Blame Anderson Silva for Stalling Against Daniel Cormier

I have seen a ridiculous amount of stupid shit posted on the internet regarding Daniel Cormier's performance at UFC 200. Well, it's a ridiculous amount for what happened, but basically a normal amount for an MMA event. Everybody is shitting on Daniel Cormier for taking it to the ground, but it's Anderson Silva's fault that there wasn't more action.

First off, let me just say hats off to Anderson Silva for taking the fight on two days' notice and going in there against one of the best fighters in the world at a weight class above where he normally fights. That doesn't just take guts; it takes an arrogance that very few outside of Silva possess, and I'm saying that in the most positive way possible. But he signed up for a fight. He didn't sign the contract with it in writing that Daniel Cormier had to fight a fun fight and help give him chances to win.

Fighting is actually based off a super simple premise. If you want action, you have to create space. If you want to shut down action, you have to eliminate space. Anderson Silva did everything he could in this fight to eliminate space and shut down action. He locked up Cormier's upper body and leg locked one of his legs, so there was really no opportunity for Cormier to do anything of signifance, and he still managed to fire off constant punches so he at least could do something. Still, despite Anderson Silva doing nothing to work towards submissions or try to stand up, the crowd willed the referee into standing up the fight multiple times.

If fans wanted to boo a guy for stalling on top, it should have been directed at Brock Lesnar who was just looking to maintain his position as opposed to looking for a finish in his fight against Mark Hunt. In the first round, he got full mount and did not try to posture up but instead stayed tight and threw tight punches as opposed to unleashing on him. And in round three, he easily could have moved to full mount, but he took the safe option of keeping Hunt pinned down. And there is nothing wrong with that. It was the smart decision. It also helps that Brock Lesnar is such a freak that he still threw some pretty mean blows in that tight space.

Fans booing Daniel Cormier showed how clueless they are. So what if Anderson Silva doesn't get to show off his standup skills? He barely even attempted to fight off a takedown. He didn't deserve to stand up in that fight. Anderson Silva made a gutsy decision and took a fight against an elite fighter on two days' notice, and he deserves respect for that, but he doesn't deserve a win to be gifted to him for being gutsy. Those he has to earn, and last night against Daniel Cormier, he didn't do anything to deserve it. 

Breaking Down Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt at UFC 200

Brock Lesnar is coming back to the octagon for UFC 200. This is interesting on a variety of levels. First off, it's Brock Lesnar, the biggest draw the UFC has ever had coming back to fight again. He hasn't fought since 2011, and he hasn't had a win in over six years. But it's not like he's just been sitting around, he's been in the WWE, even becoming champion and only losing his title, because a guy was able to add himself to a match that had already been going on for 15 minutes; I don't believe this is legal in the UFC. But even though he was in the WWE, he only worked a part-time schedule, so he still had time to move to Saskatchewan, because Brock Lesnar is so anti-social, that he thought Northern Minnesota was too crowded. He will be representing Canada in his return to the UFC, a country that he accused of trying to kill him because of their shitty health care. Brock Lesnar is a truly fascinating individual.

But maybe the most fascinating thing is the opponent for Brock Lesnar, Mark Hunt. Mark Hunt's record, much like Brock Lesnar's actually, is unimpressive. 12-10 just doesn't jump off the page at anyone, but that greatly underestimates how good Hunt has become as a mixed martial artist. He started as a Kickboxer, but transitioned into Pride MMA bouts, because that's what Pride did back then. He's literally never had an easy opponent, as he has only faced guys in Pride, Dream, K-1, and the UFC. He's also gotten a lot better as the years have gone on, and is actually 7-3-1 in his last 11 fights in the UFC with all three of his losses coming to UFC Heavyweight Champions.

But the most important thing about Mark Hunt is that first part, he's a kickboxer, and he's about as pure of a kickboxer that you're going to see in today's mixed martial arts. With Brock Lesnar, you have a grappler, and most importantly, a wrestler. This is as close to UFC 1 as we are going to get, it's one guy who wants to stand up and strike versus a guy who wants to take it to the ground and pound him out or submit him. It's beautiful in its simplicity.

So the question becomes, does Brock Lesnar have a chance after such a long layoff? I believe he does. I mean Hunt has only lost to champions, and Lesnar is a former UFC champion. More importantly, there aren't many good wrestlers in the heavyweight division. During this great run Hunt has had, he hasn't faced anyone that would be considered even an average wrestler. Hell, I'm not sure if he's faced anyone with average wrestling in his entire career. Even if Lesnar's wrestling is rusty, it's still going to be good by heavyweight standards.

Could Hunt knock Lesnar's head off? Of course, but thinking that it's a foregone conclusion is foolish. Never forget what a legitimate physical freak Brock Lesnar is. If there's anybody that can come back from this sort of layoff, it's Lesnar. That's why I am predicting a triumphant return for Lesnar. I don't think Mark Hunt has the defensive wrestling to deal with Lesnar. Although I don't think Lesnar can quite pull off a Suplex City performance, I do think he can at least him to Takedown Town and finish him in the first round.