UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin

Carwin saw opponent "go out a few times," but Lesnar praises ref for not halting fight

Should Josh Rosenthal have halted Saturday's UFC 116 main event in the first round?

Interim title-holder Shane Carwin blasted heavyweight champ and fellow co-headliner Brock Lesnar with 57 punches in the round, and though he came close, Rosenthal never halted the bout to award him the TKO win.

But you won't hear any complaints from Carwin, who eventually suffered a submission loss in the following round.

Rosenthal, of course, walked a very tight line during the main-event fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. He didn't want Lesnar to absorb unnecessary punishment, but he also didn't want to halt a still-competitive fight.

UFC president Dana White and Lesnar have praised the ref's performance.

But what about Carwin, who lost the most by Rosenthal's decision to let the fight continue?

"I felt Brock go out a few times," he today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) via text message. "But it is the ref's job to call the fight, and mine is to finish the fight."

Carwin, of course, came oh-so close to doing just that. According to CompuStrike.com, he landed 57 first-round blows, 47 of which were ground shots that came after he dazed Lesnar with an early uppercut. As blood poured from his face and Lesnar struggled to defend and improve his position, Rosenthal nearly halted the fight on more than one occasion.

Lesnar, though, survived. And by the second round, Carwin was slowed by what he described as a "whole-body cramp" that took his legs out from under him.

Lesnar (5-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who returned from a one-year layoff due to diverticulitis and other health problems, then scored a takedown that set up the fight-ending arm-triangle choke midway through the round. Although literally just a punch or two away from the victory, Carwin (12-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) instead suffered the first loss of his career.

Lesnar, though, admits he was playing with fire. But as Carwin's punches became less and less effective, he knew he could survive the round.

"[Rosenthal] did come to me before the fight and said to me, 'Heaven forbid, if the fight gets ugly and somebody's getting in a bad situation, you have to show me something that you're still staying alive down there,'" Lesnar said. "That just kept going through my mind. 'I've got to keep moving.' I could feel Shane. Every punch was less and less and less and less. I knew that the worst was done.

"I really have to thank the referee for allowing that thing go on."

Even White, who's notoriously blunt with critiques of referees, raved about Rosenthal's performance.

"When the fight was first starting, I looked at (UFC CEO) Lorenzo (Feritta), and you guys know how critical I am about this stuff," White said. "I said, 'How the hell did Josh Rosenthal get this fight?'

"Listen, I don't know Herb Dean. I've probably said five words to Herb Dean in my entire life. I just think that Herb Dean is the greatest ref in the history of the world. When guys are in there, I wish Herb was in every fight. But I want to say Josh Rosenthal did a fantastic job, and I apologize for badmouthing him before he did nothing wrong."

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jarrod2323 said:

I love the fact that Pugz has to continue wearing that avatar!!! LOL

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MAIN CARD FIGHTERS:

-Brock Lesnar: $400,000 (no win bonus) def. Shane Carwin: $40,000

-Chris Leben: $86,000 (includes $43,000 win bonus) def. Yoshihiro Akiyama: $45,000

-Chris Lytle: $52,000 (includes $26,000 win bonus) def. Matt Brown: $10,000

-Stephan Bonnar: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus) def. Krzysztof Soszynski: $10,000

-George Sotiropoulos: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Kurt Pellegrino: $25,000

PRELIMINARY CARD (SPIKE TV) FIGHTERS:

-Brendan Schaub: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Chris Tuchscherer: $12,000

-Ricardo Romero: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Seth Petruzelli: $10,000

PRELIMINARY CARD (NON-TELEVISED) FIGHTERS:

-Kendall Grove: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus) def. Goran Reljic: $5,000

-Gerald Harris: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. David Branch: $6,000

-Daniel Roberts: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus) def. Forrest Petz: $6,000

-Jon Madsen: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Karel Vemola: $8,000

UFC 116 DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $923,000

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