Clash Of The Titans ; Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin (UFC 106)

In Brock Lesnar's 4th professional mixed martial art's fight, he captured the UFC heavyweight title, by pounding out UFC legend Randy Couture's face prompting a second round stoppage.

Some UFC fans were slightly offended at the ease of which Lesnar acquired his title shot, saying he did not accomplish enough to deserve it (being 2-1 prior to the title bout). After winning the belt, Lesnar next defended his against the only opponent he lost to in his short career, Frank Mir. Many people that were not fans of Lesnar believed the fight would end much like the first, by submission due to lack of technical skill by Lesnar, and good Ju Jistsu by Mir.

A slightly overlooked thought was that in the 1st Lesnar-Mir fight, Brock had him on the ground beating him pretty good, a stoppage seeming imminent until he hit the back of Mir's head, forcing the ref to stand them both up (and deduct Lesnar a point). Upon taking Mir back to the mat, Lesnar made a mistake trying to pass, got caught by Mir and submitted in the Kneebar.

In the rematch for the title defense the fight was not all that different from the first one, except that Lesnar played it a little more carefully, taking Mir down, using his superior weight and strength to hold him, and pound his face to a pulp.

Anti-Lesnar fans will still allude to his lack of technical skill and reliance on size and strength to control the fight, as well as an untested chin. All of is true in my mind, but simply put, it might not matter in the end. They are waiting for someone to come in and show him just how inexperienced and untalented he is, but it might be a while before that happens.

Originally, Heavyweights Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez were to fight at UFC 104, to decide the number one contender to take on Lesnar for the belt. But just recently the fight has been broken up (supposedly for reasons relating to scheduling and the health of Lesnar), leaving Cain Velazquez to wait until a new fighter is found for his bout, and Shane Carwin has since been moved to fight Lesnar for the title in UFC 106, as the main event.

So will Carwin be a true test for Lesnar's monster strength and size or just another face for him to rearrange? Lets examine a few of the aspects of the fight:

Size/Strength:

Lesnar (6'2) cuts to the max of 265 pounds but is more likely to be at least 10 pounds heavier on fight day. Compare that to his fights against to his previous fights; Heath Herring (a sizable 250), Randy Couture (a small 225), Frank Mir (a decent 240). He had the weight advantage on all of them, and in the fights he could control a lot with his strength alone. Carwin (6'4) cuts to around 255 pounds, so he might just be Lesnar's heaviest opponent yet. Carwin's has fought several fighters around and above his weight and below it.

Experience:

One of the biggest thing's to talk about with Lesnar is his experience, anyone who isint a fan of him will surely bring up his "undeserving title shot" or that he has not "proved anything", and their may be some truth in those words, but is irrelevant to the fact that he's not going to get beat easily. His record stands at 4-1, hardly anything to write home about, but he holds the heavyweight title and is one of the UFC's biggest stars, like that or not. As entailed in details above, two of his fights were against Frank Mir, losing the first, and defending the title in the second. The other 3 fights were against Randy Couture for the title, a decision win over Heath Herring, and a victory over a no-name in his first fight. Not much experience, but it hardly affects his attitude come fight night. Shane Carwin, on the other hand, is undefeated at 11-0. The casual fan might see that and go "woah, his record is twice as good as that bum Lesnar", and numbers wise sure, but in reality, only 3 of his fights have been in the UFC, the most notable was his last victory over Gabriel Gonzaga. Nevertheless, Carwin has won every fight he's had, and that's still a notable accomplishment.

Technique/Style:

Lesnar and Carwin both come from wrestling background in college, and both also have shown very heavy hands in their fights. (Google a picture of Heath Herring's eye after fighting Lesnar). Lesnar has 3 TKO victories and one decision, while Carwin has 6 TKO's and 5 submissions (not letting a single opponent get out of the 1st round). Lesnar is notably not very technical, he probably wont be submitting anyone anytime soon. His match up against Carwin is interesting because they share such similar styles that it will most likely either be a brawl, or a quick beat down.

Overall:

It will be interesting to see if fighting someone as big and heavy handed as Lesnar will pose significant problems or not. His best bet in my mind will to replicate his last fight with Mir, take Carwin down, hold him and beat him up so to speak. Sure it may not be technical, it may not be beautiful, but it may or may not be the difference between Carwin leaving with a new belt, or a new face.