UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar

[Y 2 Jake]

UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar

Randy Couture Vs. Brock Lesnar
Kenny Florian Vs. Joe Stevenson
Amir Sadollah Vs. Nick Catone
Gabriel Gonzaga Vs. Josh Hendricks
Nate Quarry Vs. Demian Maia
Dustin Hazelett Vs. Tamdan McCrory
Jorge Gurgel Vs. Aaron Riley
Jeremy Stephens Vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Alvin Robinson Vs. Mark Bocek
Matt Riddle Vs. Ryan Thomas​

If one MMA thread get's people talking it should be this one. Does Lesnar deserve a title shot? Most will say no, but of course he does. MMA is just as much about stars as wrestling is. And Lesnar was one before he even started fighting. As is Couture. That's why even after Lesnar beats him, Fedor vs. Couture will still gross UFC millions. Because Couture, like Liddell can lose and still draw money for the company.

Edit: Looking for odds on this fight on Bet365, I've got to say they have them down as evens.

 

[Marquis]

As soon as i saw this card i told myself this can be the ppv of the year. As you said most would agree lesnar doesn't deserve a shot but he can draw and thats all that matters. I see him dominating Coture there both wrestlers but Lesnar is bigger stronger and a better wrestler on top of that. Now randy is pretty well rounded but i doubt he will get lesnar in a lock. Lesnars only weak point is his jiu jitsu. He has brick for hands since his glove size is 3XL made specially for him. His wrestling is one of the best today maybe even the best. With some jiu jitsu defense i would go as far and say he will give fedor a run for his money.

Kenny Florian vs Joe daddy Stevenson is a match i personally look forward to more then Lesnar vs coture. Im a big Kenflo fan probably my 2nd favorite fighter and a another reason i look forward to this match is because if Kenflo wins here hes definitely number 1 contender for LW belt. There both great figthers but Kenflo is gonna come more hungry. Kenflo knows if he wins here he gets his tittle shot while Joe on the other hand lost to Bj recently and is good friends with Bj. There both very well rounded but im giving it to kenflo cause of the mental game.

Cant say much about Amir since the only fights he has had are on the TUF outside of that hes 0-0. I liked amir and i think this match will show us what he can bring to the table. Nate quarry im a big fan of also since watching him on TUF 1 but hes gonna have a hard time getting by Maia. Maia is undefeated and a black belt in jiu jitsu and also has training in judo and karate(i used to doubt karate but GSP and Lyoto make it look good). I really find it hard for Nate to pull win here but i will be rooting for him i have seen bigger upsets in the UFC so he stands a decent chance. Overall great card and i cant wait for it to me it looks better then their new years card.

 

[Mexican Geek]

Well, just as Couture, Lesnar will keep drawing millions to the UFC arcs. I dont see this as a "make or break" fight for him. Jake said it best:

MMA is just as much about stars as wrestling is.

I just dont see Couture drawing THAT much interest in a Fedor vs him fight, if he losses this one first. He was what, a year without a fight? doesnt matter if you are training daily, you need to fight and thats a fact.

Kenny Florian vs Stevenson should be the fight of the night in terms of pure competition and fight aspects. Florian has a big chance to become no 1 contender for the LW belt, but I wouldnt discard Stevenson, he rebounded from his loss against BJ with a submission win in the Rampage vs Forrest show.

There both very well rounded but im giving it to kenflo cause of the mental game.

I just want to remind that Joe stevenson has a more than impressive record of 29 -8, so his experience shouldn't be put in doubt. I think the "mental game" is on Stevenson's side, as he would want another shot at BJ asap.

Amir is a in a card!! good for him, I can wait to see this guy, by far one of the most charismatic fighters in the UFC, my choice at the TUF 7 and didnt disappointed me.

Overall looks like a the best card of the year, but half of the hype is thanks to Lesnar vs Couture. I would't spend 44 bucks though.

 

[CCS]

I'm realy hoping that Brock Lesnar pulls off a win here. It would be great for the WWE to say that one of their former superstars won the UFC heavywieght title. I think that Lesnar has a chance because A.) He's huge and has great power. B.) Randy Couture hasnt had a fight in over a year. I seriously doubt that Couture has faced any fighter similar to Lesnar so he could have problems with him. I say the only way Couture wins id if he takes him down and chokes hims out.

