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If you have a question for MMATorch Editor Jamie Penick or MMATorch Columnist Rich Hansen, send it in to askmmatorch@gmail.com! Here are a few new questions for today:
Robert Writes: How do you think Brock Lesnar's career would have went had he continued after the loss to Overeem? I could see him fighting Roy Nelson (what a fun fight that would have been) in the Spring of 2012 then going on to fight Bigfoot Silva or someone in the summer, possibly winning both then earning another title shot (and likely losing to Cain or Dos Santos). I still think Lesnar would have beat anyone in the HW division besides the top three of Cain, Junior, and Overeem. Who do you think he would have been matched up against in his next few fights and how do you think his path would have went?
MMATorch Editor Jamie Penick Answers: It's easy to play the "what if?" game when it comes to Brock Lesnar's career, because a lot of it boils down to "what if he never got diverticulitis?" That disease brought him down to earth in a way that just wouldn't have happened otherwise, and completely changed who he was as a fighter. Had he not dealt with that disease on more than one occasion - the first of which was near life-threatening, lest we forget - perhaps we would have seen a different fighter against Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, and Alistair Overeem.
But as the question here is about how he'd have done post-Overeem, that changes the conversation a little. Taking into account how the diverticulitis hampered him, and clearly made him more self aware with body shots, that's an area his opponents likely would have tried taking advantage of. I think he'd have still probably gotten past Roy Nelson in 2012, and I think his wrestling and top game would have been enough to best a fighter like Bigfoot Silva, but a rematch with Velasquez probably wouldn't have gone much differently. I also don't think the fight with Junior dos Santos - that was supposed to happen in 2011 - would have gone his way, either. His fast rise was legitimate, and at his best he was excellent to watch, but between diverticulitis and getting figured out a bit by strong grapplers with better striking, his time would have been limited even if he'd have continued.
Matt Writes:If the Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva fight were to happen and Sonnen were to win, where would go for from there? Middleweight? Light heavyweight? If so, which matchup a would you guys love to see?
MMATorch Columnist Rich Hansen Answers: I can't imagine Chael's ever going to fight at 185 lbs. again. No matter what he does, he won't be fighting for a title, so why cut the extra 20 pounds? The matchup I would love to see for Chael would be him in a monastery trying to take a lifelong vow of silence. Other possibilities include non-title fights with Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez, and Daniel Cormier.
[Brock Lesnar art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
