Brock Lesnar dominates Heath Herring at UFC 87
One of the big storylines going into Saturday night’s event wasn’t whether or not Georges St. Pierre would defend his crown against Jon Fitch. Nor was it the question of whether or not Roger Huerta would step up to the plate and win in his toughest fight in the UFC to date. Instead, it was the most overlooked storyline, whether or not Brock Lesnar would record a victory over a legitimate heavyweight and prove his worth in the UFC, that was answered with a resounding “yes.”
Brock Lesnar dominated Heath Herring from start to finish on Saturday night, setting the tone of the fight by dropping Herring on his rear end with a crushing right hand to his left eye in the opening seconds of round one. From there, it was all Lesnar for the rest of the fight.
Lesnar controlled Herring’s back for most of the fight with Herring absorbing a massive amount of punishment from Lesnar’s boulder-sized fists and a ridiculous amount of knees to the body. Herring proved his worth as one of the best gatekeepers in all of MMA, taking a beating and not folding. Herring has taken beatings from some of the world’s best heavyweights and this one was just another day at the office in his book.
Herring tried valiantly to escape Lesnar’s top control but was largely unable to do so and in the end, Lesnar came away with a dominant victory, sending his record to 2-1 and proving to the MMA world that he belongs in the UFC. Time will only tell what’s next for Lesnar as the UFC’s heavyweight division isn’t as strong as it used to be but he certainly proved to the doubters tonight that he is for real.
Adam Morgan is
| All posts by Adam Morgan
Bad Monkey
Rich S.
windstorm
I was shocked at Brock’s reluctance to ground and pound Heath. He had full mount several times and did nothing with it. I guess he was just playing it safe. He better to learn ti finish or a better fighter will make him pay. I was not crazy about his antics as the lock ran down but I guess when you win, you get to do what you want.
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I agree Lesnar is for real. I still think he’s going to have a hard time finishing anyone solid for a while. I felt like he got a little conservative with his ground and pound which enabled him to stay out of subs and not get swept, but made for somewhat limited offense from his dominant positions.
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Anybody notice Herring crying to the ref in the first round just like when he fought O’brien. He could not handle the power of Lesnar. Brock does need to learn how to finish, the fight should have finished first round.
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I despise Lesnar, but he showed that he’s a force in the HW division. Who could handle his wrestling besides Cain Velasquez? Give him Kongo or Werdum as a tune up. Yes, I said Werdum would be a gimme, but one I’d really like to see.
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Brock was aweome! I just hope he was watching Ken Flo give props after his fight and especially GSP and how GSP showed class by bowing on his knees to Fitch. We don’t need WWE Cowboy antics, Herring was a gamer and said nothing extreme in the pre-fight build-ups. A reverential style will make him way, way more fans than people who will eventually pay to see the freakish Giant hopefully get his ass kicked.
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Am I the onl one who thought Lesnar was very disrespectful and unsportsmanlike? Forgive me but I was under the impression that discipline was a major foundation of martial arts and I believe that while Lesnar came away with a solid and satisfying victory, showed total disrespect to the sport we all embrace and are convinving others to as well.
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Isn’t it disrespectful to make up excuses for losing. Herring was probably crying about this and that all match long. He can’t fight wrestlers and it frustarates the shit out of him. Brock was more than likely retaliating for all the garbage Heath was complaining about during the match.
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He was complaining about shots to the back of the head. That’s no reason for Lesnar to pretend to ride him like some sort of bull at the end of the fight, good athlete but no respect
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One thing that became obvious to me as the fight went on, Mark Coleman owes heath Herring his life. Coleman would have been possibly the first in-ring fatality if he had shown up for that fight against Lesnar. Lesnar is an animal
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After the fight, I thought Brock was a bit of a sore winner. I can just imagine his wife afterwards…
Sable – “Honey, next time don’t act like a retard after you win, okay?”
Brock – “Yes, dear.”
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First off, i’m a Brock Lesnar fan, but it’s obvious he trains with Sean Sherk. I am willing to give him a pass though for two reasons.