 

[Marquis]

I just want to remind that Joe stevenson has a more than impressive record of 29 -8, so his experience shouldn't be put in doubt. I think the "mental game" is on Stevenson's side, as he would want another shot at BJ asap.

I never questioned joe stevensons experience. But the mental game is on Kenflo side why would joe want another title shot against Bj right away? You are aware they are very good friends right? Ontop of that he has never said publicly he is interested in a rematch usually when a fighter wants a rematch he makes it publicly known.

 

[imdamiz]

I never questioned joe stevensons experience. But the mental game is on Kenflo side why would joe want another title shot against Bj right away? You are aware they are very good friends right? Ontop of that he has never said publicly he is interested in a rematch usually when a fighter wants a rematch he makes it publicly known.

Dude come on why wouldnt Joe Daddy want a rematch? Isn't the point of competing in MMA to become a world champion? Joe has been at this for years and has accomplished many things but his dream is wearing that UFC LW title regardless of whose the current champ. Seriously, think about it why would a fighter not want a chance to win a belt and Joe def has the mental experince over Kenny, Joe's been fighting much longer and been in bigger fights than Kenny has. And I dunno about you but I'd love to see a Joe Daddy/BJ Penn II over KenFlo/BJ Penn for the title

 

[Marquis]

Dude come on why wouldnt Joe Daddy want a rematch? Isn't the point of competing in MMA to become a world champion? Joe has been at this for years and has accomplished many things but his dream is wearing that UFC LW title regardless of whose the current champ. Seriously, think about it why would a fighter not want a chance to win a belt and Joe def has the mental experince over Kenny, Joe's been fighting much longer and been in bigger fights than Kenny has. And I dunno about you but I'd love to see a Joe Daddy/BJ Penn II over KenFlo/BJ Penn for the title

I agree everyones goal should be to aim for the title. But not everyone thinks like that. Anderson silva said he would never move up to LHW cause he does not want to compete for the title against Lyoto Machida. Dos Santos the guy who just beat Werdum said he would never fight for the HW belt as long as Nogueira is champ. Some people just rather not fight their friends. Now none of us are in Joes's head so we don't know if he wants a rematch or not but as far as i know he has not made it known he wants another shot. And i rather see Keflo/penn over daddy/penn since kenflo is more well rounded and thats what you need when your fighting Penn.

 

[imdamiz]

I agree everyones goal should be to aim for the title. But not everyone thinks like that. Anderson silva said he would never move up to LHW cause he does not want to compete for the title against Lyoto Machida. Dos Santos the guy who just beat Werdum said he would never fight for the HW belt as long as Nogueira is champ. Some people just rather not fight their friends. Now none of us are in Joes's head so we don't know if he wants a rematch or not but as far as i know he has not made it known he wants another shot. And i rather see Keflo/penn over daddy/penn since kenflo is more well rounded and thats what you need when your fighting Penn.

I understand where you talk about Juinor but silva is a diff story as he doesnt want to win the LHW title either and has said he would be open to a fight agaisnt machida if it were the right situation. But why would Joe fight BJ once but not again? Whether or not there friends Joe and BJ are two huge competitors and they aren't gonna let a friendship get in the way of their goals. Kenny the more rounded fighter over Joe Daddy? Your nuts kenny has a bigger reach and better elbows, thats it joe has the advantage striking overall and on the ground he is leaps and bounds above where kenflo is at.

 

[Marquis]

I understand where you talk about Juinor but silva is a diff story as he doesnt want to win the LHW title either and has said he would be open to a fight agaisnt machida if it were the right situation. But why would Joe fight BJ once but not again? Whether or not there friends Joe and BJ are two huge competitors and they aren't gonna let a friendship get in the way of their goals. Kenny the more rounded fighter over Joe Daddy? Your nuts kenny has a bigger reach and better elbows, thats it joe has the advantage striking overall and on the ground he is leaps and bounds above where kenflo is at.

Exactly by having a bigger reach and better elbows and showing better striking overall makes Kenny the better striker. Wrestling goes to joe obviously but we will see kenflo's strength play a factor here. And How is he leaps and bounds better then Kenflo on the ground if their both blackbelts? If anything Kenny has shown more well rounded BJJ since unlike Joe not all his submission wins are chokes. Kenny is the definition of well rounded. Great stand up great ground game decent take downs. Joe on the other hand has great takedowns and good chokes only making him not well rounded.

