from cbsnews.com
UFC 121: Velasquez Lesnar main event
The main event of the evening at UFC 121 was the Velasquez Lesnar fight for the heavyweight Championship. Scheduled for five rounds the fight failed to get through the first. Unsurprisingly, Lesnar came out of the blocks fast and rushed Velasquez going for takedowns which failed or were negated immediately. When trading punches Lesnar missed but Velasquez hit, which was the real difference.
Velasquez managed to get Lesnar down and get in some good shots as Lesnar’s defence was inadequate, it was all he could do to simply cover his head. This worked to a degree against Carwin last time out, but only because Carwin got over-excited and ‘gassed’ himself from throwing so much leather. This meant that a lot of shots failed to hit the target and it appeared as though Lesnars defence was successful. With Velasquez picking his shots Lesnars defence was hopelessly ineffective.
Velasquez dominates Lesnar in stand up
Velasquez’s stand up superiority is not surprising as according to the Bleacher report Velasquez is successful with 53% of his punches while Lesnar only connects with only 30% of his! The difference in striking ability was very plain in this fight. If Lesnar wants to regain this belt he has to improve this and his defence standing and on the ground, he is just far too limited in these areas. Lesnar relies too much on being such a big old lump, at UFC elite level this is not enough.
Previously, Lesnar has managed to dominate his opponents by basically laying on them against the fence or on the ground and then pumelling them with his big old fists. When this is negated as in the last two fights he has looked very limited. He needs more than wrestling and size at the very top level.
A lot is said about how fast Lesnar is for such a huge bloke, while true his movement tends to be linear. He moves like a bull in a china shop, charging straight at the target. Velasquez showed the world how to deal with this, particularly in one shoot where he avoided it by turning laterally, which left good old Brock careering forward out of control and spinning into the fence. In fact, he looked pretty foolish while it allowed the classy Velasquez to fire off some shots into Lesnars face.
UPDATE
Video of the main event re-added
Velasquez Lesnar – the King is dead, long live the King
Like most people Lesnar doesn’t enjoy being punched in the head and as a result his game fell apart and he lost the fight after being completely dominated. It was nice to see a bit of humility in defeat from him which is in stark contrast to his behaviour in victory, better stuff in this regard.
As for Velasquez, well he looks really good and the proposed match up with Junior dos Santos appears to be a cracker in the making. These are two very good strikers whose fights don’t usually last very long, something will have to give. At last some interest in the HW division which has been a bit lame lately.
UFC Heavyweight Updates
Of course, since this loss there has been some exciting stuff in the heavyweight division. Firstly, Junior dos Santos beat Velasquez comfortably and then on New Years Eve UFC 141, Lesnar got battered again! This time it was Overeem brushing him aside. Overeem marches on to a title shot against dos Santos while poor old Brock announced his retirement.
So Lesnar’s MMA career is finished and the most hateful Heavyweight is gone. He did some good in popularizing the sport but was unremarkable in anything other than his size, his stand up fighting was just too basic for the higher level fighters. As with many stand up fighters if you can stuff the takedowns you win with far superior punches, kicks or, as in Overeems case, knees.
Originally posted 2010-10-26 14:40:39. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
UFC 121 Velasquez Lesnar – Brock battered! http://epicmartialartsblog.com/ufc-121-velasquez-lesnar/
I agree with this article, Lesnar has relied on his brute strength, size and quickness to win his previous fights. He lacks the technique, and skills of the new elite heavyweight that have come along in the past year. Also, I have noticed he does not have the chin to take the punches from these superior strikers he has faced in Cain, and Carwin.
I do think Lesnar does have a lot of talent, and if he continues to train, he will be back to challenge for the belt again. He is still new to the sport and has a lot to learn. I also think that this lose is good for him. Brock became a champion extremely fast, and I think this will bring him back down to earth and make him realize that he is not invincible.
