Brock’s big thing coming into the UFC was that he was enormous. And he is. He’s incredibly strong and powerful and moves very well for someone his size. His problem is not physical. It’s mental.
Brock is the definition of a bully. He delivers beatings like none other, but as soon as the tables start to turn and the playing field begins to level, he’s a mere shell of his former self.
Watch the recording of UFC 121 versus Velasquez. Brock starts the fight gunning, sending knees everywhere. But as soon as Velasquez starts throwing punches and connecting, Brock cowers away. It seems as though everytime he’s hit, he doesn’t know what to do. He panics, runs, falls (or in this case, spins and rolls) away from his opponent. Essentially, Brock wants to be a UFC fighter, but he doesn’t want to get hit.
That sounds crazy, but his focus and concentration is immediately lost once he receives a big blow that connects. Now, in a sport such as MMA, you’re going to get your face reamed. It’s inevitable. It’s a sport where you fight, therefore, you will get hit.
Throughout his UFC career, I’ve called Brock a bully, but not because of his offensive strength. It’s because he’s never truly, legitimately been tested and fought back from being nearly finished. He’s never been down and nearly out, had to fight back, level the playing field and come out victorious. What Brock showed during his fight with Velasquez is the same critical flaw he showed during his fights with Mir and Carwin – once he’s hit, he almost seems to say, ‘Where am I? What happened?’ and for lack of a better word, panics and loses his game plan. He simply seems to unwind and lose everything once he receives a good shot.
It sounds stupid to say, ‘well, no one likes getting hit in the face.’ Of course not, especially with the strength these guys have. But I believe that being a true ultimate fighter is from within – it’s something that you either have or you don’t. Right now, Brock doesn’t have ‘it.’ Take Forrest Griffin for example. Forrest has said in many interviews that he *enjoys* being hit. In fact, he says he wants to be hit *first* because it gives him a wake-up call and sets something off inside that tells him it’s time to kick some ass. My point is this: in MMA, you can’t be afraid to get it. It’s like playing football but not wanting to be tackled – it’s going to happen, so you need to get used to it.
I hope for Brock’s sake that this is worked on for his next fight. He’ll have to beat some big-name heavyweights before being given a rematch for the title, especially considering how lopsided this beating was. I’m no professional in the field, but I think Brock needs to work on coming back from near-finishes where he’s pinned to the mat with nowhere to go. His camp needs to work on Brock getting his ass kicked, but still remaining focus on the task at hand and not trying to avoid getting hit in the face.
I do not think that this is the end of the road for Brock, but I do believe that he needs a change in psyche before he can become an elite heavyweight. He’s still fairly green, and he’ll make his mistakes (see: Mir kneebar submission, UFC 81), but that will change with experience…hopefully. Like I said, Brock’s biggest opponent is himself.
Finally, I thought I’d address these Lesnar/Undertaker rumours involving a potential main event match at WrestleMania 27. For those of you looking at me with a blank face, watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjHtxPew5Os&feature=player_embedded
“You wanna do it?”
Hell yes! Vince McMahon wants them to, but Dana White doesn’t.
“Brock Lesnar is still under contract with the UFC … he is not going to wrestle in the WWE. He cannot wrestle, box or fight anywhere else.”
The word right now is that Vince pitched the idea. He probably told The Undertaker to go to the show with his wife Michelle McCool and to go on-camera as a celebrity. Which, in itself is odd, since Undertaker rarely does public appearances or interviews because of his character. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, Vince has suggested an Undertaker/Lesnar rematch at WrestleMania 27.
I don’t think this will happen. Not just because Brock remains under UFC contract, but because he’s past wrestling and has moved on to MMA, he’s simply not going to take a giant step back. He’ll look like a total chump if he loses the Heavyweight Championship and then does a one-time deal with WWE for a big paycheck. Everyone already criticized him for coming in saying, ‘WWE is fake, this isn’t’. No matter what amount of money Vince were to offer Brock, it wouldn’t make a difference because Brock makes a killing in the UFC.
Whether or not this potential match is legit, I don’t think it happens. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see it, but it won’t happen. At least in my opinion it won’t. If you miss him that much in the WWE, you can always watch their Hell in a Cell match and subsequent feud to see what Brock was like with just a few years of wrestling experience under his belt.
