UFC 116 Analysis: Was Brock Lesnar-Shane Carwin Brilliant, Or A Disappointment?

In the aftermath of Brock Lesnar’s defeat of Shane Carwin in Saturday night’s UFC 116, most of SB Nation’s MMA blogs speak favorably of the heavyweight title match. From Mike Fagan at Bloody Elbow:

I don’t know how you can walk away from this unimpressed by Brock Lesnar.

[...] “I stand before you a humble champion, but I’m still the toughest S.O.B. around.” Brilliant.

Gals Guide To MMA is calling for UFC to establish a superheavyweight division:

The fight between Lesnar and Carwin cemented one more thing in my head, and that is the fact that the UFC needs a super heavyweight division. I see guys like Brendan Schaub, who is a huge dude in his own right, but he looks positively svelt next to Lesnar and Carwin.

Watch Kalib Run addresses Lesnar’s technical ability:

Brock Lesnar won after getting his ass kicked for five minutes. Who knew Brock would be a Heavyweight Jiu-Jitsu master. That’s not over-the-top hyperbole...

MMA Mania lauds Carwin’s first-round dominance.

Carwin came out furious, pounding Lesnar nearly into submission and totally destroying him. It wasn’t even close. The referee, on more than one occasion, could have stopped it without controversy.

It was that lopsided.

Lesnar somehow survived, taking Carwin into the second round for the first-time ever in his spectacular 12-fight mixed martial arts career. And that was all it took, but not the way ANYONE would have predicted.

The verdict from our SB Nation bloggers isn’t unanimous, however. Jonathan Snowden at Bloody Elbow says that Lesner and Carwin failed to impress.

As soon as Carwin touched him [in Round 1], Lesnar did more than cover up. He flat cowered against the cage. He wasn’t hurt as much as terrified. Make no mistake-Carwin had that fight won. Against anyone who isn’t the promotion’s heavyweight champion, that fight gets stopped due to some brutal ground and pound.

With this win, Lesnar is slated to face Cain Velasquez in his next fight. To discuss last night’s match, as well as Lesnar-Velasquez, with other MMA fans, check out all of SB Nation’s MMA blogs.