OFFICIAL: Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar on Nov 15

[SpReEfOrAlL]

The more I think about this, the more I see this as a bad move for Randy. . he has no sub game to speak of. . . what is he gonna do to brock? Bad move imo.

[harry lockheart]

Lesnar has all the tools to turn into the most unstoppable fighter in the world - but he's such a dumb ass. I want to cheer for him, but I just can't because he's too much of a moron. I will admit I screamed and stood up when he rocked Heath with that first shot, though.

He's not a moron. He wants you to hate him and you do. Now it's Captain America versus the Loudmouth WWE fake wrestler. His attitude is a conscious choice. It's getting almost too obvious.

[CPT]

Here's the link to the conference call audio if anyone is interested.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/mma_ex ... mma,105031

EDIT: It's like an hour long, just so you know before you start. And everything they say has pretty much been reported anyway, but it's still interesting to hear it straight from the horse's mouth(s).

[spykelee]

I don't mind the lesnar vs Randy fight. I think Randy has more than a chance to really take it to brock. No doubt lesnar can overpower him but Brock's ground game is so awful I am pretty confident that randy can catch him in an armbar or something. Plus Randy's such a good dirty boxer and a solid wrestler I don't really see why he couldn't just push Brock up against the fence and pepper him with some shots. For a guy who's proven as much as Couture has, I'm surprised at people jumpin on Brock for this fight. He's waaaay to inexperinced to handle Randy. He'll gas out or something. I can understand that Brock has a chance just because he's so powerful but he's just way to raw. Randy's gonna chew him up and spit him out in the first round, no doubt in my mind.

Also, I heard that 3 fight contract could potentially include a final fight VS Chuck Liddell in the event that the UFC can't get that Fedor fight. So it'd be Brock, Nog, and then Liddell in a retirement match for both fighters. I'd prefer the fedor fight obviously, but goin out with a Chuck VS Randy fight wouldn't be that bad either. Both of those guys really respect each other and I'm sure they'd love to end there careers, legend vs legend.

[harry lockheart]

I don't mind the lesnar vs Randy fight. I think Randy has more than a chance to really take it to brock. No doubt lesnar can overpower him but Brock's ground game is so awful I am pretty confident that randy can catch him in an armbar or something. Plus Randy's such a good dirty boxer and a solid wrestler I don't really see why he couldn't just push Brock up against the fence and pepper him with some shots. For a guy who's proven as much as Couture has, I'm surprised at people jumpin on Brock for this fight. He's waaaay to inexperinced to handle Randy. He'll gas out or something. I can understand that Brock has a chance just because he's so powerful but he's just way to raw. Randy's gonna chew him up and spit him out in the first round, no doubt in my mind.

Randy has one submission in his career, which was an anaconda choke against a way overmatched Mike Van Arsdale. When you say that Brock's ground game is awful, what do you mean? He didn't take Heath's back or go for any submissions, but he also didn't put himself in bad spots either. The only bad thing you've seen about Lesnar's "ground game" is when he was standing and one of the best BJJ HW's in the world grabbed one of his legs. He obviously doesn't have an extensive submission repertoire, but as long as he keeps good position and lands shots at the rate he did against Heath, it won't matter.

You don't see why Randy can't push Brock up against the cage? Brock will be about 40 lbs stronger than Randy on fight night. If Randy gets in some dirty boxing it will be with his back against the cage. This certainly needs to be a concern of Brock's. Since it's going to be a title fight, Brock also needs to make sure he doesn't gas as you alluded to. This definitely is to Randy's advantage. I think this is a toss up, giving a bit of an edge to Lesnar. By the way, at this point I'd give Nog the advantage going head to head with Lesnar. Brock just isn't a good matchup for Randy.

[cowboyronnie]

oh, please. 40 pounds won't mean much. Randy's a way better wrestler, and a greco-roman one, and will have superior conditioning and strategy. the clinch will be his.

Brock wasn't even all that good in college.

[harry lockheart]

oh, please. 40 pounds won't mean much. Randy's a way better wrestler, and a greco-roman one, and will have superior conditioning and strategy. the clinch will be his.

Brock wasn't even all that good in college.

It could be up to 50 pounds. Couture weighed in at 228 lbs. for his last fight. Brock said he cuts down from about 280 lbs. That really is a huge difference.

