UFC 105 proves a lot, Lesnar in trouble
On the heels of UFC 105 Randy Couture and Brandon Vera have both made clear statements as to where they are in the light heavyweight division.
After a 15 minute hug fest that saw limited action, it appears that age is actually catching up to Couture. His stand up was simply non-existent and fans have re-named his clinch style against the fence as grope and hope or, GnH for short. Couture inched out the decision, but there is no lack of an argument for Vera to have won that fight as well, pretty much everyone has it as 50/50.
This fight, though there was no clear winner, did settle a lot of things.
We might not see Couture around for much longer. For instance he had a lot of trouble getting Vera to the ground, and only managed to do so twice in the entire fight. Don't get me wrong I don't think Vera is a total schmuck, although I don't think he is a title contender either. But Couture should have had the strength advantage here and that simply didn't show. Couture also showed a weak stand up when he was hit hard with limited defense against any punches thrown at him. If he were to fight the likes of Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida or even a Rashad Evans, he'd be in a lot of trouble.
As for Vera, this fight showed that he can weather a storm. He was pretty much on the defensive for the entire fight trying to fight off Couture against the side of the cage. Vera's striking looked much improved and he even pulled a move where he landed atop of Couture in mount position, but he did nothing with it. Chances are Vera can't hang with the top guys at 205 either, but he will be a solid gatekeeper at the light heavyweight division and put together some exciting fights. He's always had a lot of potential but as far as being a champion goes it simply won't happen.
You can't complain about UFC 105 at all as it was a free card and offered some exciting fights on the undercard. But for some fans it has to be a little sad to see that Couture may be on the way out in the footsteps of a Matt Hughes. As much as Couture is a hero of the sport and can still compete, it may be time to come to the realization for him and his fans that he simply doesn't have what it takes to be a champion anymore. I am all for watching him fight and love to see him compete, he's simply a legend, but the last thing I want, or many fans want, is to see him get completely wrecked by some top strikers in this sport.
Up next for Couture appears to be a fight at UFC 109 against fellow senior citizen Mark Coleman, with the winner of this moving one win away from a title shot.
In other news there's big problems in the heavyweight division.
Top contender Shane Carwin is having knee surgery and will be out until at least February. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has a horrible staph infection that entered his blood stream and it appears he'll undergo a blood transfusion and be out for quite some time, but both of those seem small compared to the current Brock Lesnar situation.
Currently the Heavyweight champion is in hospital with mono and another mysterious disease that everyone is keeping very, very quiet about. After the UFC 105, UFC President Dana White confirmed the bad shape of Lesnar but said he doesn't have cancer or AIDS, but he's still in hospital very sick. It's been rumoured by White himself that this could be the end of Lesnar in the UFC as he fights to not only regain his career back, but is just trying to get back to better regular health.
Though he is the furthest thing from a fan favourite, everyone in the MMA world is collectively holding their breath in hopes that Lesnar gets healthy for his own sake, even if he cannot fight again.
After a 15 minute hug fest that saw limited action, it appears that age is actually catching up to Couture. His stand up was simply non-existent and fans have re-named his clinch style against the fence as grope and hope or, GnH for short. Couture inched out the decision, but there is no lack of an argument for Vera to have won that fight as well, pretty much everyone has it as 50/50.
This fight, though there was no clear winner, did settle a lot of things.
We might not see Couture around for much longer. For instance he had a lot of trouble getting Vera to the ground, and only managed to do so twice in the entire fight. Don't get me wrong I don't think Vera is a total schmuck, although I don't think he is a title contender either. But Couture should have had the strength advantage here and that simply didn't show. Couture also showed a weak stand up when he was hit hard with limited defense against any punches thrown at him. If he were to fight the likes of Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida or even a Rashad Evans, he'd be in a lot of trouble.
As for Vera, this fight showed that he can weather a storm. He was pretty much on the defensive for the entire fight trying to fight off Couture against the side of the cage. Vera's striking looked much improved and he even pulled a move where he landed atop of Couture in mount position, but he did nothing with it. Chances are Vera can't hang with the top guys at 205 either, but he will be a solid gatekeeper at the light heavyweight division and put together some exciting fights. He's always had a lot of potential but as far as being a champion goes it simply won't happen.
You can't complain about UFC 105 at all as it was a free card and offered some exciting fights on the undercard. But for some fans it has to be a little sad to see that Couture may be on the way out in the footsteps of a Matt Hughes. As much as Couture is a hero of the sport and can still compete, it may be time to come to the realization for him and his fans that he simply doesn't have what it takes to be a champion anymore. I am all for watching him fight and love to see him compete, he's simply a legend, but the last thing I want, or many fans want, is to see him get completely wrecked by some top strikers in this sport.
Up next for Couture appears to be a fight at UFC 109 against fellow senior citizen Mark Coleman, with the winner of this moving one win away from a title shot.
In other news there's big problems in the heavyweight division.
Top contender Shane Carwin is having knee surgery and will be out until at least February. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has a horrible staph infection that entered his blood stream and it appears he'll undergo a blood transfusion and be out for quite some time, but both of those seem small compared to the current Brock Lesnar situation.
Currently the Heavyweight champion is in hospital with mono and another mysterious disease that everyone is keeping very, very quiet about. After the UFC 105, UFC President Dana White confirmed the bad shape of Lesnar but said he doesn't have cancer or AIDS, but he's still in hospital very sick. It's been rumoured by White himself that this could be the end of Lesnar in the UFC as he fights to not only regain his career back, but is just trying to get back to better regular health.
Though he is the furthest thing from a fan favourite, everyone in the MMA world is collectively holding their breath in hopes that Lesnar gets healthy for his own sake, even if he cannot fight again.
