Fightmania Mailbag: Fedor, Lashley, Lesnar and More

We’re not running a dictatorship here, so it’s only fair to yield the podium to the fine Fightmania readers once in awhile.  That’s exactly what we’re doing with another edition of the Fightmania Mailbag.  This time around, readers have rants, opinions and queries regarding Fedor Emelianenko, Bobby Lashley, Brock Lesnar and more.

Walter from Aurora, IL rants on an issue that I touched on earlier today:

OK, so what does Affliction do with Fedor once he’s fought Josh Barnett?  He already beat Sylvia and Arlovski and a matchup with Ben Rothwell isn’t exactly exciting.  Could they do a crossover with Strikeforce against someone like Brett Rogers in the future?

Walter makes a good point, which I mentioned earlier in my article about the FFI show.  There are some good heavyweights outside of the UFC, but Fedor’s already faced most of them.  The Sylvia fight was a squash, and Sylvia’s loss against Ray Mercer means we won’t be seeing a rematch of that fight anytime soon (if at all), and Arlovski’s been dropped by Affliction.  Perhaps Affliction will just renegotiate with Arlovski for a cheaper deal, because if he can get a win or two, a rematch with Fedor would be interesting, since Arlovski was more than holding his own before making a huge mistake that cost him.

You won’t be able to do an immediate rematch with Barnett, but if the loser of that fight wins a couple of times, we’ll see it again in 2010.  A Strikeforce co-promotion could probably be worked out, but Rogers isn’t ready to hold his own as far as box office goes, and Alistair Overeem is an equally underwhelming option, though both are good fighters.  It’s hard to say that Paul Buentello would be a great opponent if he beats Gilbert Yvel, either.  He’d need a bigger win than that, I think.

If Cro Cop really is with Dream now (some sources are saying it’s not true and he’s still deciding) that could open the door to a co-promotional rematch with Fedor.  That would be one of the better options, although Cro Cop hasn’t been setting the world on fire, either.  No matter what, Tom Atencio has eluded to giving Fedor a break, so we may not see him again until the fifth Affliction event, anyway.  That would give the promotion a little time to figure it all out.

Scott from Tempe, Arizona isn’t a Bobby Lashley fan…

What’s with all the Bobby Lashley hype?  This guy beats Bob Sapp and Clay Guida’s brother and suddenly he’s a world beater?  How many fighters with blown up physiques have we seen in MMA, and how many have really done well?

Well, Scott, if his physique was all he had going for him, I’d understand your point.  Lashley is a good wrestler training out of a good camp, and he’s fighting in the weakest division in MMA.  There aren’t many truly elite heavyweights in MMA, and a fighter with a lot of athleticism and a good background in wrestling, jiu-jitsu or striking could make a splash with some hard work and a good team to train with.

Also, no one is saying his win over Sapp (or any of his previous opponents) makes him a UFC title contender right now.  Lashley is being smart and taking his career one step at a time.  He wants to fight twice more this year, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the UFC in 2010, facing much tougher competition.  Like I said earlier this week, he’s in his 30’s and is unlikely to waste much time.

Chris from Bettendorf, IA thinks Brock Lesnar looks unbeatable:

How is anyone in the UFC heavyweight division going to beat Brock?  Who can really match his combination of strength, agility, quickness and athleticism?  He’s got some work to do on the technical side of the sport, but he’s far and away the most physically gifted heavyweight out there.  Mir used skill to get the submission last time, but if he hadn’t he wouldn’t have lasted a full round.  Once Brock learns better sub defense he’ll be unbeatable.

Chris, that’s the key phrase- “once Brock learns”.  He hasn’t yet.  His opponents will certainly be overwhelmed physically by Lesnar, and he probably is the most physically gifted heavyweight out there, sure.  But other fighters have opportunities to beat him right now: by using better striking or by submitting him.  If someone can weather his storm like Randy Couture was trying to do, who knows if he would have enough cardio to go deep into a championship fight?

I know Lesnar’s working on his submission defense, but there are some elite grapplers in the UFC and Lesnar will never be better than them when it comes to submissions…the danger of getting caught will always be there.  Lesnar has also shown a troubling tendency to stand with opposing fighters, even if he could get the takedown fairly easily (as in the Heath Herring and Frank Mir fights).  It hasn’t cost him yet, but if he fools around too long against someone who connects on good punch or kick, he’ll go down just like any other fighter.  His early success in the standup game could be his undoing one day.

Finally, we have a blunt response to my proposal of five round non-title fights from Jake in the UK:

I’ve got two words to make the argument against longer non-title fights: Tim Sylvia.

Nicely done, Jake, but I stand by my opinion.  Even if every main card fight was five rounds, the benefits would far outweigh the consequences of an occasional stinker or two.  Would I have wanted to see two more rounds of Sylvia-Vera?  No, but would I sit through it in order to get two more rounds of Liddell-Silva, or Silva-Franklin, or Guida-Sanchez, or any number of other great three-round decisions we’ve seen in recent years?  You bet I would.

Plus, a lot of the most hesitantly-paced fights take place between a champion worried about losing his title, anyway.  Sylvia’s a good example of that, actually.

Keep those e-mails coming, Fightmania readers!  Include your first name and a city if you’d be so kind.

Tags: Alistair Overeem, Brett Rogers, Brock Lesnar, Clay Guida, DREAM, Fedor Emelianenko, Frank Mir, Josh Barnett, Randy Couture, Strikeforce, Tim Sylvia, UFC