What do you mean Brock wasn't all that good in college. He was a national champion with a 106-5 record. He was 2nd in '99. Randy was never a champion.

[CPT]

Well Randy was an Olympic alternate, and while I'm not sure if he ever tried to be, Brock never reached that level. At the same time, Brock was definitely "that good" in college, as he was runner up as a junior and NCAA champ as a senior. So I'm really not sure who to give the advantage in wrestling to. I'm inclined to say Randy's accomplishments are better, but Brock is physically superior, and that could more than make up the difference.

I told myself I would never count Randy out of a fight again, but that was over a year ago. And at the time, there was nobody quite like Brock Lesnar in MMA, who I could see beating or getting beaten by anyone.

[stick]

Randy's got this one.
And I'm always burned in predicting Randy's fights, because I always pick against him.
He'll stand up and take a decision.

[funkatron101]

I don't know if Randy's bag of tricks can handle Brock. I give the boxing edge to Randy, as well as the clinch work, but I think Lesnar's speed and weight will nullify Randy's wrestling.

If Brock gets him down, it could look like his fight with Heath. Even though Randy is a far superior wrestler to Heath.

[Chach]

oh, please. 40 pounds won't mean much. Randy's a way better wrestler, and a greco-roman one, and will have superior conditioning and strategy. the clinch will be his.

Brock wasn't even all that good in college.

It's not going to be 40 pounds. Brock has to cut to get to 265 so he goes into the fight actually weighting closer to 280. Now we're talking 55-60 pounds. Maybe he gets into better condition and only weighs around 270 when he fights Randy, that's still 45 pounds and Brock is almost all muscle so it's not like fighting Mark Hunt. You see how easily Herring handled Brock's extra weights?

Brock won an NCAA title as a senior and while his wrestling didn't wow me against Herring, I think his strength and quickness and level of skill will be able to nullify Randy's wrestling edge.

Even in the stand=up, I think Randy has an advantage over Brock BUT all Brock needs is one good punch and it's going to be the Herring fight all over again. I hope Randy has been working on his submission skills over the past year (he's been hoping to fight Fedor so let's hope he has been working on submissions). I give Randy the slight edge but Brock is such a wild card, he really is. His skill level is minimal but his natural attributes ramp up those skills. He isn't the greatest wrestler but if he gets on top then his weight puts you at a severe disadvantage. His striking looks rudimentary but one punch could end the fight. I really don't like this fight for Randy, having been off for a year. That could be the opening that Brock needs to rock him.

How is this for a mega show, Randy versus Fedor in Moscow? I don't know Fedor contract but I'd put money down that it is a non-exclusive America/North American deal. It might include Japan because of the M-1 deal but I bet that Europe would be an open ground for him. I know that Affliction has to pay him extra to use his film footage if they host a promotion in Europe so he may have left a loophole in his contract for a situation like that. They may use the fight to break ground in a country like Germany as the UFC is trying to expand into bigger European markets. Capt. America versus a former member of the Russian military, fighting for the WAMMA World Championship in Russia while US-Russian relations are beginning to turn hostile once again. We are talking about box office GOLD in pay per view sales. Or maybe this is the fight that lands the UFC on CBS and CBS pays money hand over fist to get this fight. Just thinking outside the box folks. mahalo
~Chach~

[andyhop]

It leads to the same problem, What's the incentive for the UFC to do a Fedor-Randy fight?

They will make some money off of it and maybe keep a few of the new PPV buyers for other shows, but if Fedor then goes back and fights for Affliction it might turn him into a draw that can produce PPV numbers for a rival organisation that enable it to survive and challenge it.

Unless the UFC have some guarantee of future fights from Fedor I don't see it happening.

[CPT]

Yeah, that's why I think the UFC is trying to wait out Affliction before they do the Fedor-Randy fight.

According to Fedor's management, he has a contract with Affliction, but he can fight Randy anywhere, anytime, for any promotion. If that is the case, then you know the UFC is definitely not interested in a one-off fight with Randy, or else they would just do that first.

It's doubtful that they would do a one-off fight involving Fedor at all, because he's going to win, but the prospect of him winning and going back to Japan or Russia would be a lot more attractive than him winning and going back to Affliction.

[Ryoga Hibiki]

If Randy can't beat Lesnar, what can he do against Fedor?
I suspect this dream match would turn in a huge disappointment.