Winner of JDS/Nelson to get Title Shot

[VolcomX311]

UFC President Dana White has already started pushing the promotion’s next big heavyweight attraction following Brock Lesnar’s second-round submission victory against Shane Carwin at UFC 116 last Saturday in Las Vegas.

Lesnar, who unified the division’s two titles after returning from a yearlong layoff to a severe intestinal disorder, will meet Cain Velasquez next. American Kickboxing Academy’s Velasquez has been quietly waiting in the wings for a title shot since he dismantled former UFC and Pride Fighting Championships champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110 last February in Sydney, Australia.

White said the bout’s date would be determinant on Lesnar, who’s expecting another child with his wife in a couple of weeks.

“Cain Velasquez doesn’t have that many fights either. Him and Brock are in the same boat. That’s going to be a fun one,” said White. “Both are good wrestlers and a lot of Cain’s game is wrestling. Cain Velasquez is a powerhouse.”

The outspoken UFC president said he was impressed with Lesnar’s daring to try an arm-triangle choke on Carwin in the second round of their bout, which eventually coaxed the Jackson-Wittman trained fighter to tap out.

“Your arms are smoked after (holding that move),” said White. “It was a risky move, but he pulled it off, and it was a ballsy move. Brock showed tonight that he’s evolving and he’s willing to take some chances and to try out some of the s--t he’s learning in the gym.”

White also said that the winner of the Junior dos Santos-Roy Nelson bout, scheduled for UFC 117 on Aug. 7 in Oakland, Calif., would determine the division’s next title challenger following the Lesnar-Velasquez tilt.

In other notes:

• White said he wasn’t convinced that UFC mainstay Chuck Liddell has embraced a move to retirement. White reiterated that he wanted the former light heavyweight champion, who sat cageside on Saturday, to hang up his gloves.

“Chuck’s having a hard time with this thing…You have to understand this guy’s been in this thing longer than me and he loves the sport,” said White.

The UFC president also apologized to Liddell’s camp for accusing them of misadvising him to continue on with a career that has seen three straight knockout losses since September 2008. White said Liddell’s team is looking out for the fighter’s best interests.

• White said “Ultimate Fighter” finalist Stephan Bonnar redeemed himself with a gutsy performance against Krzysztof Soszynski on Saturday.

“I was getting worried that Stephan Bonnar was getting soft there because he knew ‘Uncle Dana’ would always take care of him,” said White.

The UFC president reiterated that Bonnar and “TUF 1” cohort Forrest Griffin would always be taken care of by the promotion, but that either could still get cut as an active fighter after poor showings.

• Ecstatic with UFC 116 as a whole, White said the promotion planned to compensate some of the night’s roster more than their announced performance bonuses: “We’re writing checks, more than what you heard of here tonight.” said White. “Guys are going to get well taken care of. Tonight was the greatest night of fights I’ve ever seen.”

• The UFC said it would return to Australia in 2010, and has its sights set on China, South Korea and India.

• White announced plans to set up a UFC office in mainland China in the coming weeks. White said the company had hired the person to head up the new office on Saturday and that an announcement was forthcoming. The UFC opened an office last May in Toronto and has an existing U.K branch in London, which opened in 2006.

White on Lesnar-Velasquez, Bonnar’s Redemption, Liddell’s Future

For some reason, I don't see Roy Nelson in the mix. True, he is legit in the sense he has KO power and a history of good BJJ, but I don't see him getting pass JDS.

Best case scenario, imo, we'll be looking at Brock/JDS or Cain/JDS. Worst case scenario we'll be looking at Brock/Nelson onder:

I'd love to see Carwin vs Cain/JDS as well. The HW division is full of interesting match ups. I still consider Mir an interesting match up against Cain/JDS/Nelson, but mostly in hopes that he gets beat.

