UFC 116: Post-Fight Observations & Repercussions

UFC 116 is officially in the books.

Many storylines have now been fabricated after an exciting night of action from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Brock Lesnar’s second round submission of Shane Carwin in the much anticipated, much talked about main event proved to be the cherry on top of a delicious Saturday night sundae.

There was plenty of other combat of note leading up to the heavyweight championship fight as well. Let’s sit back and gaze at the entire event as a whole.

Here are a few items to ascertain in hindsight.

Brock Lesnar is Officially the No. 1 Heavyweight in the World

Nobody in their right mind could have predicted that in just over three years Brock Lesnar would progress from green MMA rookie to the No. 1 ranked heavyweight fighter in the world.

It certainly did not come easy. Shane Carwin, a virtual physical mirror image, was as good of a challenger as advertised.

He battered the defending champion for essentially the entire first round with a combination of technical boxing and vicious ground and pound strikes.

Carwin was getting the better of the exchanges early on and had Lesnar on his heels in retreat mode. It was eventually a powerful left uppercut that wobbled him and put him down.

From there, Carwin unleashed a slew of punches and elbows that bloodied Lesnar.

Referee Josh Rosenthal correctly let the action play out. Despite the fact that Lesnar was taking huge damage and his face was beginning to swell, he was still intelligently defending himself.

It was clearly a 10-8 round for Carwin, but his inability to finish Lesnar off would be his downfall just a few minutes later.

When the second round commenced it was Lesnar who appeared to be in the better physical condition from a cardio standpoint, not Carwin. That’s right. The man who had not fought in roughly a year, who overcame a severe case of diverticulitis, and who was soundly battered for an entire round was the fresher man.

It should come as no surprise. This is what we’ve come to expect from this 265-pound freak of nature.

Lesnar was able to secure a takedown in the second stanza with little resistance and quickly transition from half guard to mount. He then gave up his dominant position and moved to side control.

All the while he had isolated the head and arm of Carwin working for an arm triangle submission.

A crank of the choke was the nail in the coffin for Carwin as it had tightened to the point where he was forced to tap or go to sleep. He chose the former.

It was a disappointing end for Carwin as he was in the driver’s seat for the majority of the fight and did not appear to have a scratch on him.

He had gassed himself out trying to finish Lesnar in the first round and paid dearly for it.

In the aftermath, not only does Lesnar become the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, but also the No. 1 ranked heavyweight in the world thanks to Fabricio Werdum’s recent stunning upset over former king Fedor Emelianenko.

All in all, it was a gutsy, resilient performance by Lesnar. He showed incredible heart by weathering the early storm and finding a way to achieve victory.

Undefeated American Kickboxing Academy product Cain Velasquez, who watched the fight cageside, is up next for Lesnar likely sometime before the end of 2010.

I hope he was taking notes.

“The Crippler” Has Had a Good Two Weeks

Fifteen days ago we all saw Chris Leben knockout Aaron Simpson at The Ultimate Fighter 11 finale. Saturday night he was back in the fray.

After Wanderlei Silva pulled out of his fight against Yoshihiro Akiyama due to multiple injuries a last minute replacement was needed.

UFC matchmaker Joe Silva made the call to Leben, who did not sustain significant damage in the Simpson fight, and he agreed to take on the Japanese star.  

Little did anybody know that in a matter of days he would go from middleweight gatekeeper to legit contender.

The fight started out rather predictably with Akiyama smartly using his grappling edge to avoid the power punching of Leben and dictate the pace. He was successful in completing multiple takedowns and avoiding Leben’s armbar attempts from the bottom.

As the fight wore on, however, Akiyama began to show significant signs of fatigue and began hanging his hands.

He started obliging Leben in wild exchanges and appeared content standing in front of him trying to put on a show for the fans. He was also doing what an opponent of Leben should never do —fight his fight.

In the third round Akiyama somehow mustered up enough energy to secure a takedown and progress to full mount.

It looked as if he was on his way to winning a close decision.

Leben had other ideas and remained active with his guard. He was rewarded for his continued efforts as he caught Akiyama in a deep triangle choke that forced him to tap fairly quickly.

It was yet another gutsy, hard fought battle from “The Crippler” as Akiyama’s twelve-fight win streak came to a screeching halt.

You can never count him out of any fight.

Appropriately, Leben called out Wanderlei Silva in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.

If it comes to fruition it would have the potential to be an aesthetically pleasing slugfest for casual fans. Heal up quickly, Wanderlei.