1. He is still a relative baby in this sport.
2. Heath Herring is a world class fighter who should have been able to get up.
As far as his antics go. God bless the man. It’s about time we had another good shit talker in the UFC. I wasn’t sure if he was whipping or throwing an imaginary lasso around the Crazy Horse, but either way, it was funny. Brock Lesnar needs to start training with the Diaz brothers and perfect his antics.
As far as Heath Herring goes. The only time he looked like he was going to hit someone was Dan Mirgililittoltttootttla for the eye poke. We have all seen Herring knock people out in the stare down faze. I think the Ref would have been another classic for his highlight reel.
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I liked Lesner’s fighting, but not the victory dance. It made me sick to my stomach.
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ya, i think at some point in ever fight, Herring has complained to the ref during the fight.. idk.. he annoys me..
but..
Lesnar is an animal..
i’ve backed him ever since he joined MMA.. i knew he would lose to Mir, but now, man, i’d say he can beat anyone but maybe Werdum or Nog, that is, barring a wild KO or something..
Herring’s a big dude, and lesnar was just grabbing him, and spinning him around, and moving him wherever he wanted him.. i mean, if he wanted to, he could’ve picked him up and done “F5″..
hehe,
idk, i’m really excited for Lesnar..
i’m glad we got to see more of him.. his last two fights were a min. long.. this time, we got to see 15 min. of beastly dominance..
obviously this dude’s got power in his hands, and his kicks were sick.. with a little tune-up in his standing game [even though it looked good] and he’ll be unstoppable..
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Mark Coleman just realized that he made the best decision of his life by pullin gout of his fight with Lesnar. Can you imagine what Lesnar would of done to him??? He woudl of hurt him and hurt him bad.
I feel for Brock. He could of ended it in KO/TKO if it were not for Herring bitching ONCE about “wah, he hit the back of head” Lesnar was gun shy from taht point on adn for the next 2.5 rounds till fights ends. He was gun shy. I mean, come one EVERY FIGHT, there are more strikes to the “back of the head” WITHOUT ANY WARNING. And Again, while HEATH turtled up a striek was close to the back of the head ONE TIME and he has to worry about getting a point deducted. These refs HAVE to do that WITH EVERY” FIGHTER IN EVERY FIGHT if they are going to do it.
I know that that Lesnars basketball size hands could really hurt someone badly, but come on when you turtle up it makes it hard not to come close every now and then. It wasnt like Lesnar was throwing to back on purpose.
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Oh, and for the “really hurt someone comment. I think that Lesnar may actaully seriously hurt someone in the Octagon someday. That right in the beginning of round 1 was RIDICULIS. It knocked 250 Herring backwards so hard and fast, he completelyrolled!!??!!
I never liked WWE or Lesnar, but the character is gonna be a spectacle to watch in the future. I still cant imagine how bad he will throw around a light HW, maybe 225 or so.
I’ll bet Vera has NO INTENTIONS of moving back to heavyweight now!!!
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I wish we could have Lesnar vs Kimbo right Now!!! Lesnar has alot to learn but he has not had an tomato cans like kimbo. good card overall cant wait for the Dec 29th card!!
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I am real excited to see Lesnar come off with a victory, I knew the guy is a freakin animal, he just needed to go back and get more training. I didnt really care for him throwing it back in Herring’s face after the fight, although it was funny, I think he was just pumped that he got a good win. I was watching many of the interviews with the fighters up to the fight and I remember Herring not talking too much shit, but he did say he thought Brock was real “green” and had a look on his face like he was getting ready to fight an amateur and not Lesnar. Props to Lesnar.
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Bill Lumberg, Lesnar vs. Kimbo? Are you serious? Kimbo wouldn’t last 30 seconds with Brock.
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What a bad sport! Brock pushed Herring in the back after the bell of Round 1, started his victory celebration prematurely (and almost got hit) before Round 3 was over, and did that ridiculous fishing/lasso thing after the fight. And THEN made the “rode that horse out of town” comment during the talk with Rogan (vague reference to the Crazy Horse).
