UFC 141: To Evolve, Brock Lesnar Must Leave Deathclutch

For a man who dislikes getting hit in the face, Brock Lesnar has made some interesting—and character building—vocational choices. 

One wonders if he looks in the mirror and traces the line of the still fading scar running just below his left eye, a souvenir from his fight against Cain Velazquez, and thinks perhaps he is in the wrong line of work.

From recoiling in horror after getting tagged by Shane Carwin to doing the Octagon ballet against Cain Velazquez, word is out on how to beat Brock Lesnar.  Hit him until he turtles up, and don't get too tired punching his ticket, a second round may be required.

Lesnar is undoubtedly aware of this.  Just as he must be aware that the specialty of his next opponent, K-1 champion Alistair Overeem, plays directly to Lesnar's Achilles' heel. 

Brock must evolve too, or he runs the risk of living just outside the edge of title contention for the remainder of his career—always present but never quite relevant to the title picture.  He must be willing to make sacrifices and push through his limitations to evolve into the kind of fighter that stands a legitimate chance against fighters like Velazquez and Junior dos Santos. 

Brock needs to get away from DeathClutch for his camps. 

First, being the owner operator of DeathClutch affords Brock too many opportunities to set his own schedule and do things his own way.  It is clear that the holes in Brock's game were not addressed after the Carwin fight, and there is little reason to believe that they will be addressed in his current training environment.

Next, Brock needs to get away from his family and immerse himself in MMA.  Champions are made doing things that they don't like to do, like getting hit in the face.  The fact that Lesnar does not like spending time away from his family is an added bonus.

Brock needs to diversify.  He needs to add some elements to his fighting style that will complement his grappling base.  Dirty boxing would be an excellent style to immobilize the strikers that give him so much grief while working them to the ground where he can wreak his havoc on them.

DeathClutch is what is wrong with Brock Lesnar.  It symbolizes his unwillingness to sacrifice or do the things necessary to be a champion, and he will never hold the belt while he trains there exclusively.