Earlier today we went on and on about how entertaining last night’s UFC 116 main event tilt between Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar was, a fight that saw the heavyweight champ come back from taking a brutal beat down in the first, only to sub Carwin in the second. Whether you’re a fan of Lesnar or not (and let’s face it- the guy doesn’t really kill himself trying to be charming or loveable…) you have to give him props for weathering that hellish fist storm.
Well the debate regarding whether or not Josh Rosenthal should have stopped the fight, when Carwin was pounding away on Lesnar, is in full swing. As we passed along earlier, after last night’s fight Lesnar thanked Rosenthal for not jumping in, stating he “wasn’t hurt” and that he could feel Carwin’s punches becoming “less and less.” In a follow up report from MMA Junkie, however, it’s pretty clear that Carwin’s view on how Lesnar was doing in round one is; well, not exactly identical….
“I felt Brock go out a few times,” he today told MMAjunkie.com via text message. “But it is the ref’s job to call the fight, and mine is to finish the fight.”
Huh. Interesting. The report also included stats from CompuStrike.com which reflect that Carwin apparently landed 57 punches in the opening round- that couldn’t have been much fun for Brock. As far as UFC boss man Dana White’s take on the officiating, he was quoted saying that Rosenthal “did a fantastic job.”