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Predict the outcome of the UFC 116 main event between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin. Who wins and how does the fight play out?
RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Lesnar grab
Lesnar slam
Lesnar punch face
Lesnar punch face
Lesnar punch face
Lesnar drink Coors Lite
Lesnar get on top of wife
MIKE BACIOR, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Well, there is a lot of hype coming out of Brock's camp saying that he is leaner and better than ever, but I think being a little smaller will actually hurt him in this fight. Say what you will about the difference between Division 1 and 2 wrestlers, but I don't see Lesnar being able to hold down another good wrestler who is just as big as he is. I think Carwin will come equipped with a great gameplan and will be able to keep this on the feet as much as possible. Carwin has some insane power and I do not see Lesnar being able to avoid it for even an entire round.
Carwin by KO or TKO in round 1
GREG ROWLAND, MMATORCH AUDIO CO-HOST
There are so many unknown variables in this fight I don't have time to list them all, so I'm not going to bother to mention the ones that do not factor into my prediction. Shane Carwin's takedown defense and cardio. Carwin is supposed to be a pretty good wrestler, but we haven't seen him fight a good wrestler yet... especially one of Brock's caliber. Does this mean Brock can get Carwin down? I don't know, but it does mean that in my prediction, Brock does get him on his back. Carwin has also won all his fights in the first round. He may have the cardio to go 25 minutes hard, but at his size, I'll believe it when I see it.
My prediction is Brock tires Carwin out by wrestling him then puts him away by GnP TKO somewhere from the 2nd to 4th round. Of course this is one of those 55%/45% fights as there are plenty of question marks over Brock's head right now. Can he take a punch from Carwin? How will the layoff affect him? I actually was picking Carwin by a narrow margin until I saw a youtube video of Brock training with Randy. Does not really mean anything, but it convinced me to swing my vote
ERIC LEE, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
This is definitely a fight I do not see going to the end. And the gameplan for either fighter is no secret. Having said that I think Shane Carwin is strong enough to stuff Brock's takedowns and if he can keep this fight standing up he definitely has a chance to win. On the other side if Brock's wrestling is too much for Shane to handle then Brock will eventually pound out another TKO. It's a hard fight to call but I'm thinking Shane Carwin by 2nd Round TKO.
GRIFFIN MARSH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I see Brock coming out and wasting very little time trying to take Carwin to the mat. I feel Shane will more than hold his own should the fight go to the ground. I think Carwin's power will be the deciding factor. I'm going with Carwin by KO 1st Rd.
RYAN KANE, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
The one interesting aspect of this fight, to me, has to do with who will be in Shane Carwin's corner. Not only is Shane a wrecking machine himself (with none of his 12 professional fights lasting past the 3:48 mark in the first round) but he has one of the best gameplan trainers in Greg Jackson in his corner. Greg Jackson is arguably the best trainer in MMA when it comes to making sure his fighters have a plan before they step in the cage. So I see no way Shane walks in that cage and isn't 100% ready for what Brock is going to throw at him.
Ultimately, I feel Brock is the better wrestler and will find a way to shoot and get Carwin down. He may eat a couple of solid shots on the way in, but I think he'll get Carwin on his back and negate Shane's biggest strength -- his stand up game. There is no question Shane can end this fight with one right hand to the face of Brock. But I wouldn't totally discount Brock's stand up, either, in this fight. He brought in highly regarded boxing coach, Peter Welch (who was brought in by Kenny Florian to take his striking to the next level) to improve his stand up, so that should be an interesting element to this fight, as well.
It's an extremely tough call, I can see it going either way, but like I stated before I believe Brock will find a way, one way or another, to get Shane on his back, negate all his stand up power, keep the fight on the ground, and end the fight in the fourth round via tko -- ground-and-pound. Should be a hell of a fight.
ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH SPECIALIST
UFC 116 will be an exciting night of fights. The main event will answer some questions about Shane Carwin's wrestling and Brock Lesnar's chin. This is the first time Lesnar will face someone with a similar size and skill set in the Octagon. Carwin is not as good a wrestler as Lesnar, but Lesnar is not as good a striker as Carwin. This fight is a toss up. If Carwin can find a way to keep Lesnar off him long enough to strike effectively, he should win. If Lesnar can take the fight to the ground, he should win. I'm picking this one as a third round KO for Carwin.
JASON AMADI, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
This is such a difficult fight to make an intelligent prediction on because of how evenly Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin are matched. Lesnar on paper is the superior wrestler; on the other hand, Carwin has displayed tremendous one punch knockout power, something that we've yet to see from Brock Lesnar.
If this fight stays on the feet, the expectation seems to be that Shane Carwin lands the dreaded 6-inch punch, and puts Lesnar to sleep. I believe Brock Lesnar knows this and that his priority will be to get this fight to the ground as quickly as possible. Carwin got taken down by Gabriel Gonzaga, and then failed to take down Frank Mir in his next fight, if I have to make a pick, I'm gonna assume Brock Lesnar can take him down as well.
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