 

[Kasey]

Kudos to Brock for fighting a smart fight on this one. Randy looked to have him outgunned early on and was definitely holding his own with a smothering clinch game, but Brock only needed one shot to capitalize on it and that was all she wrote. Seeing as I believe that Nogueira will get by Mir, I don't know how the hell Brock is expecting to beat Nog. Nog has standup that is light years ahead of Couture (and up until that one shot Randy was holding more than his own in that department). Not to mention that even if Brock goes for the takedown, Nogueira has a GRANITE chin and a freakishly adept ground game. The only negative I can see from Brock's victory at this point is listening to all the clueless WWE fans that'll flood Sherdog saying that Batista or the fucking Undertaker should try their hand at MMA. On the whole, the card was a solid entry and I think Lesnar is living up to his potential in a fine way. Too bad he didn't start MMA instead of going into pro wrestling.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Expect plenty of Lesnar bashing now. He beat a 45 year old man, somebody who hasn't had a fight in a year etc. Pretty much the same shit fans would have used whatever the result. They will bring it up because he won, and they would have bought it up if he'd lost.

Taker & Batista in a fight sounds cool to me. If Big Dave could get past his piss test I'd love to see him take on Booker T. Missed the first fight. And watching Taker get his hip broken by somebody smaller and younger would tickle my funny bone. Which I admit is easily tickled.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

I was SHOCKED by this fight!

Lesnar seemed to be sucking wind a few minutes into round one. And even that was a result of Borck really just laying on top of Couture. Randy did all of the real work in the first period, because I think Brock was afraid to make a move on the bottom and get caught like he did against Mir.

On their feet, though, I was surprised how far Brock has come. Couture is an animal, and Lesnar took his punches and unleashed his own.

I'm really looking forward to Lesnars first title defense against Mir or Noguiera.

 

[jmt225]

Overall, UFC 91 is the best MMA show of 2008, bar-none. EVERY fight was broadcast, and every fight was great.

Seriously, what a great fucking fight between Lesnar and Couture. Lesnar showed what a monster he truly is, while Couture showed why it’s an indisputable fact that he has the biggest heart in not only MMA, but in all of sports period. Also, both guys showed great class after the fight.

As far as Lesnar vs. Nog is concerned… if Lesnar works extensively on his Jiu-Jitsu defense, I don’t see Nog standing a chance against him. Also, with Lesnar now having the Erik Paulson connection, that also means Josh Barnett will most likely be there to help guide Brock to a good game plan to be able to defeat Nog. Whatever happens, I cannot wait for that fight. It shall be awesome.

And also… I hope Randy doesn’t retire just yet. I think there’s a fight or two left in him where he could kick some serious ass and retire on a high note.

As for the rest of the card, Maia was unbelievable. Fucking Anderson Silva needs some competition in the Middleweight Division? I think he has found some in Demian Maia.

Not a fan of Gonzaga personally, but he looked good last night. However, that was pretty much a can he facing, in my opinion.

KFlo put on another tremendous performance, but I think his hot streak ends once he steps in the octagon with BJ Penn. BJ’s pound for pound one of the best fighters in the World and will go down as one of the greatest fighters of all time once its all said and done. I’ve really come to like Florian, but he doesn’t stand a chance against Penn.

I hope Joe Stevenson can bounce back from this loss. I like him a lot.

Aaron Riley vs. Jorge Gurgel was definitely FOTN. Awesome, awesome fight.

Jeremy Stephen’s uppercut on dos Anjos was fucking BRUTAL. Loved it.

And lastly, great sub by Dustin Hazelett, and WAR Matt fucking Brown. I’m glad to see him do well. Hopefully he keeps it up.

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

I thought Lesnar had lost the fight in the first round. He looked tired. Randy was really doing great. All he needed was that one shot, though. After Randy went down, I knew it was other. No one can win once Brock decides to use your head as a basketball.

 

[mattitude2007]

I thought Lesnar had lost the fight in the first round. He looked tired. Randy was really doing great. All he needed was that one shot, though. After Randy went down, I knew it was other. No one can win once Brock decides to use your head as a basketball.

Brock wasn't tired. It was a mix of adrenaline and still trying to get past the nervousness. He's basically told us that in a post fight interview on ESPN.

When the round ended and they were shown in their corners Brock had an even tempo of breathing but was shown clearing his throat, Randy in his corner on the other hand was visibly breathing hard, his chest was heaving and he wasn't look too attentive.

