Couture Passes Torch To Lesnar

Whether you love Lesnar, or just love to hate Lesnar, it appears that he is here to stay in the UFC heavyweight division.  Since the fight between Couture and Lesnar began to gain steam, alot of the professional fighters and "experts" were predicting Couture to somehow find a way to overcome the odds yet again to beat Lesnar.

But despite the legend that Couture created for himself, I wasn't so sure that he would win.  Yes, he beat Gonzaga and Sylvia in his last two fights, and overcome the odds many times, his MMA record stood at only 16-8, with losses to some of the best fighters in the sport.

Now, after the fight, it seems clear that the combination of age and size difference, against an equally skilled wrestler, was just too much for Randy to overcome.  That being said, what else is there to say about these two fighters, the main event, and the UFC heavyweight division as a whole?

1. Couture: As an amateur fighter, and fight fan, I'll always be a big fan of the fighting spirit of Couture.  That being said,  I don't feel bad for Couture after this loss anymore.

After the fight, I posted on my Facebook account that I wasn't feeling happy even though I had picked Lesnar to win.  My MMA coach quickly posted a response, and said "u r a fruity", and then "he made enough money and became Hollywood , he needed to past the torch."  After thinking for a minute about what he said, I realized he was right.  Randy Couture is a multimillionaire, who was compensated handsomely in his loss to Lesnar. 

Furthermore, by stepping into the Octagon against a 163lb Sylvia for the UFC heavyweight title, Couture put himself in harm's way.  If a fighter weighs anywhere between 205lbs and 230lbs, they should be cutting weight, and fighting at 205 lbs.  Anderson Silva walks around at over 220lbs, and gets down to 185.  And if you are going to argue that people shouldn't cut weight, let me say that it is a reality of the sport, and you're going to have to live with it.  Couture chose his own path, and this loss was just a necessary consequence.

2. Lesnar: Did Lesnar deserve to be fighting for the title?

Well I suppose that depends on what you mean by "deserved."  Lesnar didn't have to work his way up the chain, and pay his dues.  Instead, he brought his incredible athleticism and WWE marketability.  In the fight business, the two things that the promoters ask themselves are A) Is it an appealing fight? and B) Is it a fight that will make money?

Despite a (2-1) record, Lesnar showed that he had the fighting ability to be in the Octagon against the best in the world.  The other big difference between Brock and upstarts like Kimbo Slice, is that Brock Lesnar actually came from a competitive athletic background.   Furthermore, whether you like him or hate him, Lesnar is a big personality that will draw in viewers.

The big thing though, is that you're not truly a champion until you defend the title.  Brock Lesnar will get that test soon enough when he faces either Frank Mir, or "Minotauro" Nogueira.

3. The Matchup: Was this "the biggest fight in UFC history"?  No, it wasn't, but don't be deceived,... Dana White is very happy with the event as a whole.  Dana White knew that this fight was unlikely to break the UFC ppv buy record, but he is a promoter, and as a promoter, he is going to exaggerate.  If you have a big fight, it's better to call it "The biggest fight ever", than to call it "a fight between a fake wrestler and an old man".  That being said, the fight was pretty big, and pretty well anticipated. 

4. The Heavyweight Division: This fight was able to bring some legitimacy back to the heavyweight division with the return of Couture.

People are always saying that the UFC heavyweight division is weak, especially with the losses of Sylvia, Arlovski, and Cro Cop, and now possibly Werdum.

They forget that Sylvia and Cro Cop have looked terrible in their past three fights each, Arlovski was beaten twice by Sylvia, and Werdum's striking skills are still mediocre at best.

The UFC has a whole host of up-and-coming heavyweights, including Cain Velasquez, Shane Carwin, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Junior dos Santos, as well as gatekeeper vetrans like Heath Herring, and Cheick Kongo.  At the top, the UFC boasts the consensus world #2 heavyweight in the world in Nogueira.

Brock Lesnar's victory over Couture adds further legitimacy to the division.  Outside of the UFC, the only other Heavyweights I see near the top are Josh Barnett, and Fedor Emelianenko.  Unfortunately, Barnett and Emelianenko are friends, and it has been reported that they won't fight each other, so they are left to themselves to fight relatively weak competition.

Moreover, as Barnett relies upon his wrestling, I doubt he would make it to the top of the UFC anyway.  He has already been beaten by Nogueira, and while I think he would have good fights with Gonzaga, Kongo, or dos Santos, his wresting might be nullified against other great grapplers like Velasquez, Carwin, and Lesnar.  I think especially against Lesnar, Barnett would actually be an underdog, as he would be facing a larger and better wrestler for the first time.

Fedor remains the only real heavyweight question outside of the UFC.  Let's hope Affliction dies a quick death, so that Fedor can come to the UFC and unify the division.