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UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin

© Marc Wickert
www.knucklepit.com
July 3, 2010

All photos copyright 2004 Zuffa LLC
Photography by Joshua Hedges

In Earlier Matches

Brendan Schaub def. Chris Tuchscherer by TKO – 1.07, Round One.

Ricardo Romero def. Seth Petruzelli by armbar – 3.05, Round Two.

Kendall Grove def. Goran Reljic by split decision.

Gerald Harris def. Dave Branch by KO – 2.35, Round Three.

Daniel Roberts def. Forrest Petz by split decision.

Jon Madsen def. Karlos Vemola by unanimous decision.

The Battles

George Sotiropoulos (5’10” 156) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (5’8” 155)
Lightweight
Referee: Josh Rosenthal

Round One
Both men were in orthodox and came out dueling.
4.37: Kurt leg-kicked and George countered with a right cross.  George was outgunning Kurt, drawing on his past amateur and professional boxing careers back in Australia, and knocked Kurt to the ground with a combo at 3.42.
3.36: Sotiropoulos began his g’n’p campaign.
3.19: Pellegrino escaped and reintroduced the stand-up game before attempting to ward off his opponent with jabs, but Sotiropoulos was countering the incoming jabs with left hooks.
2.12: Pellegrino took Sotiropoulos down, then let him back up.
0.51: The American chalked up another takedown and fell into the Aussie’s guard.
0.21: Pellegrino got half guard but was copping damage from Eddie Bravo’s disciple who worked well from his back.

Round Two
Kurt came out more aggressively with his fists and inside kicks before George took him to the canvas at 4.20.
4.10: George was in half guard until 3.56, when Kurt forced him into full guard.
3.33: George reclaimed half guard and emptied a bag of g’n’p.
2.28: They scrambled for dominance; however George was all over Kurt like a drenched raincoat on a Geelong winter’s day.
1.39: Kurt stood with George still clinging to his back.
0.31: They separated and banged it out.

Round Three
“You have to finish him in this third round,” Kenny Florian told Pellegrino.The tit-for-tat banging continued until 3.10, when Pellegrino elected to take Sotiropoulos down.  Pellegrino was in full guard and Sotiropoulos worked his elbows from below.
0.57: They were standing.
0.41: The pair tied up.  In the closing seconds, Kurt knocked George down with a right knee and a right hook, but the fat lady was already singing.

Result: George Sotiropoulos by unanimous decision.

Stephan Bonnar (6’4” 205) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (6’1” 205)
Light Heavyweight
Referee: Mario Yamasaki

Round One
4.55: Southpaw Krzysztof blocked Stephan’s kick.  He came after Stephan, but Stephan fought back and took center ring.
4.35: Krzysztof inside-kicked.
4.29: And again, only this time Stephan returned it.
4.12: Soszynski leg-kicked; Bonnar caught it and took Soszynski to the mats.  The “American Psycho” was in guard and had the “Polish Experiment” against the fence.
3.22: They rolled and stood as Soszynski unloaded leather before attempting to take Bonnar down.  Bonnar resisted and broke free at 2.30.
1.50: Bonnar went for a spinning back-kick; however Soszynski used the opportunity to latch onto Bonnar’s back.
1.42: Stephan broke free and Krzysztof dusted him up with fists.  They clinched as Stephan unloaded elbows before separating.
1.10: Bonnar drove a kick into Soszynski’s midsection and followed it with a right cross before they tied up.
0.42: Soszynski shrugged off a takedown and blasted Bonnar with a right hook as the pair broke free.  They traded up to the hooter.

Round Two
Krzysztof got the better of the exchange until 4.36, when Stephan clinched and pressed Krzysztof’s back into the cage.
4.20:  They broke free as Stephan unleashed heavy fists.
4.14: Soszynzki came back and they clinched.  Both men were detonating bombs.
3.11: Stephan scored a takedown and took side control.
2.30: They stood entangled.
2.23: Stephan drove his right knee up into Krzysztof’s jaw and dropped him before finishing the Polish Experiment off with g’n’p.

Result: Stephan Bonnar by TKO – 3.08, Round Two.

Chris Lytle (5’11” 170) vs. Matt Brown (6’0” 171)
Welterweight
Referee: Steve Mazzagatti

Round One
Matt body-kicked and looked to launch a knee before Chris countered with a right hand.
4.44: Chris caught Matt’s front kick.
4.37: Matt wrapped on a Thai clinch; however Chris responded with hooks to Matt’s head and body punches.
4.26: They broke free before Matt hunted Chris down with a barrage of fists.
4.14: They became entangled.
3.11: The pair briefly separated as Brown brought up a kick that grazed Lytle’s head and the pair became entangled again.
2.42: Brown pulled Lytle down; Lytle went for an oma plata as the ground game continued.  Brown applied a darce choke.
1.23: Despite the severity of the choke, Lytle managed to take the pair back to stand-up.
1.09: They separated.
1.01: Lytle pumped up the volume, tagging Brown with windmill hooks and body shots.

Round Two
They hurled bombs – both men seeking a KO finish.
4.15: Chris blasted Matt with a right uppercut causing him to clinch.  They dropped to the floor with Chris going for a guillotine.
3.47: Chris released the hold and wrapped on a triangle from on top and added an armbar to seal the deal.  This was another spectacular victory for Chris “Lights Out” Lytle.

Result: Chris Lytle by armbar – 2.02, Round Two.