 

[OnTheRoadTo]

We don't know much about JDS on the ground, and we know Nelson is strong on the ground...not that it helped Werdum. Don't count Big Country out (I still expect JDS to take it)

 

[Mulletsoldier]

Out of those in the heavyweight picture, I honestly see Carwin contiuning to be the most trouble for Brock Lesnar. I say that obviously largely discounting Cain winning their upcoming bout, which I think I am justified in doing.

While I think Lesnar's takedowns have been vastly overrated, his base and movement on the ground are some of the best I have seen, irrespective of weight class. His ground escape in the first round on Carwin when he posted up on Carwin's left arm and spun to clinch on the fence was phenomenal - and an instance of wrestling technique that I feel was grossly overlooked. I say that because, provided he does wrestle Cain to the mat, I am completely confident in saying that Cain most likely will not see the feet again for the remainder of that round.

As for Cain's superior cardiovascular endurance and striking, this only has a chance to decision Lesnar, and not finish him. In addition, Cheick Kongo put Cain in trouble on three separate occasions in that fight, and Cain could also not put away Ben Rothwell (in terms of KO). Given that Lesnar's punches are more powerful than Kongo's, and his chin is apparently constructed from titanium alloys, it is unlikely that Cain will land a KO punch. His best bet is to accumulate a greater amount of punches than Lesnar early, stay off his back in the early rounds, and win a decision. Again, this is not a likely scenario.

In reality, if Brock was able to take Carwin's best after an 11 month layoff and life-threatening illness, than a fresh Brock is, again, a scary thought. While I may be alone in this thought, I think that initial left uppercut stunned him more than it hurt him, similar to how 'Page was stunned by that right cross Evans threw in their recent match-up. The most significant portion of ring rust appears to be the sensation of taking a punch, I feel.

 

[VolcomX311]

We don't know much about JDS on the ground, and we know Nelson is strong on the ground...not that it helped Werdum. Don't count Big Country out (I still expect JDS to take it)

I don't count Big Country out. I probably give him more credit then most people will. I certainly think he has a chance to win, but that chance is reliant on getting JDS to the ground and I don't think that's going to be an easy task. It's the same with Silva vs Sonnen. Sonnen's only chance is to make it a wrestling match, but getting within Silva's strike zone to chance that TD and actually nailing it is a real obstacle.

Nelson has a chance, a better chance then Sonnen has against Silva, but even still. I hope Nelson wins, really. I like Nelson.

 

[VolcomX311]

His ground escape in the first round on Carwin when he posted up on Carwin's left arm and spun to clinch on the fence was phenomenal - and an instance of wrestling technique that I feel was grossly overlooked. I say that because, provided he does wrestle Cain to the mat, I am completely confident in saying that Cain most likely will not see the feet again for the remainder of that round.

I've felt like I'm the only one that acknowledged that and has brought it up. People keep talking about Carwin's great sprawls (one or two really). Sprawls are fine & dandy, but they aren't exhibitions in versed technical skill and not nearly as technical or instinctive as Brock's multi-stage escape. Yet all I've heard about were people talking about how Carwin's wrestling talent in how he stuffed Brock's 1st round TD's.

As Mullet mentioned, Brock projects his TD's like a summer blockbuster and when he shot, he was up against the cage. Granted, Carwin looked like an unmovable bridge structure in his sprawl, but still, I don't see how that over-shadowed a wrestling escape made by Brock that I've only really seen on ESPN (college wrestling.)

The last time I was surprised by a great show of technical defense was when Big Nog swept Couture. I had to watch that a few times over, just as I watched Brock's escape a few times over.

 

[VolcomX311]

In Carwin's defense, while fresh, he was scary dominant. I actually up Carwin's chances in a rematch.

 

[Mulletsoldier]

In Carwin's defense, while fresh, he was scary dominant. I actually up Carwin's chances in a rematch.

I am going to reserve my judgment on a Carwin-Lesnar rematch until after Lesnar-Cain. The factor of not being hit with that kind of power, or any power, really, for almost an entire year is too substantial to ignore. While Cain is not nearly as powerful a puncher as Carwin, we will still be able to see Brock's reactions to being struck by a powerful HW - and at that time, I will make a decision.