Thread: Dana says Fedor v Brock will happen, who can beat Brock ?

Mon Jul 13, 2009 9:06 am EDT

Is Brock beatable? Four who have a shot
By Maggie Hendricks
After Saturday's dismantling of Frank Mir at UFC 100, Brock Lesnar seems pretty comfortable at the top of the UFC heavyweight division. Though his career in the UFC has been short, he has beaten two champions, Randy Couture and Mir, in a convincing manner. His size and strength will be a tough obstacle to overcome, but not impossible. Who can do it?

Fedor Emelianenko: If there is anyone who can take out Lesnar, it's the Russian fighter Emelianenko (pictured). He is at the top of the Yahoo! Sports pound-for-pound rankings for good reason. With a 30-1 record, he has beaten fighters of every size, including the 7'2" Hong Man Choi and 6'8" former UFC champion Tim Sylvia. In January, he knocked out another former UFC champion, Andrei Arlovski, in the first round. In fact, he hasn't had a fight get past the first round since a win over Mark Coleman in 2006, which lasted until the second round.

Emelianenko's biggest obstacle in beating Lesnar isn't in the cage, it's actually getting him in the cage. He is signed with rival promotion Affliction for a fight with Josh Barnett in August. Fans have wanted Fedor in the UFC for years, but contract negotiations have gone nowhere between the groups. After the fights on Saturday, Dana White said that Emelianenko will be in the UFC.

"This Fedor thing has gone on and on and on," White said in the post-UFC 100 press conference. "Eventually, Fedor's going to be here. I want Fedor. I want him to come to the UFC and everything else.

"This guy (Brock Lesnar) just won the heavyweight title, and we'll end up getting that deal done. And then we'll do Brock vs. Fedor, and it'll be a huge fight."

Assuming that the deal gets made, Emelianenko has the best shot of beating Brock Lesnar.

Shane Carwin: How can you mitigate Lesnar's size advantage? By putting him up against someone that's equally as large. That's Carwin -- all 6'3", 262 lbs. of him. His hands are so big that the 4X gloves he wears to fight need to be cut and taped to fit his hands. He can take punishment and still win, as he had a broken nose when he knocked out Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 96. Carwin is also motivated to beat Lesnar, who Carwin thought was incredibly disrespectful after his win on Saturday.

The fans are why we do this, Brock, this sport is not about fat paychecks and drama. It is about hard work and sacrifice for a shot to do what you did last night. It doesn't matter how much money you make if you can't earn your peers' respect and the respect and love of the greatest sporting fans in the world. Every autograph I give, every hand I shake I am thankful that you give me the opportunity to be a part of your world. This is the greatest sport int he world and most of the athletes in it deserve the love and respect they get and some just dont get it. From leaving the venue all the way to the Airport I have had fans of the sport ask me to take out Brock Lesnar for them.

The biggest knock against Carwin is that he is untested, but he is 11-0. He has much more experience than Lesnar. Carwin is slated to face Cain Velasquez, another exciting up-and-coming heavyweight, at UFC 104 in October. If he makes it through that fight, it wouldn't be surprising to see a matchup between Lesnar and Carwin.

Alistair Overeem: If someone of a similar size won't vex Brock, speed will. A fighter who is a champion kickboxer, can cut angles and move quickly? That might the perfect foil to Brock's wrestling and power. That fighter exists in Dutch kickboxer Alistair Overeem.

Overeem faces two problems in overcoming Lesnar. One, he is the Strikeforce heavyweight champion, is fighting for them on August 15, and contractually obligated to Strikeforce. Two, he needs to stay on his feet to be able to use high kicks, but as Lesnar showed on Saturday, his takedown is quite effective.

Bobby Lashley: Like Lesnar, Lashley is a fellow WWE veteran and collegiate wrestler. Unlike Lesnar, Lashley is taking the long and winding road to the UFC. He also has four wins, but his competition hasn't been nearly as difficult as Lesnar's. Lashley's biggest advantage is that he and Lesnar are the same size, and both have a strong wrestling background. With those two factors equal, the fight has the potential of being an all-out slugfest.