Chris Leben (5’11” 186) vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama (5’10” 185)
Middleweight
Referee: Herb Dean

Round One
Any fight Chris Leben participates in is going to be exciting.  “The Crippler” would be a wild card in any deck, and his entrance at UFC 116 is worthy of a place in the finals of Dancing With the Stars.  What a colorful character!  By contrast, Yoshihiro comes out like a Japanese Engelbert Humperdinck.
4.54: Yoshihiro catches southpaw Chris’s tentative kick and puts him down, then drops into guard.  Chris scrambles and stands.  They exchange leg kicks – some miss, some connect.
3.43: Yoshihiro walks into a straight left.
3.34: Chris lands some solid leg kicks before copping a kick in the doughnuts and Herb Dean calls time out.
3.14: Leben ducks under Akiyama’s spinning back-fist, delivers a knee to the midsection, and gets the takedown.
2.53: Akiyama drops into guard as Leben attempts to fit armbars.  Akiyama escapes both submissions and tries for his own armbar.
1.21: Akiyama is in half guard searching for an arm triangle.
0.34: Leben stands them in the clinch.
0.16: They part and Akiyama sweeps Leben on the bell.

Round Two
4.45: Chris slips after delivering a high kick.
4.40: Yoshihiro body-punches and Chris answers with a left hook.
4.10: This time Yoshihiro doesn’t miss with the spinning back-fist.
4.01: Chris superman-punches.
3.31: They broadside and both men unleash a salvo of bombs.
3.10: Leben dominates the exchange, knocking Akiyama onto one knee.
2.55: They clinch before Akiyama hip-throws Leben to the canvas.
2.41: Akiyama is in guard.
1.40: Leben has them standing in the clinch.
1.15: He wraps on a front headlock.
0.48: They part and exchange more bone rattlers.  What a war!
As the round concludes, Akiyama sits on his stool and Chris stands and raises his hands to the roaring crowd.

Round Three
They’re back banging it out.
4.28: Yoshihiro opts for the takedown, but he’s too slow and Chris shrugs him off.
4.14: Chris is landing high and low kicks; however Yoshihiro manages to catch one and uses it to tug Chris to the mats.
3.47: Yoshihiro attempts a neck crank, then gives it up when Chris pounds from below.
3.28: Leben goes for the armbar.
3.05: Akiyama stands and escapes the submission before taking half guard and the mount, only to have Leben shove him back into half guard.
1.48: Leben works Akiyama into guard as both men pound away.
0.37: Leben slaps on a triangle choke.

Result: Chris Leben by triangle choke – 4.40, Round Three.

Brock Lesnar (6’3” 265) vs. Shane Carwin (6’2” 265)
Heavyweight Title
Referee: Josh Rosenthal

Round One
Both men managed to scrape in at 265 for the previously held weigh-ins.  Lord knows what weight they’re at now as they enter the Octagon.  When you see these two giants coming towards each other inside the cage, the image looks more like a computer-generated scene produced by George Lucas for a Star Wars sequel.
5.00: They stand crouched down – Brock with his left mitt probing out.
4.44: He dodges a jab from Shane.
4.40: Shane dodges Brock’s jab.
4.32: Carwin backs away from Lesnar’s consecutive jabs.
4.30: Carwin delivers a right and Lesnar shoots in for the takedown.
4.24: Lesnar gets the takedown, but Carwin shoves him away and springs back up whilst catching Lesnar with a knee.
4.00: Brock has his hands up high and his chin tucked low, guarding it with his massive shoulders; however Shane fires off a volley of uppercuts that penetrate Brock’s guard, causing him to go into damage control.  Brock looks for a takedown, but Shane keeps coming like a freight train and has his stunned opponent on the run before sending him to the canvas.
3.34: Carwin continues to unload heavy g’n’p and moves into side control, then half guard.
3.00: Joe Rogan says “We’ve never seen him (Lesnar) ever in a position even remotely close to this before.”  Carwin is dumping fists and elbows on the downed Lesnar, and Josh Rosenthal keeps barking out instructions; however the roaring crowd makes it impossible to decipher what the ref is saying.
2.17: Shane drops more bombs.
1.49: He steps away and appears to call Brock up before going back down to g’n’p some more.
1.08: They scramble and stand, clinched.

Round Two
Carwin winks at Lesnar and Lesnar smiles back before they touch mitts and recommence the battle.
4.25: Brock throws a big right cross that seems to have no impact.
4.11: He throws a distracting jab, then shoots in for the double-leg takedown.  Shane offers zero resistance and just collapses to the floor like he’s been hit with a stun gun.
4.06: Brock takes half guard.  Shane is comatose.
3.11: Lesnar gets the mount and takes side control before wrapping on an arm triangle.  Carwin taps.

Result: Brock Lesnar by arm triangle – 2.19, Round Two.

 After the fight, Shane Carwin stated at www.shanecarwin.com:

“The game plan last night was to be patient and let the fight come to you.  When I had him in trouble the ref kept saying he was going to stop it and then towards the end of the 1st my body began to seize up.  In between rounds I could not move my legs and had what felt like a whole body cramp.  My cardio was fine but my body was not.  What can you do?  You have to stand up and face your opponent.

“Heading into the second I knew I needed to finish the fight or I was going to be in trouble.  Much like the Champion he is I am sure Brock was thinking the same thing.  I had zero takedown defense as my legs were dead to me and the rest as they say is history.”

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