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UFC 121 Velasquez Lesnar – Brock battered!: from cbsnews.com
UFC 121: Velasquez Lesnar main event
The main event of http://bit.ly/ayGIq2
It will be interesting to see how Lesnar responds to this loss. He needs to improve his striking and should spend a lot of time developing that area. If he can blend this with his wrestling skills he’ll improve hugely. Jamie, Your point about becoming champion so quickly is valid. He is extremely inexperienced in MMA and would probably benefited from a slower rise through the ranks, but I think Dana White liked the marketing potential of Lesnar too much to wait.
Karate_Stylist (“KS”) re “UFC 123: Lyoto Machida vs. Rampage Jackson.”
KS @ JL. What are your thoughts here? KS thinks the match will be an perfect test between form (Machida) & function (Jackson).
Karate_Stylist
P.S. I thought Velasquez would win based on his diligent boxing training & striking skills. The pre-fight videos of Velasquez training were very impressive. He was more than ready with his ground game too.
UPDATED with Valesquez Lesnar video
KS I don’t think there is a perfect test between form and function, although Machida v Jackson would be close. Rua Shogun has illustrated how to beat Machida through leg kicks and aggression. Jackson should try something along these lines. Stopping Machida’s countering game is key for Jackson.
As for Machida, he needs a ‘plan B’ as he has been found out to an extent by the champion. It’ll be interesting to see if he has adapted. I want to see something a little different from him.
UFC 121 Velasquez Lesnar – Brock battered! http://epicmartialartsblog.com/ufc-121-velasquez-lesnar/
Karate_Stylist (“KS”) @ JL RE “Machida vs. Jackson Appraisal.”
KS is pretty much in total agreement with you on this one. If Jackson can out-wrestle Machida, then ground & pound, that would work too, IMO.
‘Perfect’ was only used to highlight the form-over-function issue which you have presented so well.
If Machida’s karate isn’t really good, he’s in danger of losing this. I completely agree he needs to change.
Karate_Stylist
Karate_Stylist (“KS”) re “UFC 123–Lyoto Machida prepares for Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in Brazil (video), @ mmabay.co.uk/?s=machida
KS @ JL. Check out Lyoto Machida’s training video for the upcoming fight with Rampage.
KS sees Lyoto using [your] athletic, boxing-type approach, and IMO, he looks decent.
Not what I would do. Note, KS doesn’t go to tournaments–I’m not a ‘sport’ fighter.
KS believes in the underlying principles of Sanbon Kumite. KS doesn’t practice the latter because it is not popular @ karate schools in my locale. KS does practice my style’s equivalent of Shotokan Ippon Kumite, BIG TIME. The Ippon Kumite training is typical on ‘waiting for the bus;’ NOT ‘frozen-on-the-bus.’
For IPPON KUMITE to succeed, you MUST develop the underlying traditional kind of martial arts abilities KS has ‘blabbed’ about. The IPPON KUMITE, if done properly, will support the development of these skills. As you have accurately pointed out, it is fair to say many/most karate people ‘miss-the-bus’ when doing traditional karate training & so their IPPON KUMITE fails in fighting. You know, the robot, stick-figures doing nice poses.
They then, like Lyoto is doing now, go to boxing / Kickboxing, MMA striking, etc. Hey, KS has said, that works too (BUT NOT LIKE BONAFIDE KARATE!). For KS, it will be key to see if Lyoto’s boxing-type training gives him the edge over Rampage’s brute power. Lyoto is trying to move away from very heavy reliance on the single, speed counter-punch, the staple of Shotokan Kumitie fighting. I endorse that.
From my traditional martial arts perch though, KS still thinks Lyoto is in danger of losing. The way to really improve the odds of Lyoto winning, IMO, is to go back to the principles of Sanbon Kumitie & to practice Ippon Kumite. The tactical goal is to use precison, full-body power strikes to quickly take your opponent out. You match your defense to the opponent’s assault, then counter-attack–BAM, BAM, maybe BAM once more & you’re done!
Karate_Stylist
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