The problem with this fight is that Lashley doesn't want to fight in the UFC until he is ready to be a champion.

"When I go over there I want to be a top, top level guy," Lashley said. "I want talks of me fighting the champ when I get over there. I want them to say this guy's really good."

Lashley still has a while to go and much to learn before he can walk in and get a title shot. He will need to get a few more fights under his belt before we can see if he is truly ready for the champ.

Personally, I would love to see Fedor come up against Lesnar. He's had the experience at handling much larger fighters than himself, so that'll really be an awesome fight.

Alternatively, the winner of Carwin/Velasquez would probably be the more realistic opponent.

Got to say I quite like Lashley's attitude, getting the offer from the UFC and turning it down so he could prove himself is a smart move, if he does go to the UFC and if he is good then he will have some respect in the sport unlike f**knuts Lesnar.

The Lesnar Fedor thing has to happen. End of.

Check out Bas Ruttens interview with the main man. fedor thinks that the UFC manner has got to change. Sorry I'll put a link up later.

Originally Posted by jeevan

Dana White said that Emelianenko will be in the UFC.

"This Fedor thing has gone on and on and on," White said in the post-UFC 100 press conference. "Eventually, Fedor's going to be here. I want Fedor. I want him to come to the UFC and everything else.

Wasn't that long ago that White was rebuffing the idea of him 'wanting' Fedor in the UFC. I can't imagine Velasquez being able to handle Brock's size & strength, Overeem will get a few good shots off before being taken down & turned to mulch. I'd be interested to see Carwin have a go but like most MMA followers it's all about Fedor who, I believe, would put a bit of a clinic on Lesnar.

From what i have seen Brock is an accident waiting to happen yes he is an excellent wrestler ( yawn yawn) but he is average standing up its only sheer size that is beating his opponents. Frank Mir had him hurt bad i believe with the knee just before the last takedown if you look at Brock he just lies on him till his head comes back together !!
I think Fedor will knock out Brock quickly.
The other guy for me with a good chance is Arlovski who in fairness was doing well against Fedor at Affliction until he jumped into a baseball bat, he has good power and fast hands but can he take a good enough shot ???

Just watched the fedor vs Hong Man Giant Choi. Fair play Brock looks a much better fighter than that huge thing, but if Fedor can push away and get enough room to get 2 arm bars on a guy 130lbs heavier than him, then he can do it to Brock Loser... sorry Lesnar.

Come on Fedor, you are unbeatable... I hope

Also I'd love to see Carwin get his hands, sorry, shovels on Brock. Shane and Cain are ace wrestlers but Cain punches like a woman when he's on top but Carwin punches through your face and through the mat too. For this reason I see Carwin beating Cain and hopefully getting a shot at the belt.

Im not impressed with Carwin. Unless he can chin the dude then hes in trouble.

Dos Santos will not the crap mout of all the heavies up to the top 3 maybe.And Fedor will hammer everyone all at once....Yes he will.

Carwin is class, he does have a very solid chin by the way, Carwin is the only person with the power to be able to handle Lesnar


I think people forget, that Lesnar is a phenomenal athlete, an awesome wrestler, who is frighteningly quick, add to that great power, and the fact he's still basically a rookie is scary, can you imagine how good he will be once he utilises his power properly and does judo/ bjj

Fedor is the best bet to beat him, but I still think Lesnars camp would bring in some sambo fighters, so Brock could learn the basic defences. I think Fedor would be stupid to stand with Lesnar. If Lesnar takes him down, then Lesnar will slowly just pound Fedors head.


Also, I dont think Arlovski was doing much damage to Fedor, he was playing possum

I honestly think that Fedor could start the fight face down with Lezza riding him So to speak. Fedor would still knock ten bells out of him.