He is a brute, but he is also a poor, poor sport. MMA fans have come to expect a certain level of humility, class, and respect from the fighters. Brock displayed none of these qualities. Dana and team need to put Brock (or is it “Cock”?) through an etiquette class if he is gonna be the face of the HW division.
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Lesnar should be eating and sleeping at the BJJ gym. Its the only thing that can keep him from the belt. As an athlete the guy is just a freak on nature, at 280 lbs. the guy moves with the agility of a cat.
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Herring ran his mouth before the fight saying that Lesnar would try to “Donkey Kong” his head, and mentioned the large size of Lesnar’s head. Which to me is disrespectful, (yes it is true he has a large melon), but then also Herring mentioned how he has fought stronger wrestlers, more accomplished fighters, and so on…isnt that saying to the other guy that you aren’t shit and can’t do anything to me? That is how I take it. Love him or hate him give Lesnar credit for beating a solid HW, the same HW who should have beat Noguiera (sp?) if not for a mental error, and Noguiera is the interm HW champ. Yes if Brock fought Randy Couture right now he would lose, but I am already sick of people saying how they hate Lesnar and don’t give him credit because he was a WWE wrestler. It is completely stupid to me. Do these same people boycott every movie that The Rock is in, because he used to be a wrestler? Do these people not give credit for the political work that Jesse Ventura has done, because he was a wrestler? It is fine to not like someone for one reason or another, but give the guy some credit, yes he looks like a cro-magna man, but he is freakishly strong and fast, with a great amatuer wrestling background.
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Lesnar is the Alpha male of MMA right now…indisputable power, speed, and endurance. What he lacks is finishing skills, and when he gets them–watch out!
My comments to Lesnar would be “great fight, but you should have used your elbows and postured up when you got your opponent in position” If Tito Ortiz can do it with his limited physical abilities (at least in comparison to Lesnar’s) then why not?
I also think that if Lesnar had baited Herring, he could have bombed him to the mat ala Rampage with ease, and it would have finished him.
All these things are possible with Lesnar, and we will continue to see this guy improve.
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I can’t fault Lesnar’s “antics” after the fight. I’m sure Brock needed to psych himself up for this fight and after pounding on heath’s face for 15 minutes it’s hard to just turn that switch off. not every fighter was raised in a dojo with bowing and the mutual combat respect. he comes from college/pro-wresting it’s a different mentality. it may not be the way you’d do it, but he’s the one with the XXXXL gloves on, let him do his thing.
the one thing I can do without is the friggin’ WWE signs creeping up at the events, last thing we need is “I love you Sable” signs in the background of the fights. they need to squash that shit right now.
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For his third fight ever, Brock whupped a$$. Heath was saying he fought bigger, better, faster, stronger, I wonder why he got beat. I believe it is because he did not think about three very important facts. 1) Brock Lesnar had to cut to make the 265 limit. He’s massive on a scale Heath was not ready for. 2) At 295 pounds he was running the 40 yard dash in 4.8 seconds. He was so much quicker than Heath thought. 3) Brock has impressive collegiate wrestling credentials and a solid athletic background. While he might have been in the WWE that has no bearing on his athleticism. Brock just plain old beat the texas crazy horse. Heath is a tough crafty veteran, so give Brock his due. As to the antics, I am sure the right people will deal with that and we will see some class his next fight.
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they would have made the fight with congo win or loose they were setting it up for brock.. he’ll probably win that fight on the ground ,
be interesting to see him v cain velasquez..
i think fedor would beat him up pretty good, butcan see a lot of the top heavyweights getting controlled by lesnar on the ground.. who could simulate being in there with a guy this big who is a ncaa wrestling champ.. it’d be hard for big nog ( or anyone )to train for him
could be ufc champ in a years time..
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Mike—
That is what I am saying! I would love to see Kimbo take a 8 pound fist to his face.
