UFC 91: Thoughts & Commentary
UFC 91 is in the books and there’s a new champion, a clear cut #1 contender at lightweight, and a whole mess of stuff to talk about. Is Brock Lesnar for real? Will we see Randy Couture again? Can Kenny Florian beat Sean Sherk or B.J. Penn? I’ve got my opinions, so let’s get to it.
Is Brock Lesnar for real?
You bet. And there’s no doubt that there will still be haters that say he hasn’t proved anything because he beat a 45 year-old fighter, but Brock Lesnar is as real as it possibly gets. He didn’t just beat a 45 year-old fighter, he beat Randy Freaking Couture and knocked him silly. If you don’t think Lesnar is for real right now after that fight then I don’t know if you know what you’re watching.
Couture did well during the fight, don’t get me wrong. His gameplan was good, much like the one he employed against Gabriel Gonzaga, trying to make the bigger man fight off the cage. He even landed some good shots and cut Lesnar. But Lesnar is just so huge, so fast, so agile, and so strong that he trumps a good gameplan. A glancing blow from this guy is going to knock you out and that’s just all there is to it. That kind of power trumps experience and gameplanning, the two advantages that Couture was going to have to rely upon.
Tonight Brock Lesnar made me a believer. With his size, his power, his speed, and his technical wrestling ability he is going to be a force to be reckoned with at heavyweight for a long time. Whether it be Nogueira or whether it be Mir, either guy is in for a serious fight.
We’ll see Randy Couture again
I know that our very own Sam Caplan questioned whether or not Randy Couture would fight again if he lost. I truly believe that he can’t be happy with the way tonight ended and no fighter of Couture’s caliber wants to go out on a loss. Couture came out of the fight largely unharmed aside from his ego and I think we’ll see him compete again. The only question at this point is whether it will be at heavyweight or light heavyweight.
Kenny Florian is the third best lightweight in the UFC
Florian once again impressed the hell out of me tonight with that quick submission victory over Joe Stevenson. Even B.J. Penn didn’t finish Stevenson that quickly. I still believe, however, that B.J. Penn and Sean Sherk are still #1 and #2 respectively. He fought a fantastic fight and made a great fighter in Joe Stevenson look silly on the ground. As he looks to a title shot he’s looking at either a fight with Penn or a possible rematch against Sean Sherk depending on what happens in Penn’s fight with St. Pierre. I don’t like Kenflo’s chances against Penn but a rematch with Sherk is a fantastic fight.
Dustin Hazelett has some of the best MMA jiu jitsu
Dustin Hazelett continues to throw up some of the sickest submissions we’ve ever seen in MMA and tonight he did it once again to Tamdan McCrory with that reverse armbar with an omoplata setup. That was just sickening and McCrory is not a slouch on the ground himself. Hazelett’s use of the rubber guard has been working very well for him in his last few fights and tonight it led him to victory. Hazelett is not an upper echelon fighter right now, but he is only 22 years old and has a long career ahead of him to improve. I’m glad this fight got moved to the main card just to see the submission.
Demian Maia is textbook
Speaking of jiu jitsu, Demian Maia is a freaking beast on the ground and in the grappling game. His ability to get Quarry down from that whizzer was beautiful and the subsequent ground work was textbook. Whether it be two or three fights from now or whether it be ten fights from now, Maia is going to get a title shot at some point in time during his tenure with the UFC. Nate Quarry is not a slouch and Maia made him look stupid tonight. Big things ahead for Demian Maia. If you didn’t believe the hype before, you best believe it now.
Other Musings:
- Will we see Randy Couture back in the broadcast booth now that he’s back with the UFC and has the fight out of the way? I sure would love to see him back in the booth with Rogan and Goldberg during big fights. His expert opinion from a fighter’s perspective is priceless and having him back in the booth would be a huge boost to the UFC’s broadcasts.
- I know, Josh Hendricks was riding a ten-fight win streak coming into this fight. And yes I know he has some wrestling credentials. But did this guy not look like someone they just pulled out of the bar? You knew Gonzaga was going to maul this guy.
- If Rashad Evans didn’t have knockout of the year already sealed up, Jeremy Stephens’ uppercut would be in the running. What a vicious punch.
