Comments on: UFC 87 Video: Brock Lesnar talks Heath Herring

By: Ultimate Toronto

Ultimate Toronto — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:23:10 +0000

Brock dominated his first UFC fight against Mir, let his guard down for a second and his opponent capitalized on it…he won’t make that mistake twice.

Heath is no spring chicken, but Brock knows that. The result will be one insane fight, so can’t wait for it.

By: Deuermeyer

Deuermeyer — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:20:53 +0000

I’ve been to a number of Brock’s wrestling matches when he was at the U. I haven’t seen Jake O’brien wrestle, but from what I saw from his fight with Heath, his skills are lacking in comparison to Brock’s.

As far as Brock’s conditioning being questioned, he is in as good as shape as anyone else. (if not better)

By: dave

dave — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 03:51:54 +0000

Ok, mir looked like he was taking a pounding but put the fists of tank abbott behind those hits and indeed, he would have been taking a pounding. Brocks punches seemed aweful short in that fight. he doesnt need to learn any ground technique, he needs to learn how to make those punches extremely effective and he will be a machine. Ive fought before and out of panic flared up with a bunch of short punches and they just do not have enough effect.
Brocks size and speed will make him an incredible fighter, providing he makes the striking work

By: Revjames13

Revjames13 — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:03:41 +0000

You may be right. I just watched the Herring/O’Brien fight and Herring looked awful. It shows how capable he is of underperforming.

However I think in the Lesnar fight you’ll see him more or less at his best. Lesnar does bring a very high energy to a fight and the event itself. Herring won’t be able to coast at all and Brock’s pressure will put him into an automatic pilot zone where his years of experience come to the fore, IMO.

Lesnar is a force to be reckoned with but I think he might have trouble finishing fights against top guys. We’ll have to see if striking becomes one of his tools. This fight should be a great litmus test for that. Herring has looked sloppy in the past with his stand up, but Brock is not someone who should expose that, in fact quite the opposite, he could provide a bigger, easier to hit target.

But I’ve reconsidered thinking Herring was a lock. Still pick him to win, but now I’m thinking Brock has about a 20% chance of just overwhelming him with his wrestling aggression.

By: Rich S.

Rich S. — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 06:13:54 +0000

ok, I KNOW HERRING HAS BEEN IN WARS.. and i know Herring has fought the best fighters in the world.. that’s definitely true..

but SINCE he became a member of the UFC, his performances have been.. ummm.. not up to par, if you will..

his first fight [in the UFC] = a slow fight in which he didn’t even try to defend takedowns, and he: “didn’t know this was gonna turn into a wrestling match”

second fight: a slow decision win over an opponent [Imes] he greatly outmatched..

third fight: losing, losing, losing, head kick, ohhhhhhh!! , losing, losing, losing, lost..

fourth fight: his fight with Kongo was actually his best in the UFC yet.. but, i wasn’t impressed.. first of all, Kongo seemed off to me.. i mean, in the one place where he should dominate [the feet], he wasn’t working his leg/mid/high kicks, and he wasn’t even defending the takedowns.. and on the ground, Herring wouldn’t punch him in the face.. knees to the body aren’t a bad idea, but you have to punch him in the face every now and then..

THEREFORE,
i think Lesnar’s going to be 2-1 after this fight..
my only worry is Lesnar’s gas tank, and i’m sure he can hold his own in cardio, after a career in which you “entertain/perform” 2 nights a week for 15 min. at a time..

Lesnar will be the attacker on the feet.. he won’t stop moving when it hits the ground [i mean, did you see that spin-around in the Mir fight?? it was beastly!!] and i just think that Herring will break/lose motivation after being outworked in those positions..

By: Revjames13

Revjames13 — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:31:54 +0000

I suppose I have more faith in Herring than Lesnar, based mostly on the Big Nog fights and the Kongo fight. I know he lost the fights to Nog, but he put him to the test each time and I consider Nog one of the best heavyweights in the world. Probably second right now to Fedor. I like Randy a lot but think Nog would beat him, which is why it’s probably smart for him to avoid that match up, though it was annoying the way he left the UFC.

Given how Herring has fared against some top guys, I’m expecting him to get past Lesnar, who I think still has a ton to learn.

Will have to watch the O’Brien fight again to see how susceptible Herring is to just a straight wrestling attack. To Lesnar’s credit I think he is a very aggressive fighter who will try to finish Herring. That could leave him open to a sub or what I see as being more likely: catching a some strikes.

I’m really curious what kind of chin Lesnar has and what kind of defense he’s got on his feet. The Crazy Horse is going to be launching kicks at him that’s for sure.

By: Wess

Wess — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:03:57 +0000

# 24 Revjames13 Says:
July 29th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Wrestling on its own isn’t enough.

It was for O’Brien.

By: Pablo N.

Pablo N. — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:38:28 +0000

All the Herring fights that I’ve seen were less than entertaining. His striking looks akward and sloppy. I believe he caught Kongo on an off day. Lesnar will not make the same mistake twice and I’m sure nerves are not a problem. I hope he pounds him out first round and pulls out his clippers to get rid of Heath’s multicolored hair just like the old WWF.

By: Revjames13

Revjames13 — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:36:09 +0000

Wrestling on its own isn’t enough. Brock doesn’t know what to do once he gets a guy down, except try to clobber him. O’Brien is not the wrestler Brock is, but he is more well rounded. It was one of Herring’s worst fights as well. He should be far more prepared for Lesnar, since it’s a key career fight for him. No one, least of all Heath, wants to go down to a newb like Brock.

By: Wess

Wess — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:00:14 +0000

# 15 Kuch Says:
July 29th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Herring lost to O’Brien, another strong wrestler. Brock is much stronger than O’Brien and should be succefful if he employs the same game plan.

You hit the nail on the head. Does any else remember how Herring handled O’Brien’s wrestling skills. (If I am wromg please let me know.) I might be going out on a limb here but I believe Brock’s wrestling is just a tad better than O’Brien’s.