesn't lend itself to improvement. I'd like to see him face Nelson & improve his striking (offense and defense) & BJJ before he fights for the strap again.
In the poll I wrote for one of the options is for Lesnar to fight a B-Level fighter. Who would be a B-level fighter in the UFC. Maybe Gabe Gonzaga, but he got cut. I think for this option Lesnar would have to fight a UFC newcomer and the UFC might not want to take the risk that Lesnar might lose to a newbie.
I voted Nelson, so hopefully they fight Super Bowl weekend in Feb. Or in March sometime. March might be better because it gives Lesnar 4 full months to learn some striking, which does'nt sound like a lot of time ,but remember this is MMA not pro boxing.
I voted Nelson, so hopefully they fight Super Bowl weekend in Feb. Or in March sometime. March might be better because it gives Lesnar 4 full months to learn some striking, which does'nt sound like a lot of time ,but remember this is MMA not pro boxing.