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All my props go to Brock. He played it cool. Even though he mounted him several times, and had his back with no hooks, it was good to see that his conditioning is top notch. He made controlling a 250lb guy look easy. As for the antics, that’s what happens when you talk crap before you fight. Heath said he’s faced bigger, stronger, more accomplished wrestlers and he had no answer for what Brock was doing to him. There’s plenty of fighters (Anderson Silva) who dance around and mess with their opponents. Who cares. With more training Brock could very well be the next champ. Heath Herring’s face looked like it was hit by a truck after the first round. If he was striking like GSP in his fight, it would be scary.
And the scariest thing about Brock, is that there’s so much room for improvement.
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Just call him the beast because he is going to beast the heavyweight division for many years to come. What is frightening is that his finishing skills are average at best. He’s gonna hospitalize someone at some point I am sure of it. It’s only a matter of time before championship gold is resting across his broad shoulders.
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I would just like to point out that the vast majority of people who cover MMA professionally all picked Brock to be an easy win for Herring, while it would seem that the majority of us lowly fans predicted that Herring would get raped. Seriously, if you don’t have good BJJ, you don’t want to fight Lesnar. Kongo should not take that fight unless he’s prepared to run like Starnes. I think Lesnar didn’t go for the finish or the G&P because he’s still afraid of submissions. That’s pretty much his only weakness. He’s not afraid to exchange on his feet since one punch from him knocks everyone on their ass. He’s only going to get better and it was obvious that his strength is just too much. Herring is a strong, strong dude and he was getting tossed around like a little kid. I thought he’d win easily, but I didn’t expect to be so impressed by his potential.
Anyway, I’m willing to let Lesnar’s antics slide this one time. Why? First, he was clearly excited about getting that win. Downright giddy, in fact. He needed it bad and, I think first and foremost, he proved to HIMSELF that he belongs in the UFC.
Second, Herring is a giant asshole and he totally deserved a taste of his own medicine. He’s a crybaby when he’s losing and takes little insulting jabs at opponents when he wins (like after the Kongo win, for example). Brock was taking a jab at Herring’s “cowboy” persona (which is some fucking ridiculous Pride bullshit to begin with). Herring acts like he wishes he were a pro wrestler, but he just got schooled by one in a real fight. I love that.
Does anyone else think that Herring let Lesnar hit him that first time? I could swear he saw it coming and didn’t block it. I’m inclinded to believe that smug SOB thought he could take a punch from Lesnar and then humiliate him in the stand up. If so, I’m thinking he was wrong.
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He probably had no idea the SOB could hit him from so far away. He has knuckle-dragging gorilla arms.
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Razzle how does lesnar now have much room for improvement? If he was improved the fight would have been over the 1st time he had full mount.
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I agree with alot of you, Lesnar needs to work on his antics, but it didnt bother me how he acted. For god sakes he just got a 30-26 win from all judges. He made Heath look like a bitch. Heath is strong and is 250 lbs. and was getting thrown around and taken down at will. yes lesnar needs to work on this and that but are you guys forgetting this is his 3rd fight ever, and he isnt fighting whos who, he is fighting MIR the ex HW champ of the ufc and heath who has over 40 fights. Hate him or love him, he will be the next big thing in the hvywt division. I promise you that, show me anyone else that weighs 285 lbs and moves that fast, and can bend you into a pretzel. lol i cant wait till his next fight
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I really enjoyed Lesnars so called “antics”. Some of you people try to act all holyer than thou and forget what you really are,…. a human being who likes to watch people get their ass kicked! Now what is so honorable about that? To all the people not happy about Lesnars antics- deal with it bitch!
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Brock is worthless.. hes a poor sport and a disgrace to the MMA world. Did you see him jump up and down pointing his finger and laughing at Heath at the end like a little kid?? what a joke, I hope he gets his arm broke in his next fight. Antics is one thing respect is another… His strength will only get him so far, its MIXED martial arts… go back to the wwf where its ok to act like a child
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