MMAFriedRice.com UFC 116 Breakdown & Picks
Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin – UFC Heavyweight Title Bout
The bout labeled as “The biggest fight in UFC History” is one which is sure to turn heads, the 4-1 UFC Heavyweight Champion & Former WWE superstar turned MMA Fighter, Brock Lesnar, takes on UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin, a man who has never seen round 2 having destroyed everyone who has dared to enter the cage with him. This is a fight that UFC fans worldwide hope lives up to its hype & delivers in style.
Lesnar holds a record of 4 wins with 1 loss, his loss coming at the hands of Ex-Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion& Dangerous BJJ Blackbelt, Frank Mir, who forced 265lb Brock to tap out due to a Kneebar at UFC 81. Since his first MMA loss, Brock has gone on to take out UFC legend Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture via devastating GnP and win himself the UFC HW belt, his one and only loss has also been avenged as he took out Mir with another relentless Ground & Pound victory and solidifying himself as the undisputed UFC HW Champion and placing himself within reach of the No1 MMA Heavyweight in the world.
Lesnar’s opponent for the UFC 116 main event, Shane Carwin, has built himself a reputation as one of the most heavy handed guys in the business of MMA. His record of 12 fights & 12 wins would make most fighters happy, but not Carwin, the guy has never even sniffed the second round of any fight, most people who enter the cage with him usually leave needing severe medical attention. Carwin is not a fighter you want to make angry, ask Gabriel Gonzaga, who knocked Shane down before being KO’d in a devastating fashion.
The common opponent of the 2 is Frank Mir, both of these 2 monsters put a beatdown on Mir, but Carwin dealt with Mir in a much more clinical fashion, with brutal uppercuts in the clinch before KOing Mir on the canvas. How does this fight pan out? Standup War? Ground battle? Who knows. Both guys are legit wrestlers, both have fists the size of most peoples heads, one thing is for sure – fireworks are guaranteed. Many question will be answered on the night of July 3rd – Has Brock Lesnar’s time away from the Octagon due to illness hindered his MMA progress? Does Shane have enough gas in the tank to go more than one round? With so much resting on this one for both fighters – This is not a fight to miss!
MMAFriedRice Picks:
R: Lesnar via TKO Round 2
V: Carwin via TKO 1st Round
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Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
A bout originally supposed to be between UFC fan favorite Wanderlei ‘The Axe Murderer’ Silva and Yoshihiro Akiyama, the run up to UFC 116 proves a testing one for Wanderlei and forces him to pull out due to injuries at short notice. In steps former TUF housemate Chris Leben at very short notice.
Just 2 weeks after Chris ‘The Crippler” Leben (20-6) took away the undefeated record of up & coming wrestler, Aaron ‘A-train’ Simpson, via TKO during the TUF 11 Finale, which earned Leben the ‘Knockout of the Night’ bonus cheque, he steps into the UFC’s Octagon against Judoka expert Yoshihiro ‘Sexyama’ Akiyama who holds a professional MMA record of 13 wins with only one loss. Akiyama does however have a greasing issue which has arisen and caused controversy (Greasegate) as well as the bout being declared a no contest.
Leben will look to put his heavy hands to work in the stand up game and put another blemish onto the record of Akiyama in the japanese fighters 2nd bout in the UFC and earn himself a 2nd KO win in a row after his destruction of Aaron Simpson.
Sexyama will be looking to add to his ‘Fight of the Night’ honors he earned in his UFC debut, a split decision win over Alan Belcher. A fighter fond of submissions, with over half of his wins coming via tapout, will look to take Leben to the ground and dominate rather than trade strikes with the brawler Leben. Akiyama looks to have the edge on paper, but having showed good takedown defence versus pedigree wrestler Simpson, Leben is not one to be taken lightly – nobody who takes a fight at late notice especially after fighting a week previous should be taken lightly.
MMAFriedRice Picks:
R: Akiyama via Decision
V: Leben via TKO 3rd Round
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Chris Lytle vs. Matt Brown
MMAFriedRice Picks:
R: Chris Lyle via TKO in Round 2
V: Chris Lytle via Decision
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Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Stephan Bonnar
MMAFriedRice Picks:
R: Bonnar via Decision
V: Soszynski via Submission 2nd Round
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George Sotiropoulos vs. Kurt Pellegrino
MMAFriedRice Picks:
R: G. Sot via Submission Round 3
V: G. Sot via TKO Round 2 (Gnp via Rubber Guard Transition)
