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tl;dr: Carwin's only aspect of his MMA game that was above average was his power
Inspired by some Carwin threads I've been seeing lately, including the one where people think he would dispatch of Jones easily/be the HW champion current day, I felt like making this thread.
IMO, Shane Carwin was simply not that good. While he had power, known for being able to knock people into the shadow realm without really winding up, he lacked a lot of other things. His wrestling never really came to fruition in the octagon. His striking, while powerful, was not technically sound to say the least. His striking defense was also VERY well below par, which is a death sentence in the UFC's HW division, which was showcased when he faced an excellent technical striker for the first time in JDS. Even before he faced JDS, he had a multitude of problems in the standup portion of almost every fight.
He was being outstruck by all of his prior UFC opponents before the Lesnar fight, until he won. Again, credit to his heart and durability, but it's not the most ideal path for a healthy career. He was outstruck by Weillisch, Neil Wain (yes, really), Gonzaga, and Mir before he won those fights. Wellisch was never anything to write home about. Neil Wain was essentially a tough guy brawler that was getting the better of Carwin as well. Gonzaga landed and rung Carwin's bell twice. Mir was the only one that landed anything in the striking portion of the fight, and even landed a crushing elbow against Carwin against the cage. Once again, top notch heart to get through it and devastating power to come back and win, but losing literally every fight in the standup this way is worth noting.
His wrestling like I said, never came to fruition. He was stuffed by Neil Wain (who again, was just a brawler). Mir, who isn't known for his TDD by any means at the time, threw a combination, Shane ducked underneath it for a double and was still stuffed without problem. He was also taken down by Gonzaga. We have a powerful guy, but a very hittable one that couldn't dictate where the fight went place unless he pushed someone against the cage. Not likely people would make the same mistake Mir did.
Carwin has one top 10 win, and it was against Mir who came in with the most mind-blowingly idiotic gameplan imaginable. He also had a very limited gastank, which was showcased in the Lesnar fight.
Tough, fun guy to watch, but when your only claim to fame is power, in a division where even the most average guy has one punch KO power, it's hard to say he'd be overly good.
Inspired by some Carwin threads I've been seeing lately, including the one where people think he would dispatch of Jones easily/be the HW champion current day, I felt like making this thread.
IMO, Shane Carwin was simply not that good. While he had power, known for being able to knock people into the shadow realm without really winding up, he lacked a lot of other things. His wrestling never really came to fruition in the octagon. His striking, while powerful, was not technically sound to say the least. His striking defense was also VERY well below par, which is a death sentence in the UFC's HW division, which was showcased when he faced an excellent technical striker for the first time in JDS. Even before he faced JDS, he had a multitude of problems in the standup portion of almost every fight.
He was being outstruck by all of his prior UFC opponents before the Lesnar fight, until he won. Again, credit to his heart and durability, but it's not the most ideal path for a healthy career. He was outstruck by Weillisch, Neil Wain (yes, really), Gonzaga, and Mir before he won those fights. Wellisch was never anything to write home about. Neil Wain was essentially a tough guy brawler that was getting the better of Carwin as well. Gonzaga landed and rung Carwin's bell twice. Mir was the only one that landed anything in the striking portion of the fight, and even landed a crushing elbow against Carwin against the cage. Once again, top notch heart to get through it and devastating power to come back and win, but losing literally every fight in the standup this way is worth noting.
His wrestling like I said, never came to fruition. He was stuffed by Neil Wain (who again, was just a brawler). Mir, who isn't known for his TDD by any means at the time, threw a combination, Shane ducked underneath it for a double and was still stuffed without problem. He was also taken down by Gonzaga. We have a powerful guy, but a very hittable one that couldn't dictate where the fight went place unless he pushed someone against the cage. Not likely people would make the same mistake Mir did.
Carwin has one top 10 win, and it was against Mir who came in with the most mind-blowingly idiotic gameplan imaginable. He also had a very limited gastank, which was showcased in the Lesnar fight.
Tough, fun guy to watch, but when your only claim to fame is power, in a division where even the most average guy has one punch KO power, it's hard to say he'd be overly good.
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