Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, VideosLAS VEGAS — Moments after Brock Lesnar’s dramatic submission win over Shane Carwin at UFC 116, MMA Fighting caught up with four of the biggest names in wrestling history, who just so happen to be…
LAS VEGAS — Moments after Brock Lesnar‘s dramatic submission win over Shane Carwin at UFC 116, MMA Fighting caught up with four of the biggest names in wrestling history, who just so happen to be good friends of Lesnar’s: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Bill Goldberg, Jim Ross and Paul Heyman.
All four men described their take on Lesnar’s win, his road back to the UFC and his place in the heavyweight division.
Filed under: UFCLAS VEGAS — Shane Carwin was so close. Maybe all he needed was one more punch, a few more seconds, or a different referee. Any one of the three might have resulted in a new champion being crowned.
LAS VEGAS — Shane Carwin was so close. Maybe all he needed was one more punch, a few more seconds, or a different referee. Any one of the three might have resulted in a new champion being crowned.
He rocked Brock Lesnar, he put him on his back, he rained down strikes. They came in a wave, one after the other, 47 in all in a hellacious first-round beating that had ref Josh Rosenthal intently watching the action for a possible stoppage. We were all waiting for it, after all, that’s what Carwin does. He finishes, and he finishes quick. For Lesnar, it must have felt like a barrage. For Carwin, it must have felt like an eternity. He had the champion on the ropes, and he went for it.
It was not to be. In a match fitting of the championship belt contested, Carwin and Lesnar put on a classic display of grit, guts and determination at UFC 116 that stamped Lesnar as the sport’s best heavyweight. But Carwin should return home with no regrets about a performance that would have finished every heavyweight in the world except for one.
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 […]
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.”
If your evening last night didn’t consist of watching UFC 116 somewhere, somehow, but not necessarily with someone, then you effed up big time. Yes, we say things like this a lot, but in this case…dude…the card was gold. It’s not always certain that a highly anticipated championship fight lives up to the hype, but […]
If your evening last night didn’t consist of watching UFC 116 somewhere, somehow, but not necessarily with someone, then you effed up big time. Yes, we say things like this a lot, but in this case…dude…the card was gold. It’s not always certain that a highly anticipated championship fight lives up to the hype, but as we all hoped, Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin both delivered. Now if you still haven’t seen the fight run along and rectify….
Of course, the reason last night’s main event tilt can now be labelled with the ‘where were you when’ tag, is because Lesnar came back from quite the ass whooping in round one, to tap out Carwin with a second round arm-triangle-choke (if you predicted that finish then you are a god amongst men). While Lesnar’s comeback was nothing short of spectacular, it’s likely some people were miffed that the fight wasn’t stopped in round one, when Carwin was throwing down punch after punch. Speaking after the fight, Lesnar had this to say about referee Josh Rosenthal’s decision, not to intervene (thanks to MMA Junkie for the quote).
“I really have to thank the referee for allowing that thing go on,” Lesnar said. “I wasn’t hurt. I thought if I just kept moving – I could feel Shane’s punches slowly becoming less and less. I thought, ‘If I get out of here, then I’m going to exert a bunch of energy.’…”I realized there was a short time left, and I just tried to stay busy.”
It may not have looked pretty, but really, Lesnar did appear to be okay. Time to move on right Cain?
(Many fans in attendance at the MGM Grand were given giant foam fists adorned with UFC gloves, which they drunkenly used to … oh, wait. PicProps: LA Times.)
When last we saw the UFC heavyweight champion on Saturday night he was slapping fives a…
(Many fans in attendance at the MGM Grand were given giant foam fists adorned with UFC gloves, which they drunkenly used to … oh, wait. PicProps: LA Times.)
When last we saw the UFC heavyweight champion on Saturday night he was slapping fives and doing bro grabs with his homies Stone Cold, Paul E. and Good Ol’ JR. And why not? The Dark Lord certainly had reason to celebrate: Though his face was scratched and his forehead bruised, the newly unified 265-pound strap was still around his waist. Maybe he’d even garnered some new fans with the gritty performance he’d just turned in, battling back from an early deficit to emerge victorious in the toughest fight of his career.
But damn it, just barely.
In fact, it’s difficult to know what to make of Brock Lesnar after a showing like this. The victory over Shane Carwin was definitely the most impressive moment of his short MMA career and it admittedly capped the best UFC pay-per-view we’ve seen in a long while. From Lesnar’s comeback to surprising wins from Stephan Bonnar and Chris Leben to the great scraps put on by Chris Lytle, Matt Brown, George Sotiropoulos and Kurt Pellegrino, UFC 116 delivered.
But Lesnar himself? Did he look great en route to the win? The real answer is both yes and no.
Filed under: UFC, NewsOn a card full of back-and-forth matchups, two Fight of the Night awards were handed to Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama and Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 116 Saturday in Las Vegas.
The other recipients of post-fight honors were Brock Lesnar for Submission of the Night and Gerald Harris for Knockout of the Night. All six competitors each received a $75,000 bonus for their efforts.
“In 10 years of being in the business i don’t believe I’ve seen guys deliver like they did tonight,” UFC president Dana White said at the post-fight press conference.
LAS VEGAS — Moments after Brock Lesnar‘s dramatic submission win over Shane Carwin at UFC 116, MMA Fighting caught up with four of the biggest names in wrestling history, who just so happen to be good friends of Lesnar’s: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Bill Goldberg, Jim Ross and Paul Heyman.
LAS VEGAS — 
On a card full of back-and-forth matchups, two Fight of the Night awards were handed to