In workplaces around the country, and indeed around the world, Monday morning water-cooler talk following the weekend at some point turned to UFC 100.And of course, those conversations eventually moved to UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, who scored a second-round TKO over Frank Mir, and then outraged some by his post-fight comments and actions. Around the World Wide Web, Lesnar was one of the most written-about topics.
And the interest wasn't simply around his win. People wanted to know about his WWE background, his wife, his quick rise to the top, and of course, what is next for him. And all that interest just serves to help the heavyweight division.
Lesnar, who is alternately hilarious and shudder-worthy in his comments, has become a polarizing figure. Some love him and some hate him, but massive numbers of people want to watch him. UFC President Dana White virtually guaranteed that the winner of UFC 104's Shane Carwin vs. Cain Velasquez matchup would get the next crack at Lesnar.
Both men are unbeaten and have amateur wrestling pedigrees that rival Lesnar's, making for intriguing possibilities.
With all due respect to Velasquez, who is clearly one of the marquee prospects in the sport, a Carwin-Lesnar matchup would capture many imaginations because of the sheer size involved. Both men are 6-foot-4 and cut down to make the division's 265-pound weight limit. Like Lesnar, Carwin was a collegiate wrestling champion. He's unbeaten, has tremendous knockout power and has made scores of new fans with his recent performances. He's one fighter Lesnar would be unlikely to bully around.
And for those who prefer their athletes more refined, Carwin is undeniably bright, a full-time engineer to go along with his fighting schedule. Carwin has already showed a willingness to criticize Lesnar's boorish behavior. Writing on his blog a few hours after UFC 100, Carwin wrote, "The flipping off of the fans that just lined your pocket with millions of dollars is just LAME. He may be a Champion but he has a long ways to go before he earns the respect of a Champion."
But other possibilities remain. Velasquez would be no walkover for Lesnar, though at 6-foot-1 and 240 pounds, he's quite a bit smaller. Mir could soon work his way back into the last of a trilogy.
Of course, there is always the chance that someone else moves to the front of the line. The one fighter likely to do so is Fedor Emelianenko, who White continues to insist that the company will at some point sign. The Russian is scheduled to fight Josh Barnett at Aug. 1's Affliction.
"This whole Fedor thing has been going on and on and on," he said. "I keep saying this and that about him and he keeps waiting. Eventually, Fedor's going to be here. I want Fedor. I want him to come to the UFC and everything else."
Emelianenko will likely be a free agent following the Barnett fight. A source close to the fighter told FanHouse that Emelianenko's management team has had discussions with Affliction about re-signing, but do not anticipate having anything finalized before his fight. That could give the UFC a chance to swoop in and make another run.
Though Fedor would be free to negotiate elsewhere, he will continue to have a pre-existing promotional deal with M-1 Global -- not coincidentally, an organization fronted by his manager Vadim Finkelstein.
White says that as long as they can sign Emelianenko to a multi-fight deal, he would immediately fight Lesnar. And given their schedules (Lesnar fought July 11, Emelianenko is set to compete on Aug. 1), the UFC could easily slot a Lesnar-Emelianenko matchup in November or December. (By comparision, Velasquez and Carwin won't fight until late October, and the winner will likely need another three months to prepare, making a fight with Lesnar unlikely until 2010).
Would a Barnett win put him in the mix? Althought White recently said, "I don't know. No one's beating down my door to get Barnett," a victory could perhaps ignite an interest on UFC's part.
But the heavyweight interest doesn't end there. As FanHouse reported during UFC 100 weekend, Mirko Cro Cop has returned to the fold with a three-fight deal signed last Friday night.
Finally, the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter boasts a crop entirely composed of heavyweights, including Kimbo Slice. While there may not be a challenger for Lesnar in the crew, the addition of the still-popular Slice gives the UFC another lightning rod for what has quickly become a must-see heavyweight division. The company is expecting to be the upcoming season of TUF to be the higest-rated season ever.
Brock Lesnar may be the king right now, but in a land of giants, heavy is the head that wears the crown.
Follow Mike Chiappetta on Twitter or email him at mgc324 at gmail.com
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
7-13-2009 @ 3:47PM
RIP Air McNair PSN: johnnynumber5 said...
I want to see how Carwin handles Velasquez before I would go out there and say he will beat Lesnar in a title fight. However, I do think that in the UFC the two guys that have the best shot to take down Lesnar are Couture (whom Lesnar already beat but didn't look impressive against) and Carwin. I also wouldn't mind seeing Junior Dos Santos get into the title mix if he can have another big time knockout in his alleged upcoming fight against Cro Cop.
Cheick Kongo could give Lesnar fits in the standup but wouldn't be able to compete against Lesnar's takedown attempts and would get destroyed on the ground.
I'm a firm believer that Fedor, Barnett & Overeem are the three best HW's in the world and could all beat Fedor if given the chance. This can change with Overeem fighting Werdum and the winner then fighting Rogers (who could also be a good matchup against Lesnar) and Barnett and Fedor going at it very soon.
