MMA Review

Hey everyone, this post is my MMA Review. Sorry that it’s a day late, but I got home last night, watched Blades of Glory for the first time (my review of that will be in my Sunday Reflections), caught up on some Chuck episodes (good times) and just got tired.

I gave some initial analysis of UFC 91, which was the biggest MMA event in the past year or two and my opinions haven’t really changed from that night. If you want to read that post, its here: http://pourtoutpancakes.blogspot.com/2008/11/mma-review-ufc-91-edition.html

I think that Couture isn’t done fighting and I do think it’s a possibility that he drops down to light heavyweight, that wouldn’t be the worst thing. He weighted in at 220 and could easily drop another 15 pounds. However, I think that he may be entering no-mans land.

The heavyweights are getting bigger, so he’s going to have to continue to have a disadvantage in weight that he can’t make up. The good news is that the pool isn’t extremely deep. I would like to see him face the loser of Nog/Mir after their fight in December. Both of those matchups would be good for Couture, especially if he faces Nog, a fight that many hardcore fans have been wanting to see for years.

If he drops down to light heavyweight, the pool is deeper, but he would be a big light heavyweight, which is a good thing for him. However, when you have monsters like Forrest Griffin dropping down from as heavy as 235 to fight at 205, that size difference isn’t as big as it once was.

The reality is that the man is 45 years old and he can’t fight forever. Physically, your body just can’t hold up to the physical punishment that MMA does to you. I think that he has two more fights in him, max and then he will move on to his many other interests, which are both excellent and profitable like his Extreme Couture gyms and his acting career.

For Lesner, he’s a mixed bag for me. For the sport of MMA, this may actually be a good thing. He’s a big name and will bring more exposure to the sport. As much as everyone likes to talk about how big MMA has gotten as a sport, there is more room to grow. It will never become mainstream like baseball, basketball or American football, but it can become more on the radar of sports fans like ice hockey or even boxing.

However, Lesner only has four professional fights in his career and for him to be the champion is odd. I see some major holes in his fight game that need to be improved if he wants to keep that belt for more than a fight or two. His biggest benefit is physical. No one is that big and that fast. I don’t think he moves like a 155-pounder like the king of hyperbole Dana White says. However, his speed in the heavyweight division is decent. His biggest hole is obviously on the ground and submissions. However, even in that, he showed some marked improvements from the Herring fight and Couture.

I think that Nog would beat him if they end up fighting in early 2009 because Nog has more experience and is more skilled in the standup. However, if Lesner wins against Nog, then he might have a long title reign in him.

That’s all for the MMA review. I should have commeted on Faber losing his WEC lightweight to Brown, but I don’t really have much on that.

Until then, here’s this week’s edition of MMA Live and Inside MMA for your viewing enjoyment.