Roundtables
ROUNDTABLE (pt. 1 of 2): What's next for Brock Lesnar in the UFC following his UFC 121 loss to Cain Velasquez? Hansen, Lee, Hyden, Hobaugh, Matthew and Amadi
Oct 29, 2010 - 5:30:53 PM ROUNDTABLE (pt. 1 of 2): What's next for Brock Lesnar in the UFC following his UFC 121 loss to Cain Velasquez? Hansen, Lee, Hyden, Hobaugh, Matthew and Amadi

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What's next for Brock Lesnar in the UFC following his loss to Cain Velasquez?

RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

I expect we won't hear one substantive fact about Lesnar's future for several weeks.  What we will hear is tons of unfounded speculation about professional wrestling and retirement; neither of which will prove to be factual.  He will fight again.  It won't be soon.  And it will be against a top 10 HW (Mir or Carwin come to mind).

ERIC LEE, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Like any top 5 fighter it only takes a couple of solid wins against other title contenders before they get a chance to get the belt back. Brock is still an inexperienced fighter in the MMA world even though he's been the champ. There are major holes in his game that Cain exploited that I'm sure will be improved the next time he's in the octagon. As good as Cain is I still think that Brock was not himself in that fight. I would love to see him return to his dominant ways in his next few match ups.

FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Well, a fight with Frank Mir wouldn't be my first choice, that's for sure. Brock will crush Mir like a bug if they fight again. I would much rather see Brock fight Roy Nelson. Then, the winner of that fight can fight the winner of Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos, unless someone else comes along that deserves a title shot.  I think Brock can come back and win the title again. The only thing stopping him is whether or not he can reach the next level of his game. He needs to continue his evolution as a fighter.

ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

Obviously, he is still the largest PPV draw on the planet.  If he chooses to fight again, he will make millions of dollars and so will the UFC.  I still have a hard time with how he treated Heath Herring
and especially Frank Mir after he beat them.  Laughing and pointing in an opponent's face the way he did is classless.   I picked Velasquez in their fight because he had the skills to beat him and his one dimensional fight style.  If he does fight again the fight that makes most sense is Frank Mir.

SAM MATTHEW, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Hopefully Brock Lesnar's absolute annihilation at the hands of Cain Velasquez hasn't convinced him to go back to an easier sport, because this man's body is built for MMA domination.  He just needs a little more technique and a little more time training.  Watching some of the UFC Primetime hype building up this fight I noticed Brock mention he only spent two hours a day training.  While at first I thought this was an outright lie aimed at deceiving his opponent into thinking he was under prepared, the actual fight showed a tired Lesnar who wilted under pressure and I think he was actually serious.  For a professional fighter to only train a couple hours a day is insane.  I train two hours a day every day I'm not a double at the restaurant, so for a world champion to put in that little effort makes me worry about his next performance, or if he's even coming back at all.  Letting Shane Carwin have a rematch with him after his back heals would be awesome, but I imagine Dana's going to give his golden boy a much easier matchup with Roy Nelson or Brendan Schaub to get back on track.

JASON AMADI, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

His next opponent isn't nearly as big an issue as what he does about his training. His desire to hold his own camp isn't working. In his last two fights he's shown a complete inability to pull guard when he's on his back and he doesn't defend strikes well. The fact that his performances have been pay-per-view title fights is a bit embarrassing to the sport.
 
It's not entirely his fault, as he's fighting world class competition far earlier in his career than any athlete competing today. However, if he is to compete at the highest level, he needs the highest level of MMA training partners he can find. He doesn't need to be training with people on his level of experience; he needs to be fighting people on par with the level of opponents he's being presented with. Training with specialists like Pat Barry and Cole Konrad won't do anything for him if he's fighting someone like Cain Valasquez or Shane Carwin.