UFC 121 Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez - An Early Look

Brock Lesnar is expected to face Cain Velasquez with the UFC Heavyweight title on the line at UFC 121 on October 23

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What would it be like to look across the octagon at Brock Lesnar and see his simian brow furrowed, his massive sloping shoulders shrugging, his pecs so huge if someone placed one in your hands you’d have a hard time holding it? Cain Velasquez is going to find out.

At UFC 121 Velasquez gets his long anticipated shot at the heavyweight crown. Velasquez brings an excellent NCAA wrestling pedigree along with crisp, highly technical stand-up via the American Kickboxing Academy that is a handful for anyone. Had he fought Lesnar in Shane Carwin’s stead I’d have thought he had a chance.

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Make no mistake; Velasquez can bring it to Lesnar. He’s very fast for his 6’2”, 245lb frame and he’s able to keep swinging. However, against fighters who can take a punch Velasquez wasn’t so damaging. When he fought Ben Rothwell he gave everything he had and when the fight was stopped Rothwell looked lucid enough to have completed a math quiz, even though the ref rightly ruled Ben was not intelligently protecting himself. Against Cheick Kongo, an iffy wrestler at best, Velasquez couldn’t end it and was nearly finished himself with some stiff punches. Consider the fact that Mir had no problem finishing Kongo quickly and in impressive fashion. At UFC 121 Velasquez will be facing yet another fighter who can take a punch.

Brock Lesnar rarely absorbs significant punishment but, when he did against Carwin and was able to choke-out the challenger, he dispelled notions that the top heavyweights weighing in the 240 pound range pose a significant threat to his belt.

Having said that, Carwin out wrestled Lesnar in round one of their fight and, in my mind, so did Couture. But what did that get them? There is the possibility that if the fight goes deep, Velasquez could outwork and outmaneuver the champ by implementing his superior striking, overwhelm him with activity without slowing down like Carwin did, and end the fight like he did against Rothwell, via stoppage.

What’s impressive about Lesnar is his adherence, conscious or not, to Bruce Lee’s JKD philosophy of taking the skills that best apply to your physical strengths and weaknesses, and using what works against a particular opponent. When Lesnar stands in the centre of the octagon he often leans back, a little like Machida, his long arms and legs making him a distant, dangerous target. I can still see the knee he clipped Couture with in their match up, and the right hand that just keeps coming, like it’s flung from a medieval catapult.

At UFC 121 Brock will be bristling with confidence, having answered a resounding “Yes” to two major questions: Can he take a punch? Can he overcome adversity in the Octagon? On the flip side, Velasquez will be coming into the Octagon to fight for the belt for the first time, against a new breed of heavyweight that may not be adequately sussed for some time.

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If Velasquez can avoid a large adrenalin dump, fight intelligently and not blow his wad, he could overwhelm the champ with hard work and win on points or stoppage, but the smart dough-ray-me is on Lesnar entering the octagon, his size, strength and speed a mere addition to a free-flowing JKD mindset that will pin Cain to the mat and end the fight with wrecking-ball ferocity by round two at the latest.

That’s my take but, hey, I was wrong once before, in June, 1993. No wait, it was September, 1995.

By Renko Styranka
ProFighting-fans.com Senior MMA Staff Writer