Maybe Tim Sylvia needs to be a fortune teller on a boardwalk somewhere. The former UFC champ is turning out to be an MMA Nostradamus of sorts. This makes it two straight fights where Lesnar reacted horribly to getting hit. Frankly, no fighter likes to get nailed in the grill but 99 percent deal with it, either firing back and getting into a good defensive position. Lesnar has turned his back or literally ran away from his opponent on two occasions. Sylvia described this sort of thing happening back in 2007:
"I don’t think he’s going to have a future in MMA. I think Frank Mir is going to beat him," Sylvia told meon FoxSportsRadio1460 before UFC 81. "He’s a baby. Don’t kick him, he doesn’t want to get hurt. He’s a helluva wrestler and he’s strong. But he can’t punch and doesn’t know how to kick. He can only go straight forward. He can’t survive as just a takedown guy."
Some Lesnar's first experience in MMA was working with Sylvia at Pat Miletich's gym in Iowa. According to Dana White, it doesn't look like much has changed.
"People were saying to me, 'he's got to work on his striking.' His striking is fine when he's the one doing the punching. It's when he's getting hit is when his striking falls apart," White told ESPN's MMA Live. "And that's something he needs to work on. It takes time. This guy came from wrestling. These guys are used to getting punched in the face."
Lesnar may have to allow himself to get bullied on a regular basis in the gym.
"He needs to work on sparring. It's more about getting into the gym and working with guys who are really good."
Can Lesnar close this major hole in his game? It's kind of tough to be a fighter if you can't accept being hit. Is this a learned trait or innate?
Tip on Sylvia quote courtesy MMAMania
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