Like Tito Ortiz beating Ken Shamrock, like Matt Hughes beating Royce Gracie, the new guard gained another historic win this past weekend as UFC legend and hall-of-famer Randy Couture lost his heavyweight title in his first fight back after a long court battle than ended in a technical stalemate, I say technical because Couture did fight for UFC this past weekend.
I would at this time like to convey my congratulations to the new UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. Despite the obvious physical advantages he had over Randy Couture going into their title fight I did believe that Couture’s massive experience advantage in the sport would overcome that, and if it weren’t for one punch to the ear they very well could have. But the end result was that at 3-1 Lesnar now awaits either Nogeuira or a rematch with Mir to unify the heavyweight title.
However, the 3-1 part should be the giveaway that Lesnar will be a champion with something to prove probably throughout his title reign, however long that lasts. I did make it clear in an article last month talking about this fight that I thought it should’ve happened, but not for the title and I still stand by that. I do believe that Lensar beating Couture in a non-title affair would’ve legitimized Lesnar more so than winning the title and would’ve set up a rematch that could’ve been even bigger. However, the irony in saying that isn’t lost on me, as Couture was only 3-0 when he was given a shot and won his first UFC title. The difference here is that Couture’s first title win was near the end of 1997 as the sport was still in its infancy in the U.S. and thus you wouldn’t necessarily have that many fighters with tons of experience that had fought in the U.S. alone; thus it was no surprise that Couture ended up spending a great deal of time in Japanese MMA promotion RINGS after this title win.
if he lost he got beaten by an old man, but if he won he beat an old man; either way, there was going to be a stigma attached for him.
Lesnar will be a champion with something to prove also because the age difference was a lose-lose situation for Lesnar: if he lost he got beaten by an old man, but if he won he beat an old man; either way, there was going to be a stigma attached for him. But he’s beaten Couture and can now move on from that and to new challenges. The first will be Nogeuira/Mir, but even if he wins or loses that fight, there are others out there in the heavyweight division that would be up Lesnar’s alley. Gabriel Gonzaga is one who likes to get into a striking contest and it would be interesting since he’s a bigger heavyweight to see how long he could go with Lesnar standing, a rematch with Mir will happen at some point no matter what, and I still believe Congo would be an interesting fight for Lesnar. Plus you always have to observe the possibility that if Affliction goes down quickly after their next show, that Fedor could be coming to the cage.
As for Couture, the options are wide open if he wants to fight again. As Joe Rogan insinuated on the post-fight interview, Couture could stay at heavyweight or drop back down to light heavyweight should he want to. Either way there are options albeit more on the light side of heavyweight as the heavyweight division minus Arlovski, minus Cro Cop, and minus Sylvia is not as prim for a dream match involving Couture as the light heavyweight division is. However, the problem with the light heavyweight division is that it is the most competitive division in any MMA promotion anywhere on the planet right now and the age and speed factor would now likely prove to be too match no matter who Couture faced; there’d be the possibility that we’d see a Rich Franklin/Ken Shamrock 2005 situation. Case in point: the biggest light heavyweight dream match Couture could have right now would be against Wanderlei Silva. And while that match would’ve rocked the house as recently as 2006, it likely wouldn’t now as Wandi still has that speed and that spark that made him a beast in the Pride ring, but Couture’s age despite his still visible talent is starting to show.
The rest of the show provided one of the best undercards in MMA history in my opinion when that healthy mix of great knockouts & submissions and great fights is concerned. Gabriel Gonzaga and Jeremy Stevens had highlight reel knockouts with Stevens being on par with Rashad Evans’ KO of Chuck Liddell earlier this year while Demian Maia and Dustin Hazelett showcased their submission prowess and then some with Florian/Stevenson, Lesnar/Couture, and Riley/Gurgel providing the overall great fights of the night. Not only was this undercard and the card itself great, but it was one that may tell a lot about the future happenings in UFC. If one message could be taken from this show it would be that the lightweight and middleweight divisions are going to be just fine in the future with the notions that B.J. Penn and Anderson Silva would have to carry their respective divisions now likely gone for good. Also, Gabriel Gonzaga with his knockout looks to be back in contention in the heavyweight division after Couture embarrassed him and Kenny Florian FINALLY will get a title shot. While the Huerta win should’ve sealed the deal for KenFlo, this win has as B.J./Florian should be one hell of a fight in ’09 should it happen as B.J. upsetting GSP could complicate things at 155.
As for the two at the top, their futures changed drastically within the span of thirty seconds. Up until the finish, Lesnar seemed a bit gassed early while Couture was able to maintain with the much larger and younger Lesnar. But then it was over just like that and the young buck who has to prove himself much less than he did prior to this fight now has gold around his waist and the Bernard Hopkins of MMA now only has his future to look at as like his greatest rival, his time at the top may be over and all that’s left may be the money matches. Either way, Dana White is smiling right now as he has the future of the sport—a fact I conceded after the Herring fight—and a legend still capable of the big draws in his promotion, one that is stockpiled with talent that the transformation into Vince McMahon may be complete. Whatever way you look at it, all he can see is money however the chips may fall.
