Brock of Ages

First off, for the sake of honesty I will say that I've not been a fan of Brock Lesnar's performances in the Octagon to date. As an MMA fan, his battles have been lacking in the "mixed" and "art" department in my opinion.

Last night, his display of fortitude and heart didn't quite make me a fan - but he did earn my respect.

When Carwin connected with the upprecut that sent Lesnar scrambling for cover, I thought we were scant minutes from the end of the fight. Lesnar was stunned and his fight-or-flight switch tripped to the latter.

Achieving mount, I thought that each blow Shane rained down would be the last... after all, Carwin had despatched the likes of Frank Mir and Gabriel Gonzaga with his lunchbox fists in short order - yet Brock weathered the storm.

I've seen criticism of Josh Rosenthal's decision to let Carwin's GnP go on for so long; doubtless there will be a few people arguing that, had it not been Lesnar with his back to the canvas, the fight would have been stopped.

Lesnar, however, was biding his time - deflecting most of the shots, absorbing some of the others yet all the while he was intelligently defending himself... one of the key criteria that Rosenthal would have used to assess whether a stoppage was needed.

Unfortunately for Carwin, all that energy expended in trying to finish Brock came with a price - lactic acid build-up in his muscle fibres that would have brought with it pain-laced lethargy and a rawness to each breath. Watching Shane sat on his stool between rounds, I knew his body was working against him.

Brock fought a smart fight . He kept his composure when mounted in the first round and then went on to utilise his key asset - his sheer bulk and weight - to neutralise Shane in the second round and work towards the submission.

In winning, Lesnar has got me wondering whom from the UFC's heavyweight roster has the tools to take his title. I know that Cain Velasquez is next in line for a shot so I guess we'll find out soon.

Perhaps Frank Mir will work his way up the ladder to earn a rubber match... or hell might freeze over and we'll see Fedor sign on with the UFC and notch up a few wins en route to challenging for the title.

Still: that's all in the future. For now, I shall tip my hat to Lesnar and congratulate him on his win - showing courage in the face of adversity that few fighters would have been able to muster.