Photo/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesThere are doubles. There are blast doubles. And then there are Brock Lesnar train wreck doubles.
You can witness the difference, but only those who have felt the shoulder of a 265-pound man crunching their rib know the pain. In college it was dozens upon dozens of opponents each falling victim to the NCAA champion's mat-crossing, high amplitude feats. In the Octagon it has been a smattering of fighters, but if Lesnar is hoping to for another shot at the UFC title he will need to do it at least one more time.
Next up for the former UFC heavyweight champion is Alistair Overeem, who Lesnar will meet in the Octagon on Dec. 30 at UFC 141 in Las Vegas. Overeem is one of the most feared strikers in the heavyweight division, leveling opponents with heavy fists and quick kicks. It is a skill set Lesnar will hope to counter with his powerful double leg.
Both fighters showed latitude this week at the UFC press conference by acknowledging that given their matrix of mass and aggressiveness, that the fight was unlikely to reach a five round decision. "This is a heavyweight fight that we're both going in to finish," said Lesnar. "I don't foresee it going five rounds."
The key to Lesnar's success next Saturday will be finding the correct timing to land a big takedown without being clipped by the Dutchman's array of kicks and punches. It's a gamble that the UFC brass seems willing to take with their most marketable star, Lesnar is the promotion's largest pay-per-view draw.
Lesnar's biggest lesson about what not to do in Saturday's fight might come from the last opponent to defeat him inside the Octagon, former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. Velasquez fought current champ Junior dos Santos on UFC on FOX 1, where many expected that the former All-American wrestler from Arizona State would attempt to move the fight to the ground, where he would feel more comfortable issuing a ground and pound and avoiding the superior boxing of the Brazilian. However, instead of a horizontal hip shuffle, Velasquez inexplicably opted to stand and trade with JDS. It was Velasquez's first defeat.
Though wrestling as a sport and training ground has proven to be the most powerful asset in MMA, it's the double leg that has been the most utilized and transferable skill, even picked up by Just ask Josh Koscheck, who gave up several double legs in his first loss to uber technique-minded Georges St. Pierre. Even though wrestlers in MMA were once decried by basement bloggers more interested in stand-and-trade boxing than mixed martial arts, the wrestling-first approach is becoming more successful for more fighters. At the core of that guiding skill set is the ability to hit an open double, a skill that this year won America's Jordan Burroughs a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the World Championships.
Overeem, the Strikeforce transplant with 10 kickboxing wins, including a TKO in the finals of the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix, has been a stand-up expert in his last four fights -- finishing three of those with his feet, hands and knees. It is a powerful combination of skills but lost in the exultation of his striking ability is his solid submission game, which includes four straight submission victories in 2008 and 2009.
Lesnar's not without some wrestler-based jiu-jitsu, withstanding submission attempts by Frank Mir in their second fight and tapping former top contender Shane Carwin with an arm triangle at UFC 116 in 2010 - a submission set up by a double leg.
For Lesnar to navigate the potent pugilism and adept submission game, and for the UFC to retain its hottest commodity, the former Minnesota wrestler will have to trust the most dependable of his skills. Should Overeem land shots like Velasquez did against Lesnar then the former WWE star might be headed back to the bright lights of the organization that propelled him into stardom.
And that is whole different type of train wreck.
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