So yeah I disagree, Randy was the one that was getting tired from simply trying to manage Lesnar's weight. It showed in the second round definately.

 

[dirtyshubb]

Really enjoyed the Brock vs Randy fight, had a huge feel to it.

Its funny, all the comments i have read online from Brock haters have gone like this:

Pre-Fight: "Brock may be bigger and srtonger but he is gonna get his ass handed to him because Randy has so much more experience"

Post-Fight: "Yeah well he only beat him cause he is bigger and stronger, they need to have a superheavyweight devision cause its juts not fair *cries a bit*"

I just see it like this, you can have all the skills in the world but if you cant beat someone just because they are bigger than you than your skills count for shit!

 

[Marquis]

I am still amazed that Brock won the title in his third professional fight. But i don't think anyone was to surprised that randy lost to him. The betting lines were even and so were the polls. No one was ever really the underdog here everyone was pretty split. Randy was working well the first round but he ended up getting caught. Anyone can get caught on any given night. Just shows how in MMA anything can happen. I am happy for Brock but i am not sure this reign will last very long.

Assuming Big Nog gets threw Mir which i will say i am around 80% sure he will. I don't see Lesnar beating him. If Lesnar could not knock out Mir or Heath(which i admit is not easy) I don't see him knocking out Nog at all. I see Nog just holding out till he can sink in the sub. Everyone knows Nogs strategy take a beating sink in the sub. Yet they all still get caught and it will be no different for lesnar. Overall great ppv can easily be considered ppv of the year.

 

[imdamiz]

I am still amazed that Brock won the title in his third professional fight. But i don't think anyone was to surprised that randy lost to him. The betting lines were even and so were the polls. No one was ever really the underdog here everyone was pretty split. Randy was working well the first round but he ended up getting caught. Anyone can get caught on any given night. Just shows how in MMA anything can happen. I am happy for Brock but i am not sure this reign will last very long.

Assuming Big Nog gets threw Mir which i will say i am around 80% sure he will. I don't see Lesnar beating him. If Lesnar could not knock out Mir or Heath(which i admit is not easy) I don't see him knocking out Nog at all. I see Nog just holding out till he can sink in the sub. Everyone knows Nogs strategy take a beating sink in the sub. Yet they all still get caught and it will be no different for lesnar. Overall great ppv can easily be considered ppv of the year.

Exactly while I think its a huge win for Brock it shouldn't come as a suprise as some have made it out to be as Randy Couture is a bad match up against brock as he's a brock mini-me almost with the way he fights all though he doesn't quite have the power/size of brock. A BJJ guy is the right match-up to beat Brock as it against all wrestlers, Nogs strategy in a fight against lesnar wold be to get it to the ground and go for an armbar or some sort of leg lock as I think the way he's shaped would make it difficult to pull of a rear naked/guillitoine/anaconda choke.

 

[imdamiz]

Really enjoyed the Brock vs Randy fight, had a huge feel to it.

Its funny, all the comments i have read online from Brock haters have gone like this:

Pre-Fight: "Brock may be bigger and srtonger but he is gonna get his ass handed to him because Randy has so much more experience"

Post-Fight: "Yeah well he only beat him cause he is bigger and stronger, they need to have a superheavyweight devision cause its juts not fair *cries a bit*"

I just see it like this, you can have all the skills in the world but if you cant beat someone just because they are bigger than you than your skills count for shit!

Wow I don't know what kinda ppl your talking to but whoever they are saying that are clearly low on knowledge of MMA. Brock was supposed to take this fight as yes size and strength did play a lot of how this fight went because randy didn't have the strength or size to take down the much larger Lesnar and if you talked to ppl when asked how Brock would win that is the way most would say he would win an early round TKO by his donkey kong attack. If anything a lot of these ppl who are jumping on Brock's bandwagon are talking about how Lesnar would defeat Fedor if they were to fight which is the most ridicoulous statement ever.

 

[TheLegendaryRKO]

Lesnar won the fight because of two things. One he was better conditioned. He is was better physical shape and in better body structure than Coture. Being younger also helped him stay in better shape as well. Secondly he had Coture beat mentally. If you see in the begining the first thing Coture did was jump back. He wasn't mentally prepared for Lesnar and so therefore he lost the fight and the title.