Give him Nogueira
Posted on November 15, 2010, 08:13 AM by Anton GurevichWhen I first heard about Dana White's intentions to promote another Lesnar vs Mir match-up, I had some mixed emotions. At first, it looks like a great fight to promote. Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir will surely supply another memorable trash talk moments about how they hate each other, and eventually want to kill each other. But then, after analyzing the whole picture, I came to a conclusion that it's would be probably one of the most irrelevant bouts in UFC history.
After two questionable performances against Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez, where Brock Lesnar was destroyed on his feet, many fans consider the Minnesotan as a fighter who's afraid to take a punch. A fighter who relies only on his wrestling, which is a complete opposite from what a modern Mixed Martial Artist has to be, and that is a well rounded fighter. Right now, Brock Lesnar is in the same position, as after UFC 81 where he was submitted by Frank Mir. His image as a fighter is hurt, and Frank Mir, a man he already beat in a rematch at UFC 100, is surely not a solution.
Plus, Frank Mir has much more to lose in this fight than Lesnar, especially after coming off a KO victory against Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 119. Frank Mir could find himself in line for a title shot, if he beats his next opponent, what I can't say about Brock Lesnar.
People also seem to forget that Brock Lesnar has only 6 UFC bouts under his belt. Two of them are against Frank Mir. If Dana White wants to build Lesnar's legacy, and to continue promoting him as one of the greatest Heavyweights in MMA, him and Joe Silva should match him up against as many different opponents as possible.
Why not to let him fight Big Nog? Both men are coming off a defeat against Cain Velasquez, and both men lost to Frank Mir. Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira is nothing but a perfect match.
Minotauro is also one of the greatest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters to ever compete in the sport. BJJ was invented for smaller guys to defeat bigger opponents, which only adds to a challenge he has in Brock Lesnar. And speaking about Lesnar, what could be better than victimizing another MMA legend? Lesnar needs this fight to resurrect his image.
Skill-wise, Lesnar would have to think twice before taking Nogueira to the ground. Big Nog made a career out of submitting people off his back, and the limbs of the giants Semmy Schilt, Zuluzinho and Bobb Sapp are the proof. Lesnar will have to stand with Nogueira, and that's exactly what he needs in order to prove his striking worth something.
It's time for Lesnar and Frank Mir to move on, and try to re-claim their spot at the top of the Heavyweight Mountain. Lesnar vs Mir III only makes sense with a title or title shot on the line. Right now, it's far from being the case.
Comments
I like the idea of Lesnar-Nogueira, makes sense to me... Lesnar needs a new challenge for sure. He pretty much smashed Frank Mir in both of their encounters. He got caught being a noob in the first one, but made sure to finish things decisively in their second bout. Plus, after seeing Mir's performance against Cro Cop, I am not to sure that the result would be any different. Both Mir and Lesnar both have holes in their game they need to work on. I am a fan of both, they are both very talented Heavyweights in their own right, lets see them make moves in the division, not stalemate in a rubber match.
great article, no wonder why you run the best MMA website!
if they actually make Mir vs Lesnar III i wont bother to watch it
i bet you will one way or another.......lol. i guarentee iT!!!!!!!
I would much rather see Lesnar vs Nelson just because Lesnar has never fought him before, Mir vs Schaub because Schaub is calling Mir out and he needs a good test to see how legit he is, Nog vs Cro Cop just because they both are legends and I would like to see them fight eachother again and Carwin vs Barry or the loser of Cain/Dos Santos even though that is a huge step up in competition for Barry I think it would b a good fight because they both are likely to stand and bang
I don't mind this matchup for Brock, as long as it isn't one of those things where after he gets 1 win under his belt people start talking about the title again. I personally want to see him fight a good wrestler with good stand up. Seeing as the last two opponents he faced were great wrestlers with great stand up, I think he needs to conquer those types of opponents but just at a lower level of competition. Although, he is Brock Lesnar, and I can only imagine him getting big name oppenents, so Roy Nelson would be good, but very dangerous.
Come on man. "Big Nog" is as washed up as Evander Holyfield right now. He was great at one time; but it is time for these old dudes (Nog,Cro-Cop,Ortiz,Liddell) To step aside, and stop ruining their legacies by getting defeated by guys they would have surely smashed in their prime years. To put "Old Nog" against Brock now is just silly. Brock is a primitive one dimensional fighter; we know this. However; let him fight a younger guy, who is also in his prime. Here are some younger "dudes" that Brock could fight; and I am sure these match-ups would be much more appealing. In no particular order.