The winner of Barnett and Fedor should be signed by the UFC and get first dibs at Lesnar. I'm 100% convinced that Overeem, Fedor and Barnett would all beat Fedor. I'm pretty much 50/50 that Carwin would beat Lesnar and I'm 100% convinced that Velasquez would get beat by Lesnar.
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7-13-2009 @ 4:00PM
imshortyk said...
Hrmm, a Randy-Brock rematch would be compelling. I think Randy was holding his own quite well in the fight until Brock decided to throw his hands. Randy's head movement is probably the best in the division but he simply couldn't judge how long Brock's arms really were and got caught. If they fought again he would definitely have another gameplan. Would he win? I really couldn't say. That's what makes it compelling!
7-13-2009 @ 4:25PM
RIP Air McNair PSN: johnnynumber5 said...
I'm a firm believer that Fedor, Barnett & Overeem are the three best HW's in the world and could all beat *Fedor* if given the chance.
*should have been Lesnar*
Sorry for the typo.
7-13-2009 @ 4:34PM
RIP Air McNair PSN: johnnynumber5 said...
@imshortyk
Yeah and to be honest Randy got up off his back pretty easily in that fight ... Lesnar couldn't hold him down.
I also thought Brock was looking pretty gassed after the first round - huffing and puffing and looking bright pink.
I'm not sure if Couture could beat him either but he has the as good a chance as anyone else in the HW division.
One more thing - people have been talking about this for a while. Do we need to add another weight class for fighters over 265 lbs? Maybe the heavyweight division needs to be something like up to 250 lbs and then super heavyweight is anything over 265 lbs.
It just kind of seems like having a guy that cuts down to 265 from closer to 300 fighting a guy that is a natural 230 lb fighter isn't the best indicator of who is the best in the division.
Rashad Evans win TUF at heavyweight ... could anyone imagine him fighting Lesnar? Didn't think so.
It almost doesn't seem fair to have people that big fighting guys they are 30-50 lbs bigger than after rehydrating.
7-13-2009 @ 6:10PM
richardbikle said...
i agree that fedor can beat fedor, but i dont see overeem or barnett beating fedor.
fedor is going to sub barnett, and he'd sub overeem too if he didnt knock him out first.
7-13-2009 @ 4:04PM
bolt062584 said...
Lesnar is just way to big, Carwin is the only guy in his weight class, Lesnar weighs in at 265 but he is really 295 come fight time. Some of the guys you mentioned I haven't seen fight, but I can not wait till Lesnar loses. Hopefully, your pics are correct. Lesnar is too damn cocky and has has had a 50lb advantage over all of his competitors so far.
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7-13-2009 @ 4:33PM
RJ said...
I'd like to know where you get your information from because Lesnar said himself on mma live after UFC 91 he weighed 276 when he entered the cage against Couture so 295 is a big stretch. I mean the guy's big enough no need to exaggerate.
7-13-2009 @ 4:35PM
claytor said...
Interesting that im not the only one who thought Randy was actually working Brock until he got caught. Keep in mind Randy was coming off a two year layoff from fighting, pretty rusty, and is undersized as well. If he beats Big Nog, he should get a crack at Brock for revenge just like Brock got a crack at Mir.
Still think Carwin or Barnett, both with wrestling pedigrees and size to match would be the best fits for Brock.
They should think about adjusting another weight class, super heavyweight perhaps. Guys weighing 240 shouldnt be fighting 300 pounders. Brock hydrated up to 290 before the Mir fight, ridonkulous, lol.
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7-13-2009 @ 4:46PM
RIP Air McNair PSN: johnnynumber5 said...
can we be friends?
I said the exact same thing a few comments above. I agree with you on every point you just made.
Eventually people are going to try different techniques against Lesnar. He went 3 rounds against Herring but remember he broke Herrings orbital bone about 10 seconds into the fight, held top position the entire time and was never tested.
I would like to see how Brock does in those championship rounds (4th & 5th) and how he comes back from taking a good shot. No one (not Fedor, GSP, Silva, Lesnar, Ayoki ...) is unbeatable and there will always be Buster Douglass for every Mike Tyson. At some point someone will expose a weakness in Lesnar's game and take him out.
The closest thing I have seen to unbeatable in MMA is Fedor (only loss was because of a cut in which the fight probably should have been a no contest) and Anderson Silva (his last loss was a DQ because he knocked a guy out with an upkick while the guy had a knee on the ground.)
To be honest every UFC champion seems pretty much unstopable at their respective weight class in terms of who is in the UFC right now. I don't see any current UFC LW beating Penn (not Florian, Sanchez or Maynard), WW beating GSP (unless it's someone not currently in the UFC), MW beating Silva (he has already beaten everyone in the division once already), LHW beating Machida (maybe eventually but nothing anytime soon) or Lesnar (two guys in the UFC could do it and three guys not in the UFc could do it as well) ... This seems like all the UFC champions (other than Lesnar) are the best in the world in their weight classes.
I don't like to watch GSP & Machida fight because I don't like their styles but both seem pretty much unbeatable in their divisions at the moment.
