Fightmania Mailbag: Lesnar-dos Santos, Randy Couture

It’s that time again where we empty out the old mailbag and see what readers want to discuss. This time around, we’ll talk a bit about the “What have you done for me lately?” complex in MMA, early thoughts on Lesnar-dos Santos and whether Randy Couture is a master of gameplanning.

First off is Sergio, who says:

I’m a little annoyed with the whole what have you done for me lately thing in MMA. It seems like everybody who wins a fight is unbeatable and everyone who loses suddenly sucks. Soon enough though, the unbeatable fighters end up losing anyway, and the sucky fighters end up pulling off wins against top comp. What gives?

I’m not sure what it is- whether it’s the nonstop sports media that makes what’s happening RIGHT NOW seem so much more important than everything that came before it, or maybe just the lack of perspective of a lot of people out there, but you’re right. Look at Georges St. Pierre, for instance. He’s fighting Jake Shields, who’s won his last three fights by decision, and who has had half of his career wins (and three of his four losses) go the distance. Yet everyone is pointing the finger at GSP preemptively for causing a fight that hasn’t even taken place yet to be boring. What?!?

Shields has been a top guy for years, but the knock on him is that he was always very methodical, which he is. He’ll take an opportunity if it presents itself (like with Robbie Lawler), but his game is about takedowns and positioning first and foremost. He doesn’t really fight all that differently than how St. Pierre has been recently, honestly. Yet suddenly, St. Pierre is this ultra-boring champion that Shields has come to save us from? I don’t buy it.

The best approach as a sports fan is not to place such stock in what just happened. Fighters don’t just start sucking all of a sudden because of one loss, nor do teams in professional sports. Of course, everyone wants attention these days, and the easiest way to get it, whether you’re on an internet forum, in a sports bar or debating on ESPN First Take, is to present the extreme side of an argument all the time, disregarding any kind of logic or common sense if needed.

Frank from Tallahassee is already thinking about Lesnar-dos Santos:

Even though the two haven’t exactly been talking trash or getting in each other’s faces, TUF 13 has me thinking about Lesnar-dos Santos. The more I think about it, I think that dos Santos will be able to pretty much do what Cain Velasquez did and beat Lesnar up standing. I think anyone who can stop a takedown will be trouble for Brock from here on out. What do you think, and has watching the show changed your opinion at all about the fight?

Well, watching the show hasn’t done anything to change my thoughts so far, since it’s just been your normal personality-driven show so far without a whole lot of insight into the coaches themselves. Lesnar continues to look a little light, but I like that change because he’s still going to be stronger than anyone else in the division. Now, he can be quicker and have better cardio, too.

As for the fight, my preliminary thoughts without really reviewing their previous fights in depth is that dos Santos will have a hard time defending Lesnar’s takedowns. I’d like to see Lesnar use the cage a bit more for takedowns instead of always shooting double legs in the middle of the Octagon, and I think that approach would be easier for him and allow him to take less punishment if he doesn’t get his opponent to the mat. Sure, dos Santos has the better standup and that’s unlikely to change, but I still think this is Lesnar’s fight to lose and if he gets it to the floor, dos Santos is in big trouble.

Finally, a word from Jake about the best gameplanners in MMA:

What do you think as far as who the best gameplan guys are in MMA? Aside from coaches, is Couture the smartest fighter out there when it comes to figuring out how to beat different opponents? I’d have to say he is. Look at the different styles he’s gone up against and how he’s done, especially at his age. Who else would you list?

That’s a hard one because you never really know whether the fighter himself is coming up with his or her own gameplan or not. Some fighters are certainly better at sticking to gameplans, and Couture is one of them. However, I sometimes get a good laugh about how Couture is regarded as this master strategist. I mean, every fight Randy talks about how he’s going to have a good challenge trying to adapt to his opponent’s style, and when fight night gets here, what does he always seem to come up with?

Clinching his opponent against the cage and working some dirty boxing.

Seriously. That’s been his gameplan in just about every fight since his win over Tim Sylvia, right? Honestly, I think he gets a little too much credit in this area considering that he largely remains the same fighter each time he appears. That’s not even really a knock on him; he is who he is. It’s more of an indictment of fans and media who thrust accolades on people that they sometimes don’t deserve. Couture is a great fighter and really a smart trainer, too, but his gameplans aren’t exactly revolutionary. One notable exception was the way he fought Chuck Liddell the first time. Nobody expected him to stand with Liddell, and Liddell certainly wasn’t ready for Couture to come forward and beat him to the punch with straight punches while Liddell tried in vain to land looping counters. It was brilliant and allowed him to wear down Liddell for takedowns and eventually the finish.

That’s it for this time. Keep those e-mails coming!

E-Mail Jon Hartley

Tags: Brock Lesnar, Junior Dos Santos, Randy Couture, UFC