LESNAR SURVIVES CARWIN ONSLAUGHT TO DEFEND UFC HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE

UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar survived a brutal first round beating from challenger Shane Carwin this past weekend before turning the tables in the second en route to a submission victory to successfully defend his crown in the main event of UFC 116.  Lesnar was making his first return to action since a layoff due to a serious health problem, but by fight time his only issue was the powerful uppercuts of his opponent.  Carwin was able to put Lesnar down but couldn’t finish him off, and by the second had ‘punched himself out’ to set up the former WWE superstar’s eventual victory.

UFC betting odds had installed the heavyweight champion Lesnar as a -150 favorite, with takeback on Carwin at +120.  The over/under round prop was set at 1’ rounds, and the UNDER was a narrow winner with the end coming at 2:19 of the second.  It was the first time that any of Carwin’s fights had made it out of the first round, with all twelve victories ending via submission or knockout in under five minutes.  Lesnar improved his professional MMA record to 5-1 with the victory.
 
As the fight began, Lesnar went for a takedown but Carwin was able to stuff it—becoming in the process one of the few men that Lesnar hasn’t taken down at will during his MMA career.  The massive Colorado native then went on the attack, landing a series of powerful uppercuts and sending the champion to the canvas with a big knee strike.  Carwin followed up with a ‘ground and pound’ attack, but was unable to do enough damage to get the stoppage.  He did enough to earn a 10-8 edge on all three judges’ scorecards following the first five minutes.

Unfortunately, the furious assault in the opening round had left Carwin’s energy reserves on empty and the champ took immediate advantage.  Lesnar quickly got the takedown that eluded him in the opening frame and worked to full mount.  From there he took Carwin’s back, and locked in the arm triangle choke that ended the fight.
 
Lesnar had been criticized in the past for his arrogant behavior, but in his postfight comments on this night it was evident that his health problems had given him a new perspective on his life and sport:

"This isn't about me, this is about my family, my doctors, my training staff, I am blessed by God. I stand before you a humble champion. I had to weather the storm. He's got some heavy shots. But I knew he was getting tired. Each shot was less dramatic than the last."

After some time off, Lesnar will start looking toward his next challenge.  According to UFC President Dana White, the next challenger for the UFC heavyweight title will be undefeated Cain Velasquez.  Velasquez is off of a brutal knockout of the legendary Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110 and at the age of 27 is considered by many to be the heavyweight of the future.