1.Pat Barry
2.Dos Santos
3.Kongo
4.Joey Beltran
5.Rob Brougton
6.Tim Hague
7.Ben Rothwell
8.Stephen Struve
9.Chris Tuchscherer
I think it would be good to watch him fight a stand up guy Nog would stand..... but there is a few fights ....Chieck Kongo,.. Matt Matrino,..
Shane Carwin would be a great fight for him,..Mir just doesnt sound good
all Mir has ever did was try and grab something and hold on for dear
life and hope he messes up
1. barry had no ground game, a pointless match-up
2. dos santos is fighting for the title so that is out of the question.
3. kongo no ground game off his back.
4. joey beltran is nowhere near the top of the pile and brock would have more to lose then gain with this fight.
5. he has 2 fight in the ufc. again a pointless match-up
6. tim hague has only won 1 fight in the ufc. in no way a good opponent
7. ben rothwell wouldnt be able for the size and speed of lesnar. i wasnt impressed by any of his fights in the octagon
8. struve would be dangerous that he might catch lesnar with his long legs but again wouldnt be able to deal with lesnars wrestling. did you see the morecraft fight?
9. tuchscherer is his tranining partner plus is in no way a top heavyweight
i dont see how any of your matchups are better then the nogueira one
Give brock nogueira?? more like feed Brock to Nog. 1st round armbar end of
I don't know about all that... BJJ guys lose to wrestlers quite often these days. I have no problem in stating that Mir's Jiu-Jitsu is just as dangerous as Nog's and Brock holds a victory over Frank.
Agreed, Lesnar wouldnt think twice before taking Nog down. If he can nullify Mir's BJJ then he will nullify Nog's BJJ as well. Only way not to get smashed on the ground is to not allow Lesnar to get comfortable on top like Cain Velasquez did. Nog would be fed to the sharks if he fights Lesnar
i think nog would definately get bullied by brock. Nog very nearly got beaten by bob sapp in pride only just saving himself wth an armbar at the end. think what lesnar would do to him. A top Bjj guy will only beat a top wrestler when the wrestler has not developed enough bjj defence (lesnar Mir 1) Once a top wrestler has a decent level of bjj defence he willbeat a top bjj guy nearly every time
I agree with the Mir fight, but I feel Nogueira will suffer defeat quite easily once again. Its kinda hard seeing Nog get pummeled like that, Ide rather see Nog in LHW but he wouldnt fare much better there Im afraid.
Rather see Roy Nelson vs Nog...at least for Nog.
I'm not sure I like this matchup for Brock right now. I don't think Brock would learn anything from this fight. In my opinion, Brock would just try to bully Nog around and use his superior strength to win the fight. Of course Nog would offer up some submissions but I think Brock would simply power out of most attempts. If they fought I think Brock would win with his striking but probably wouldn't display any great technique. I think he would KO Nog with a power shot at some time in the first or second round. I said I think a bunch of times which tells you I don't know too much.
Lol, true... But what opponent wouldn't Brock look to bully around with his strength?
He nobody has said anything about Big Nog's striking! he is a good striker, and Lesnar.. well i don't think Brock could stand with Nog, as for the takedown... Nog better get some good Bjj oh wait :D hes legit!, and also i think Nog has a good gastank for second and third rounds maybe he could pull off an A Silva and get a triangle late in the fight when Brock is tired.
Overeem =(
Also Carwin and he couldn't really bully Cain either maybe not even Dos Santos
I said TRY to bully : )
brock vs mir 3 would be better...
this is a tough fight for both guys, if it does happen i think it might go down like second mir fight.
I dont see why it wont....Mir hasn't really improved his game since then, his wrestling is still the same so I see him getting taken down n GNP'd again and Lesnar would use the same chest-chest control and won't get sub'd
Mir hasn't been on the ground since his loss to Lesner. What do you base your assertion that his wrestling hasn't improved on?
i was talking about if lesnar vs nog happens, i think it will be like the second mir vs lesnar fight
The fact that he tried to take Cro Cop down for three round but failed
All that shows is that his takedowns have not gotten better. What is important is his take down defense and his ability to get out from under an opponent. We have not seen where he is with this.
dana mke it happen
I think you underestimate danas love for lesnar.
he'll prolly do lesnar-mir3 and have it as a no.1 contender fight
Well, I don't know what match he will make, but I do believe that he could make Brock's next fight a number one contender bout. Its not unheard of for the previous champ to only have to win one fight before getting another shot. I don't agree with it in Brock's situation, but it wouldn't be unfair or unethical.
