UFC 116 was one of the best cards ever with a bunch of good fights and some surprises.
Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar got absolutely rocked by Shane Carwin, but he did something no other fighter before him had done and got through a round with Carwin. Carwin was clearly not accustomed to fighting for longer than a few minutes and Lesnar made him pay with the submission victory.
Chris Leben got an upset victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama in a fight that wasn’t supposed to even happen. We’re glad it did because both fighters entertained.
Stephan Bonnar and Krzysztof Soszynski also entertained with Bonner coming out on top thanks to a TKO.
UFC 116 features a number of interesting matches on the main card besides the Heavyweight Championship bout between Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar.
Stephan Bonnar and Krzysztof Soszynski are going to finish the fight that was cut short at UFC 110 after a headbut. The first fight was a good, old-fashioned brawl as both wrestlers stood up and pounded on each other. After two rounds it could have been fight of the night, but the ref cut the fight short in the third after an unfortunate, and probably accidental, headbut. The UFC lines list Soszynski as heavy favorite at -250.
Kurt Pellegrino and George Sotiropoulos mix it up as two rising fighters in the UFC lightweight division look to establish themselves title contenders. Both fighters are riding winning streaks going in to this fight and the winner will likely get a shot at one of the top lightweights. Sotiropoulos is the favorite going in at -180.
Chris Lytle already owns a victory over Matt Brown winning by guillotine choke three years ago in a United Fight League fight. Both fighters have had a lot of experience fighting at the UFC, so it could very well end differently. Lytle is the favorite at -210.
Leben is the heavy underdog in this fight as he has slowly risen in the ranks of the UFC after getting his start in TUF. A win over Akiyama would help raise his profile.
Akiyama has proven all he can prove fighting in Asia. He wants to reverse the string of failures for Asian fighters in the UFC and prove that they can fight with the best.
Akiyama is listed at -205 in UFC odds while Leben is +165.
Chris Leben talks about his upcoming fight against Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116. Leben likes his chances in this fight because Akiyama likes to fight on his feet and Chris Leben is best on his feet too. He expects his straightforward approach to fighting to give him the advantage before all is done.
Akiyama is the overwhelming UFC betting lines favorite at -205 while Leben is +165.
UFC fighters give their predictions for the Heavyweight title match between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin. The fight takes place on Saturday, July 3 at 7 PM on PPV. Lesnar is listed as the favorite by UFC oddsmakers at -135, but Carwin is pretty close to even at +105.
Akiyama is heavily favored in UFC 116 lines listed at -205 while Leben is +165.
Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has a background in Judo and Shotokan Karate. He is primarily a submission threat, but has the power to get the knockouts too. His lone UFC victory came against Alan Belcher at UFC 100. The fight was Akiyama’s first fight to go the full three rounds and ended in a split decision. Akiyama won the fight despite suffering a broken orbital bone in the second round.
TUF Season 1 alumnus Chris Leben (20-6 MMA, 10-5 UFC) is trained in Boxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Wrestling. Just like the fighter that he is replacing, Wanderlei Silva, Chris Leben is an aggressive fighter. He often gets away with mistakes by employing a very relentless brawling style that doesn’t give opponents time to react. He also has a good chin which also helps. He is primarily a knockout threat and all of his wins against better opposition have come by knockout or TKO. He last fought at the TUF season finale and has less than two weeks between fights.
Akiyama’s fight against Belcher won Fight of the Night and this matchup certainly has the potential to give him his second straight Fight of the Night award.
Leben will likely need a knockout to get a victory. Akiyama should be able to put Leben on the mat where Akiyama enjoys a significant advantage if Leben gets too close. Akiyama is just as dangerous as Leben standing up with space between the two.
Ahead of his UFC 116 matchup with Chris Leben, Yoshihiro Akiyama talks about how he got in to MMA and about getting in to the UFC. He also talks about how Asian fighters have struggled and how he wants to show that Asian’s can compete at the highest levels of mixed martial arts.
Against Chris Leben, Akiyama’s UFC odds are very favorable at -205.
Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin will be fighting the main event fight at UFC 116 in what is expected to be an exciting fight. This heavyweight fight looks to be the keynote match at an already exciting event on July 3rd.
Lesnar is listed as the UFC 116 odds favorite at -140 while Carwin is +110.
To this point in his career, Brock Lesnar has only taken the mat 5 times in his career of mixed martial arts fighting. He has had good success in the matches that he has fought though. He has won 4 out of his 5 matches to start his career. Of those 5 matches he has fought 4 of them in the UFC. Everyone knows what to expect from Lesnar. He is a guy with powerful hands that can take out anybody. He will without doubt be looking for the big knockout early on.
Shane Carwin will have the advantage in the experience aspect of the match. He has fought 12 fights compared to the 5 matches for Lesnar. In his 12 matches he still has not lost a single one, including the 4 matches that he has fought in the UFC so far. He will also be a powerful fighter, but he may not have quite the same power as Lesnar. His experience will be one of the keys in the match that comes this weekend.
Carwin without a doubt has the ability to beat Lesnar on any given night, but nobody will underestimate the powerful attacking ability of Lesnar. This heavily anticipated fight could be an instant classic as the fighters square off.
One of the keys for the match will be to stay off of the mat. Each fighter will want to stay upright and rely on their striking ability. If one goes down, expect the other to come flying at him with punches on the mat.
The UFC released pre-fight interviews with Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar ahead of their UFC 116 Heavyweight title match.
Lesnar is the favorite going in listed at -170 in UFC 116 lines while Carwin is paying +130.
Predictably, Brock Lesnar puts down Carwin and his interim belt. He also points out that he has barely started his MMA career and he is still getting better. Lesnar doesn’t sound like he is intimidated by Carwin in the slightest.
“This is my house. This is my belt. This is my time. I don’t see anybody taking that away from me now.”
Shane Carwin is expecting to knock Lesnar out cold and he’s looking forward to a chance to take the real belt from Lesnar. Carwin hints that doesn’t believe that Lesnar’s wrestling skills have been adequately tested. He doesn’t care much about what Lesnar says either prefering to let his fists do the talking.
“All of that stuff doesn’t mean anything to me because when that octagon door closes, it’s lights out when my fists hit him.”
UFC 116 features Brock Lesnar defending his heavyweight title against interim champion Shane Carwin in one of the biggest heavyweight fights in the UFC.
Shane Carwin (4-0 UFC, 12-0 MMA) won the interim belt after defeating Frank Mir at UFC 111. No one has even got past the first round of a fight with Carwin as fighter after fighter gets KOed by the striker or saved by the ref awarding a TKO.
Brock Lesnar (3-1 UFC, 4-1 MMA) is a former professional and amateur wrestler who took the heavyweight title from Randy Couture and then successfully defended it against Frank Mir who had defeated Lesnar in his UFC debut. Lesnar packs plenty of power, but his strength is his speed and grappling ability.
Lesnar is the early UFC 116 odds favorite going in at -175 while Carwin pays +135.
