Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin Point/Counterpoint
Jul 7, 2010 - 9:05:41 AM HYDEN BLOG: Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin Point/Counterpoint

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Contributor

Point- The fight should have been stopped and Shane Carwin should be the Heavyweight champion

There's little doubt that Brock Lesnar was severely rocked by Shane Carwin early in their fight at UFC 116. Carwin continued the onslaught on the ground, throwing repeated punches and elbows down onto Brock. We've all seen fights stopped with much less punishment absorbed by a fighter.

I know the argument may be that this was a championship fight and thus you need to have more caution in stopping a fight, but there needs to be a consistency in refereeing. According to Compustrike, Carwin landed 57 strikes in the first round, with 47 strikes coming from the ground. The stats don't lie, the fight should have been stopped.

Brock was holding on for dear life. This isn't boxing, there's no standing eight-counts. When a guy's down and taking shots, he's in danger. Brock wasn't doing enough to justify not stopping the fight. The amount of punishment Brock was taking was far more than enough to have most fights stopped.

I understand that this wasn't most fights, but I don't believe in superstar calls. If the roles were reversed, can anyone say for certain that the referee wouldn't have stopped the fight in favor of Brock? Even discounting the Compustrike numbers, the decision to not stop the fight doesn't pass the eyeball test. It looked as though Shane Carwin should have gotten the stoppage, Brock was hurt and in major trouble. The fight should have been stopped.


Counterpoint- The right decision was made and Brock Lesnar remains the champion

The fact that Brock was able to recover and get the submission win says it all. Despite the beating he took in the first round, Brock came back and persevered. Brock showed tremendous heart and an improving ground game. It's true that he showed a chink in his armor, but overcoming that is more impressive than merely steamrolling over his opponents.

Brock got knocked down, but he got back up. Brock showed what he's made of in this fight. He also showed the results of all the intense training he's been doing. Let's not forget the year-long lay-off Brock had as well. You could chalk the first round up to ring rust, a temporary blip on the radar of his career. Brock came all the way back from a serious medical condition and an extended absence from fighting to win. The fight should not have been stopped.

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I agree more with the first point. However, referee Josh Rosenthal was in a no-win situation. If Rosenthal had stopped the fight in the first round, there would be a lot of people saying it was the wrong decision. However, not stopping the fight in the first round has lead to a lot of people saying that that was the wrong decision.

One thing is certain, though, and that's that refereeing decided the outcome of this fight. Either the fight was stopped in the first, and Carwin wins, or the fight is allowed to continue, and Brock wins. Shane Carwin punched himself out, trying to do enough to get the stoppage.

I think he did enough, I think he did more than enough. However, it was clear that the fight was still over, despite Rosenthal not stopping it. Allowing the fight to continue ensured that Carwin would lose. He had no energy left, and was easy pickings for Brock.

It's a tough spot for a referee to be in, but that's part of the job. It was a judgment call. I don't agree with the call, but that's what happens sometimes. I don't think this diminishes Brock in any way. As a matter of fact, I think this enhances Brock, as it shows that he can take a beating, recover, and still win. This was Brock's most impressive win in his career so far. He did an outstanding job of recovering. He did what he had to do to win.

Comments and suggestions can be e-mailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com