Adam Morgan is
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Brock Lesnar has not proven anything by beating a 45 year old fighter. And I aint no hater.
Couture was a top fighter but he has been way over hyped, especially since he came out of retirement. Lookit..
Beats Sylvia.. go on dig that fight out and WATCH IT again.. Sylvia does nothing the whole fight. He was hurt or something.
Gonzaga .. got a very serious injury early in the fight.. Yes Couture was holding his own.. was not doing worse than he did in the first round with Lesnar.
Anyhow Couture no way belongs in the HW division. Did you see the size difference??? holy cow. Amazing he lasted that long. But this is not golf..no handicap.
“Biggest fight ever in UFC history!” Bah! This fight was way overhyped.
Yes, Lesnar can hit hard. He has great knees. Good wrestler. Not many weapons on the ground.
If he can beat Nog then hat’s off to him, he gets my respect. Don’t think I can ever be a fan of the guy.. don’t like him.
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Agree with this analysis 100%.
The highlight for me was Florian’s masterful display against Stevenson. Everyone expected a decision – myself included. I think after what happened with Huerta he decided he needed to be more aggressive. Florian’s proclamation that “I finish fights at 155″ was one of the boldest, most aggressive post-fight interviews I have ever seen and watching him fight is a thrill because I know that he wants to live up to that bold claim. I honestly doubt that he will live up to that against BJ Penn, but I also believe that he is a phoenomenal fighter and he has earned his shot at the belt.
One thing I didn’t think about – Randy back in the commentary seat! I certainly hope so
Hazelett’s omoplata made everyone I was watching the fight with wince. Great sub.
And yeah, Lesnar made me a believer tonight as well.
Postscript: I am drunk. Great card! If I were at my place as opposed to out of town we would all be playing Rock Band right now.
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regardless of how you feel about the nature of randys victories, or your assessment of lesnar’s actual mma skills. he won.
randy is a legit top 5 win, and lesnar is now a huge threat to anyone who is a top fighter, including fedor. however, id still have nog and fedor as favourites against lesnar if they ever fight.
i have my doubts regarding gonzagas cardio, but id like to see him kick lesnars head off. arent wrestlers susceptible to high kicks =p ?
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Way to throw the hook out Adam but i really didn’t think you would get a bite that quickly.
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Randy versus a much larger grappler. Hadn’t that scenario been played out at the end of Randy’s first stint as a heavyweight? Did anyone truly believe that Couture would be able to beat a man 60 lbs heavier that is also a prolific wrestler? We might have convinced ourselves but we knew better.
In my opinion, Dana White purposely killed what was left of Randy’s career. He knew that Couture only had a fight or two left in the tank (and bank). He knew that he would never be able to sign Fedor. And despite what he has said, I think he took Randy’s resignation personally and wanted to get him back. If Randy had 3-5 fights left in him, I do not believe that Dana would have set this match.
Adam – you seem to be a cynic. You agree with me don’t you?
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KO of the year? I think it’s Wand’s demolition of Keith Jardine.
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Well, for real Lesnar won. And for real he is a thread to everyone. Sadly, it’s quite obvious that the guy himself is not (for) real. He thanked god for his body – hm, after looking at some of the pictures of his earlier career (part of them even shown in the ufc promo footage) i wonder what kind and amount of drugs Lesnar took (not that I believe most of the other pro fighters do not, but with Lesnar it is imposible to overlook). I am really disgusted with that turn of the fight game towards artifically built-up “super freak athlets”, as Rogan put it in uncritical, appreciative words.
In a recent ESPN video on Lesnar he did not even deny having taken steroids and stuff, he just refused to comment on it in a somewhat revealing manner…
So, if not doing extensive drug testing (not only immediately before and after fights) at least the ufc has to introduce a super heavyweight div. strarting somewhere near 240 p so that the more and more common strategy of enormous weight cuts (with the help of whatever pharmaceuticals, probably) at least could revive competition of pharmatechnically built-up power machines….
Physics and fight quality tend to go in directions of pro wrestling and heavyweight pro boxing, I’m afraid…
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