Heroes & Villains

Brock Lesnar keeps getting better and better, which is bad, bad news for MMA heavyweight fighters.

In his return to the Octagon after a yearlong absence, the new-and-improved Brock Lesnar showcased his survival skills and his submission skills Saturday night against Shane Carwin in the main event of UFC 116 in Las Vegas. After withstanding an onslaught of damaging punches from Carwin in the first round, Lesnar, despite being bloodied and badly cut, rebounded and used a well-executed triangle choke hold to force the interim heavyweight champion to tap out at the 2:19 mark of the second round.

A fight billed as the biggest fight in UFC history was over in two rounds, and Lesnar reclaimed his UFC heavyweight championship belt and reestablished himself as the most dominant heavyweight fighter in the MMA world.

Not bad for a guy who seven years ago was the World Wrestling Entertainment champion and took part in a choreographed Royal Rumble; although he still tends to get WWE-ish whenever he gets a hold of a microphone on stage.

"I stand before you a humble champion. And I'm still the toughest S.O.B. around," Lesnar told a pumped up crowd inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Who will argue that he's the toughest S.O.B. around?

In his last three fights, Lesnar has made Randy Couture look extremely old, knocked out Frank Mir to avenge his only loss and made the previously unbeaten Carwin tap out. Who is next? Fedor? Cain?

Fedor Emelianenko recently lost his aura of invincibility after tasting defeat last month and Cain Velazquez is 20 pounds lighter than Lesnar so, if 265-pound Carwin can't take him out, Cain certainly won't be able to hurt Lesnar. A rematch with Carwin seems plausible, unless Fedor finally steps up to the plate and jump into the UFC mix.

Despite having just six UFC fights in his career, Lesnar (5-1) has already mastered the art of intimidation and domination with a mixture of patience and execution. He has transformed from a strictly ground-and-pound fighter to a more technically sound martial artist, with still room to improve.

"You have to evolve as a fighter. I just think everyday you gotta get better," the former NCAA wrestling champion told MMA analyst Kenny Florian.

In had been a year of recovery for Lesnar, 32, sidelined by mononucleosis and then diagnosed with diverticulitis, a condition in which an inflammation and a tear occur in the intestinal wall. The life-threatening illness was probably the toughest opponent Lesnar had ever faced in his life, so if he can survive that then fighting in the Octagon is a walk in the park.

"I'm just glad to be here. It's been a crazy, crazy year for me. It's been a roller-coaster ride," said Lesnar, who even cracked a smile as the second round began and surprisingly touched gloves with Carwin.

Carwin (12-1) was supposed to present Lesnar not only his biggest challenge but his most lethal. Both men entered the Octagon close to 265 pounds, and Lesnar is listed at 6-foot-3 and Carwin at 6-4. None of Carwin's 12 previous opponents had gotten past the first round and seven of them were by way of knockout.

Carwin, 35, tried to take out Lesnar in the opening round as he peppered the big man with some vicious punches, and knocked him down with a hard uppercut. Carwin got on top of Lesnar and continued to pound on his face. But Lesnar somehow survived the barrage, and once he got back on his feet the tide started to turn in his favor.

In the second round, Lesnar shook off the slow start and executed a perfect takedown. Once he was on top of his opponent, Lesnar used his wrestling skills to set up Carwin for a triangle choke, an arm hold that Carwin was unable to break free from and he eventually had to tap out.

"I probably came out there a little too cool in the first round," said Lesnar, who had not fought since July of 2009. "I'm not happy about the first round at all. I didn't show my skills very well, Shane won the first round no doubt about that. But we sealed the deal in the second."