The 155-Pound Title Picture is Getting Crowded

The amateur boxing background of Aussie George Sotiropoulos was on full display against the very game but overmatched veteran Kurt Pellegrino.

From bell to bell, Sotiropoulos showed the superior technical standup by using a combination of angles, proper head movement, and solid footwork. What he lacked was the true power to make Pellegrino really pay for his defensive deficiencies.

Slowly but surely, however, Sotiropoulos began to accumulate damage on his chin mainly because of the accuracy of his jab and left hook. It made Pellegrino tentative and unable to make the proper adjustments on the fly.

Late in the third round Pellegrino knew he needed a miracle and he almost got it.

While going for broke he landed a knee flush on the chin of Sotiropoulos that dropped him to the mat.

Unfortunately for him the bell to end the fight before he could follow it up. It was too little, too late for the New Jersey native.

Sotiropoulous took the unanimous decision and another leap forward in the heavily congested lightweight division currently being ruled by the champion Frankie Edgar.

Edgar is set to rematch B.J. Penn at the upcoming UFC 118 event in Boston.

Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard will lock horns that same evening with No. 1 contendership likely up for grabs. One tier below them rests Evan Dunham and Mr. Sotiropoulos.

Patience, patience, patience, mate. Your time will come.

No Excuses Needed for Stephan Bonnar

Stephan Bonnar walked into Saturday night desperate for a win, which was likely a gross understatement. He was riding a three-fight losing streak inside the octagon coming in.

This is typically grounds for a pink slip, but he has been given a lifetime hall pass from UFC President Dana White, and rightfully so.

As one half of arguably the most important fight in UFC history, the main event of The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 finale against Forrest Griffin, he is one of the reasons why the sport is where it is today.

There would not be a UFC today had it not been for both the show and the fight. Regardless, it has not stopped the media from peppering White to defend his stance on Bonnar’s continued employment over the past few months.

No justification necessary this time around. In a rematch of their UFC 110 fight, Bonnar once again took on Krzysztof Soszynski.

It was clear from the get go that Bonnar’s demeanor was such that he was going to do whatever it took to win the fight.

Losing again was simply not an option and he fought like a man backed into a corner.

After an entertaining first round in which both men landed significant strikes in exchanges the fight was off to an exciting start picking up right where their previous bout in Australia left off.

A quick visual snapshot showed Bonnar appeared to sustain more damage as he was a bloody mess with cuts under both eyes.

Unlike some fighters, however, Bonnar tends to feed off of the very sight of his own blood.

In the second round he came out pressuring Soszynski and forced him to wilt. In a flurry against the cage Bonnar dropped Soszynski to his knees and proceeded to land heavy strikes from his back before the referee was forced to intervene.

Bonnar simply could not be denied.

During the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, an emotional Bonnar addressed the crowd by saying, “I’ve spilled pints and pints of blood for you guys over the years and it’s thoroughly been my pleasure.”

Touche, “American Psycho.” That’s the Stephan Bonnar we know and love.

Power Bombs are Still in Style

The Spike TV broadcast that preceded the pay-per-view featured an undercard doozy with a rather stirring finish.

Gerald Harris vs. Dave Branch turned out to be the perfect time filler towards the end of the time allotment.

The actual fight started out rather slow and unspectacular. After ten minutes it appeared as if it was destined to go to a judge’s decision.

Harris was clearly up two rounds to none due to his superior wrestling and crisper striking. In the third round, however, he was presented with an opportunity and he let his creativity take over.

The sequence began when Branch pulled guard on Harris, but instead of following Branch down the mat to work in top control he immediately postured up.

He then stuck his right forearm across Branch’s face and subsequently power slammed him to the mat. Branch was out the second he hit the canvas from the impact.

Harris could have delivered an unnecessary blow before the referee jumped in to wave it off, but he clearly saw Branch was unconscious.

It was not only great awareness, but ideal sportsmanship from the “Hurricane.”

The highlight reel finish was reminiscent of “Rampage” Jackson’s slams he used to incorporate into his attacks on a regular basis in Japan under the PRIDE banner. The most famous one, of course, being his power slam knockout of Ricardo Arona at Critical Countdown 2004.

Expect Harris to take a big jump in competition for his next fight as he has now faced three opponents in a row making their UFC debut. He has finished all three.

Branch, on the other hand, could be headed for the chopping block.

Derek Bolender is a lead MMA staff writer for BleacherReport.com. Follow him on Twitter and on Facebook .