7-13-2009 @ 5:40PM
imshortyk said...
Aww man, you hate watching those two? They are as close to perfection as it gets. GSP ALWAYS finds a way to pick at his opponent's weaknesses and exploit them, then he either finishes the fight (i.e. BJ Penn) or he grinds out the win (i.e. Thiago Alves). Machida has become much more aggressive as of late and his style is very different. I hated watching his last fight because Rashad is undoubtedly my favorite fighter, but the way he made Rashad, the dude that makes fighters look like amateurs, look like an amateur was just crazy.
But you're right, I can't see any of the champs at the moment being beaten. The only one who I see who may be threatened is B.J. Florian is sick with his Muay Thai, and Diego Sanchez is just a freak. Very interesting mix at the moment.
7-13-2009 @ 4:50PM
Randy said...
I'm a 100% Couture fan cause he's a TRUE champion all around, but he is a 205 lb. fighter. He has to gain 20 lbs. just to make HW. He did hold his own in their fight, but Lesnars weight advantage is to much for any 225 lb. fighter to over come when it goes to the ground. Lesnar could have came in and earned respect from fans & other fighters, and possibly made a good champ, but his WWE mouth has hurt his rep. for me. Cant wait til he loses the title.
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7-13-2009 @ 6:28PM
grimslade5 said...
He could have earned their respect, THEY BOOED HIM AFTER HE WON, watch all the prefight stuff the one shooting his mouth of is Mir.
7-13-2009 @ 5:11PM
Michael Bianchini said...
Dana White needs to shut his mouth about Lesner. Dana could have given Brock some of the money he got from Bud light. Brock is the one who works for the title NOT Dana.Screw all the people who booed Brock in Las Vegas on Saturday also. Their boy Mir got his ass handed to him LMAO. Get over it.
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7-13-2009 @ 5:37PM
imshortyk said...
Randy at 205? Ehhh, I dunno. He couldn't handle Chuck the last two times they fought, and now there are MUUUUCH better fighters in that division than Chuck. Randy versus Rashad? It'd be a rout. Randy versus Machida? He'd be nullified just like anybody else. Randy versus Rampage? That'd be interesting.
I just think he's better suited for the Heavyweight division. Overall his style is to enforce his will, back his opponent into the cage in the clinch or on the ground and break them. He can do that easier against the Heavyweights (not the Superheavyweights, like Brock) since they can't move as fast.
Just my opinion really. I could be wrong. But the way he dismantled Tim Sylvia and Gonzaga, and how he took it to Brock are all indicators.
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7-13-2009 @ 6:15PM
Randy said...
imshortyk,
I can agree w/ your comment to a exstint, I guess my point was more along the lines that 225-235 lb guys are at a disadvantage against any of the Superheavyweights in the Heavyweight class. Superheavys need their own class to help equalize the balance. But yes the Sylvia & Gonzaga fights were VERY impressive.
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7-13-2009 @ 6:35PM
Chuck said...
I think they should throw together a 205lbs-230lbs weight class. That would break it up for some of the smaller HWs. A 265lbs and over class would only have 2 guys that even deserve to be in the cage. That weight class would dry up within a year.
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7-13-2009 @ 6:52PM
Randy said...
I like the LHW class as is, HW should stop @ 245, SHW class stop at 275 maybe, just an opinion though.
7-13-2009 @ 9:35PM
rdza said...
"White says that as long as they can sign Emelianenko to a multi-fight deal, he would immediately fight Lesnar"
As if, Dana, get over it you monopolistic control freak. Fedor is the best, sign him to one fight and just deal with it.
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7-13-2009 @ 11:47PM
claytor said...
Not entirely true, Chuck, a lot of heavy heavy weights would LOVE being able to fight at 265 and above, Brett Rogers, Barnett, Sylvia, Lesnar, Carwin, trust me, im sure theyd find enough fighters to fill that division. Even still thered have to be a ceiling on that class too, perhaps 305-315. As much as i love watching a David slay a Goliath, the fact of the matter is it actually goes against what the UFC weight classes were all about originally, keep fighters within 20 pounds of each other. Seriously, i appreciate that Brock is champion, retard post fight antics aside, he did put in work, he does train, and he will evolve, he has too much of a work ethic not to. That being said however, this guy has an immediate advantage with his weight, if you put it in perspective, its like a 205 pounder fighting a 155-160 pound fighter, and we all dont really want to see B.J Penn fight a guy like Rampage, do we? Well, maybe, but still, rules are rules, and HW is the only one that allows for an insane margin of difference in weight.
Id say 207-247 would be a fair HW class, then go 248-305 for a Super HW division. I kid you not, theyd find more than their fare share of big men for Brock to play with.
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7-14-2009 @ 12:53PM
Chuck said...
Im just not sure that a class that heavy would be compelling. As an avid MMA fan for many years I got my fill of David and Goliath matches from Pride and the early UFC days. Eventually you are probably going to be right, TUF 10 is just in time for some more HW blood.