UFC 121

Ok, so I’ve been away fro a while but am back now. UFC 121 on Saturday night looks like an exciting one. Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez is the headline fight and I can’t wait to see this fight. Will Cain be the one to dethrone Brock? Maybe. Here’s my take on it: Brock is a force of nature. He is crazy big with the strength of a silver back gorilla. It doesn’t stop there. He was a NCAA Div 1 heavyweight wrestling champion so he has incredible skills on the ground. His stand up has come a long way, and though not great on his feet, all it takes is one if those huge lunch box hands to connect and its lights out. He showed his ability to pull off a submission against Shane Carwin (as well as take punishment and keep going). He has some outstanding people working with him in his camp and he continues to improve with every fight.

Cain is a very well rounded fighter who also has a wrestling background (although not near the pedigree of Lesnar). He is very skilled with his hands and moves very well. He is undefeated so far and has beat some very talented and tuff opponents. He will, however, be giving up 30 to 40 pounds to Brock (which doesn’t make as much a difference if the smaller fighter is much more skilled, but when skill levels are anywhere comparable, it make a lot of difference). He has the heart of a lion and the will to win, but will it be enough?

My first impulse is no. I don’t think he’ll be able to pull it off. But this being MMA, of course, anything can happen. He certainly has the skills, and if he can keep it standing and use his footwork well he might be able to pull it off. Even if it hits the ground, as long as he ends up on top, he might pull it off. However, if Brock takes him down and gets on top of him, that’s going to be bad…very bad. Brock has an unbelievable ability to keep an opponent down and deliver brutal punishment. It is also very hard to defend Brock’s takedowns. Carwin did it successfully in the first round, and had Brock worrying about the barrage of punches being thrown at him. However, after gassing out in the first round, Brock was able to take him down easily in the second. I believe Cain will have a lot more in the gas tank than Carwin did, but battling someone that much heavier will certainly tax the energy stores.
I used to despise Brock when he first entered the sport (due to his antics that belonged in the WWF instead of the UFC). However, I don’t mind him so much now, as he seems to have mellowed out lately and his more humble now (or at least he’s learned to play the game and realizes that he’ll build a much bigger fan base being humble than over the top cocky).

In the end, I hope Cain pulls if off. I’m a big fan of his and would love to see him take it. We’ll come Sat night.
Also on the card are great match ups such as:

Jake Shields V Martin Kampman
Sanchez V Thiago
McGee V Swenson
Cote V Lawler
Schaub V Gonzaga
Stout V Taylor