I love this idea but can the UFC market the fight to be highly profitable? That seems to be Dana's goal nowadays and it also seems to be a crutch to MMA. Because of the Zuffa greed, I'm sure we have missed out on a ton of mega fights that would make all of us drool. Who knows what kind of contracts get torn up behind closed doors in Dana's office. Not to mention that there is a decent sized part of the MMA community that think Nog might be aging towards retirement and another part of the community that thinks Lesnar simply wasn't ready after all to be this mma icon that he has all the potential in the world to be. Hopefully everything will turn out in the end.
If Brock fights and wins decisively against Big Nog i could see Nog retiring. He isn't significant in the Heavyweight division anymore and he is coming off a lost to Velasquez and surgery.
Apart from Mir, Brock vs the undertaker is the only fight i see him winning lol Like Frank said Lesnar needs to spar maybe 1000 rounds and maybe then he'll be ready to fight a top guy again.
Finally someone gets it... This will be a test for Brock he will have a opportunity to test his stand up Big Nog is a good striker but he lacks power, and we all know brock stand up is suspect. Hopefully this will happen soon.
I see a fight with Big Nog as a bad match up for Brock. Nog demonstrated that his wrestling was superior to Couture's and Couture out wrestled Lesner IMHO. Even if you don't think that Couture out wrestled Lesner, you cannot deny that Randy at least stalemated Lesner in wrestling. Nog doesn't seem to be able to take a punch these days so it is not inconceivable that Lesner will pull out a tko win via gnp but I see Nog submitting him in the second or third round.
Brock vs any hvwt besides mir,carwin,cain is good with me. Nog would be great. Roy Nelson would be fun. lmao......bring back James Toney for one more? That would be devastating
lesnar vs nog will be the same as lesnar vs couture. the only thing it will do is add another big name win to lesnars record and get him close to a title shot and makes the ufc tons of money
I was waiting for this match when Lesnar and Nog were both champs and I thought they were going to fight but Mir Beat Nog. PLEASE DANA MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
Brock vs kongo or stefan struve would be good match ups..
Interesting fight...
Right when I saw this all I could think of was, Big Nog, really? Lesnar would decapitate him with ground and pound. I mean seriously, u gotta be kidding me, Big Nog is out of the picture, and should retire. Roy Nelson would be a more interesting match up since he would be willing to stand and trade as well as wrestle, and because he wouldn't try to run and jump into guard like Big Nog would.
I personally am not interested in seeing Lesnar v. Mir 3; not right now. I'm for the fight, but only with Title ramifications or way down the road; as a bout of interest or honor.
As to Nog - I'd rather see him take on a striker. He has proven against Mir that he can deal with a high level grappler. My guess would be that he will do the same to Nog; take him down and kick the crap out of him.
I'd actually like to see him take on Matt Mitrione. If he can't deal with Matt, then Brock is in worse shape then anyone thought. Matt is a big, tough guy, with ever improving stand-up and is probably the lightest guy on the feet, in the division; it's amazing how well he moves for a big man. Meat is going to be a force in this division; if he isn't already.
I always thought brock wouldn't have a chance against Big Nog. His technical skills are at a toddler level. But Big Nog has looked weak for a while. If Brock wants to fight the best he needs to go to Strikeforce
i really do think lesnar should have his rematch with cain dana! but only if lesnar wants it! and i am not sure if he does yet!
Come on man. "Big Nog" is as washed up as Evander Holyfield right now. He was great at one time; but it is time for these old dudes (Nog,Cro-Cop,Ortiz,Liddell) To step aside, and stop ruining their legacies by getting defeated by guys they would have surely smashed in their prime years. To put "Old Nog" against Brock now is just silly. Brock is a primitive one dimensional fighter; we know this. However; let him fight a younger guy, who is also in his prime. Here are some younger "dudes" that Brock could fight; and I am sure these match-ups would be much more appealing. In no particular order.
1.Pat Barry
2.Dos Santos
3.Kongo
4.Joey Beltran
5.Rob Brougton
6.Tim Hague
7.Ben Rothwell
8.Stephen Struve
9.Chris Tuchscherer
i do agre with you! nog is too washed up! and that list you got for fighters too face brock are not much for him i do think dos santos would be the best pick u said ! if not cain again!
would love to see this fight although it would be more interesting if both fighters were on more of a up-note
that's a real good match
with Mir-Schaub or Mir-Nelson
as co-main
with the winners going next time
let carwin have some of those other guys
then the losers of the big bouts