Is Lesnar still a threat?

[Freddy4190]

So, I never post in the MMA section because frankly, i'm ignorant when it comes to most MMA. It all comes down to an argument me and my friend were having regarding Lesnar losing to Velasquez. He was talking about how Lesnar is losing steam, having almost lost to Carwin and then getting brutalized by Cain. Discussion was about, Lesnar's weakness seems to be having a weak jaw, and now that this is out there, will people take Lesnar as serious? I called him a fool and said it'd be stupid to take Brock Lesnar lightly. He thinks otherwise and has now hopped aboard the Cain Velasquez bandwagon. I just posted this to see what everyone's opinion on this is seeing as how there's some serious MMA fans here. Should people take Lesnar lightly? Is he still a threat, like.. in the top Heavyweight in UFC sense? When will he be back in the hunt for the title?

 

[Slyfox696]

I don't think Lesnar's weakness is a weak chin, ANYONE taking the shots Lesnar took from Carwin and Velasquez would have gone down. The fact he was never knocked out cold says a lot for Lesnar's chin, I would argue.

No, Lesnar's problem with good punchers is that Lesnar doesn't have a good stand-up game. He's not a good boxer, he doesn't know muay thai, he doesn't do kickboxing...when people fight him, they have no fear of his stand-up game. And so, his opponents concentrate solely on takedown defense, and try to keep the fight on the feet.

For Brock Lesnar to be able to hang with someone like Cain Velasquez, he needs to learn how to fight standing up. By learning to fight standing up, that will give him a MUCH better chance of getting a takedown. That's the way for Brock Lesnar to become the unstoppable monster again.

 

[Mekanik Kommandoh]

I agree with Sly. Lesnar is absolutely still a threat. He just needs to learn how to fight on his feet, or at least learn to defend more effectively. As good as Lesnar is given his inexperience, he is a pretty one-dimensional fighter when you get right down to things - he's always used his size and wrestling skills to win fights. If he adds some muy thai or boxing to his arsenal - and he pretty much has to if he plans on taking the title again - he'll become much more dangerous. In addition, and I'm not trying to make excuses for him, I think he needed more time to recover from being sick. His illness was no joke and I think it took something out of him. By his next fight, however, don't be surprised if he starts dominating again.

 

[jmt225]

The thing is, there are not many in the Heavyweight Division who can keep Lesnar from taking them down. In fact, Cain Velasquez may be the only person who can do so, and we still don't know if he can do that for all 5 rounds, since the fight he had against Lesnar ended in the first.

So, yeah... he's still a threat to ANYONE in or out of the UFC. He's just too big and strong, and his shot is too good and quick.

However, I do agree with Sly that Lesnar desperately needs to improve his stand-up, just for those rare occurrences where he cannot take his opponent down to the mat.

Because Brock is so stocky and muscular, people forget how tall he is. He's fucking 6'4 with an 81 inch reach according to those UFC 'Tales of the Tape'. That's a lot bigger than most in the Heavyweight Division. He doesn't need to learn any great stand-up; a;; he needs to do is just take the GSP route and learn how to jab and be elusive, until the opportunity occurs where you can take your opponent down. It's that simple. He doesn't need to be a pure boxer or kickboxer, just learn to jab and move, and everything would fall into place for him.

 

[a0161613]

As a very casual fan, I would agree with JMT. He doesnt need to become a superstar boxer, just learning to pick his spots, set up for takedowns because he is so, so big and great on the floor that he can dominate most/all Heavyweights there.

His size has to be an advantage for him. He would just need to figure how to put as much power into his standup game as he has with his GnP.

I see Brock as a smart guy. I hope he comes back with a real vengeance having learnt from his mistakes.

 

[Via Armbar]

Two myths here: One being that Lesnar has a bad chin and the other being that he doesn't like to be hit. Both are wrong really. Like someone said above, he took huge shots from Cain and Carwin and wasn't knocked out flush. Nobody has gotten through Carwin's power and only Kongo got passed Cain's. You can go back and watch his fights with Couture, Herring or Mir and see that he took some shots just fine. He doesn't lose it when he gets hit, he loses it when his plan doesn't work out for him right away and then goes into defense mode.

In both the Carwin and Cain fights his takedowns weren't effective right away and once the pressure was on him he wilted. In the Cain fight I think he also let his emotions get the best of him and to quote Dos Santos "He had a truck but no driver" and rushed in far too quickly. His style really requires patience and composure, both of which were missing from the Cain fight. He needs to work on both his stand up offense as well as defense and learn to find range right away to gauge his double leg and to never let his opponent start to mount offense.

He is absolutely a huge threat and I really feel he can beat anyone in the UFC not named Cain Velasquez.

 

[INDYjon22]

It really all depends on Lesnars heart. If his heart is still in the fight game then hell yes he is a threat to anybody, but if the current reports are true and he really does want out of his contract, well then I have to say that he probably is not a threat any longer. If he doesn't want to fight anymore then he probably won't give his next fight his all, which could result in him losing, and potentially badly. If his mind is clear and he truly wants to fight then he has the tools to take anyone in the UFC Heavyweight division down to the ground and pound on them. He just needs to work on his standup some more. However, if his heart isn't really in fighting anymore, then no I do not see him as a legitimate threat anymore.

 

[Final Form Snyper.]

Brock will be dangerous because of his wrestling skill and ability to control a fighter. If he can work on his boxing at Wildcard with Roach he will see major improvement in his hands really quick. Also great for his footwork and angles and making him abit harder to hit. these are small things that he could learn to adapt to. Learning this side of the game extensively would make Brock a different type of animal.

 

[kozzomozzo]

Well of course he is still a threat. He can still out wrestle people and his striking can improve. Last time I checked there is always a threat of a knockout with the big guys. The only question is who to you get him to fight next

 

[Final Form Snyper.]

I would go with Roy Nelson, they are both coming off of loses. Or maybe Cheick make sure he gets back into the winners circle.

Brock would be at a point now where he doesn't have to devote so much time to his wrestling and there for can concentrate on the striking side of fighting.

 

[Tech N9ne]

Lesnar does not have a weak chin. As a matter of fact, he hasn't even been KO'd so I don't know where the chin thing comes from. Lesnar does not like to get hit in the face. You can see the way he begins to run from the power punching of Cain or Carwin.

The thing about MMA, which holds true for boxing as well, is styles make fights. Lesnar still has a lot of work to do to be a viable animal that could beat anyone in front of him, regardless of their style. But that is not the case at this point. Cain Velasquez is taylor-made to beat Brock. He might be one of the only guys that is.

His striking is superior, as well as his cardio, and his wrestling is good enough to counter what Brock does with him. He is not a tiny guy and proved his strength. So with his overall skill-set, Cain is a horrible match up for Lesnar.

That being said, to most everyone else, including the current number one contender, Junior Dos Santos, he IS a threat. Santos is a great striker but truly lacks the size and wrestling ability to deal with Brock. So the likely outcome in that fight would be Brock taking him down and executing his ground and pound until he is TKO'd or until the end of 3 rounds.

As far as anyone else in the Heavyweight Division. I just don't see any of them being able to beat Brock. Instead of everyone taking credit away from Brock's game (Even though he does have a lot to work on), they should really be GIVING credit to Cain Velasquez's game!