MMA Week in Review- 1/23/09

The news this week in mixed martial arts has been dominated by the announcement that not only is Brock Lesnar going to fight again, but that he will defend his title at some point this summer. However, as with most weeks, there were plenty of other things to talk about to, from the UFC’s first card on Versus getting rounded out to Bobby Lashley finally getting an opponent for his next fight.

Lesnar to Return Quickly, Believes Heavyweights are “Sh-tting Their Pants”

After months of speculation, second- and third-hand information and silence from Brock Lesnar, the man himself finally spoke up this past week, declaring his intent to return this summer and making it clear how dire his situation really was. Lesnar said that he had lost 40 pounds of mass before putting 30 back on recently (which, if accurate, is amazing), and physicians have checked in on sites like Sherdog.com to provide more information on Lesnar’s condition, which could very easily have ended his career, or even his life.

Still, it’s behind Lesnar now, and he has already changed his diet, which should lead to a leaner Lesnar in the future. We haven’t seen Lesnar in the “championship rounds” yet, but I don’t see how the change in diet could hurt him. Oh, and Lesnar hasn’t changed, which I love and many of you may hate. He quickly made comments about his competition crapping their pants, and got in some shots at Frank Mir, too, who he labeled as his stalker.

On the topic of Frank Mir, this guy is absolutely licking his chops at the thought of facing Lesnar in his first bout since, well, the last time he faced him. Do I think Mir would mind taking on a Brock Lesnar that is even a bit less than 100%? Not in the slightest. Mir is a shrewd guy, and is no dummy. He knows that not many feuds go past the “trilogy” stage in MMA (though, with he and Lesnar figuring to stay near the top of the division for years to come, this could be an exception). If he can rack up a 2-1 edge on Lesnar, he won’t have to worry about his big buddy for a long, long time.

Also, Mir is no doubt thinking that while he hasn’t had enough time to fully complete his goal of beefing up to Lesnar’s level, if Lesnar is not back to where he once was, the size advantage could be very small, indeed. My personal thoughts? It’s too soon. Of course, they already made the Mir-Carwin fight, so what can you do? I’d rather see Carwin or the winner of Nogueira-Velasquez face Lesnar first, but I don’t get a vote here. Also, has anyone in MMA history ever fought the same guy three times out of their first six professional fights?

In any case, welcome back, Brock. Even the most stubborn Lesnar haters should be happy that the man is okay and ready to compete. After all, with Lesnar back, you have someone to root against again, right?

No, Really, They’re Calling it “UFC on Versus 1″?

It looks like the first UFC card on Versus (to kick off a series that apparently will be aptly titled “UFC on Versus”) will be a strong one, indeed. The event, headlined by Jon Jones vs. Brandon Vera, will also feature Junior dos Santos getting a real test from Gabriel Gonzaga, a sure-fire slugfest between Cheick Kongo and Paul Buentello, as well as Anthony Johnson and Clay Guida facing John Howard and Shannon Gugerty, respectively.

The undercard will feature such fighters as James Irvin, Vladimir Matyushenko and Alessio Sakara, who apparently has the same “contract for life” deal going on with Zuffa that Stephan Bonnar does. My pick for the fight to watch, though, is a great match-up between Spencer Fisher and Duane “Bang” Ludwig. Awesome fight. Here’s the full card:

Jon Jones vs. Brandon Vera
Junior dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
Cheick Kongo vs. Paul Buentello
Anthony Johnson vs. John Howard
Clay Guida vs. Shannon Gugerty
Eliot Marshall vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Spencer Fisher vs. Duane Ludwig
James Irvin vs. Alessio Sakara
Brendan Schaub vs. Chase Gormley
Mike Pierce vs. Rob Kimmons
Eric Schafer vs. Jason Brilz

And the…Um, Winner? of the Lashley Sweepstakes Is…

I guess that we should feel happy for Wes Sims. He landed on his feet after a hilarious but unproductive stint on “The Ultimate Fighter”, getting a fight in Strikeforce against a well-known, up and coming heavyweight. Unfortunately, that heavyweight is Bobby Lashley, who not a lot of people are lining up to fight.

Sims is a “real fighter” (sorry, Dana- check’s in the mail), though, which won’t change the result any but does help him to get fights like this one. Who knows, maybe Sims can pull off a huge upset, or maybe taking the fight will get him at least one more fight in Strikeforce. Either way, good for him. Now, he’s got a lot of work to do.

Passed-Over Contenders Take It All in Stride

For a sport where people are literally beating the crap out of each other for a shot at their respective division’s titles, fighters sure have been gentlemanly about waiting in line for their chance lately.

Both Mike Brown from the WEC’s featherweight division and Gray Maynard of the UFC’s lightweight division are getting ready to watch fighters that they beat fairly recently get shots at their division’s champions before they do. In Brown’s case, Urijah Faber will get a crack at Jose Aldo (who just beat Brown for the title), and in Maynard’s case, Frankie Edgar (who has only lost to Maynard in his MMA career) will get the nod against the seemingly-unstoppable BJ Penn.

Both fighters seemed perfectly cool with the possibility of waiting for their shot even before it was all set in stone. Brown was interviewed prior to Urijah Faber’s fight against Raphael Assuncao and had no problem with the idea, which makes sense given that he just lost to Aldo, anyway. In Maynard’s case, it’s a little more surprising that he doesn’t seem to mind: he has yet to get a title shot in the lightweight division, even with an undefeated MMA record and the afore-mentioned win over Edgar. However, after his disappointing split decision win over the tough Nate Diaz, Maynard gave an interview to Sherdog.com where he seemed almost happy to wait to fight Penn. Maybe he just wants the extra time to polish his skills, or maybe he wants to see how Edgar, who has similar wrestling ability but better boxing, will tackle Penn. Either way, it’s probably smart to be patient. Who knows? Penn could even get bored and vacate the title altogether.

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Tags: BJ Penn, Bobby Lashley, Brandon Vera, Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, Jon Jones, Mike Brown, Strikeforce, UFC, Urijah Faber, Wes Sims