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PARK: Questions answered as Brock Lesnar submits Shane Carwin at UFC 116
Jul 4, 2010 - 5:15:23 PM PARK: Questions answered as Brock Lesnar submits Shane Carwin at UFC 116

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By: Chris Park, MMATorch UK Specialist

UFC 116 in Las Vegas, Nevada was the setting for the biggest heavyweight bout in the organization's history, as Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin finally met inside the Octagon.

Shane Carwin came into this fight having never set foot outside of the first round of any of his professional MMA bouts. Carwin had won all twelve fights on his record with an average fight length time of 108 seconds.

The question a lot of people asked, myself included, was would Carwin be able to keep up the pace in a championship fight? In fact, would he even be able to keep up the pace into a second round? The question was answered on Saturday, with a resounding no!

Shane Carwin came out for the first and delivered a vintage performance by his standards, forcing Lesnar into retreat mode before a barrage of shots sent the champion stumbling to the ground. Carwin then followed with a similar kind of ground attack that saw off Frank Mir in March.

Lesnar took a lot of big shots down there and for one moment he was just laying still and covering up. It was for that split second I thought the fight could be on the verge of being stopped as referee Josh Rosenthal moved in for a closer look.

Lesnar did enough to show Rosenthal that, while he was taking some heavy shots, he wasn’t quite done yet. Lesnar worked his way out of danger, saw out the round and sent Carwin somewhere he had never been before - over towards the wooden stool on the opposite side of the cage.

As the corners did their jobs, both men were looking tired. Brock Lesnar looked the calmer man and when he was asked, told his corner he was “good.” In contrast, Shane Carwin looked exhausted, deflated and appeared to be slightly shaking his head before standing back up for his first ever second round.

I can understand why Shane Carwin would have felt that way. He threw everything he had at Lesnar and more, using a vast amount of energy in the process, only to see the champion survive until the end of the round.

As the second round began, Lesnar secured the takedown and was able to take the fight to where he wanted it for the first time. Lesnar eventually worked his way to the mount position then immediately began to transition into an arm triangle. At first Carwin looked relatively calm, but as Lesnar rotated to tighten the hold, Shane Carwin tapped out.

It was all over, and Brock Lesnar retained the heavyweight championship, but there were big question marks over both fighters here. In the opening exchanges of the fight, Lesnar appeared to throw a right hand and then immediately covered up. It was as if he initially wanted a taste of what he was up against but then immediately changed his mind. When you are in with a striker of Shane Carwin’s capabilities there is no room for indecision.

During Shane Carwin’s assault from the top, the champion appeared to have very little game-plan from his back, and at one point his simple covering up tactic could have, and with another referee may have, cost his championship belt. Knowing Shane Carwin’s past, I expected more of a strategy than to just “weather the storm.”

Carwin, on the other hand, allowed the adrenaline to take over and punched himself out. On one or two occasions he should have stepped back and allowed the dazed Lesnar back to his feet for a second helping. But instead, Carwin chose to go all out for another first round finish.

I did feel for Carwin in that respect, as he had his man hurt and appeared to be on the verge of taking the heavyweight title. With such confidence in his hands, fueled by his devastating knockout record, how could anybody have expected Carwin not to have gone in for the kill?

Brock Lesnar proved his chin was up to the task, and while Carwin was looking to be out of ideas it was Lesnar who showed the greater stamina and wider skill set as he pulled off the surprising, yet perfectly executed submission victory.

While it is very easy to point out the holes in either man's games, it should be noted that this was still only the sixth fight of Brock Lesnar’s professional career. As he showed in his second fight with Frank Mir and with this victory over Carwin, he is developing his game with every fight.

As for Shane Carwin, training can build up the stamina to deal with a full day of sparring or a ten-mile run. However, only experience in rounds two, three and beyond can build the stamina to deal with the championship rounds and the adrenaline of a capacity MGM Grand Garden Arena.



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Chris Park is the MMATorch UK Specialist and guest columnist at ESPN.co.uk. Please email any comments or questions to Chris at; mmatorchuk@gmail.com or look us up at http://www.facebook.com/mmatorchuk2 our new MMATorch Facebook home for UK Fans!

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