Lesnar overcomes first-round onslaught, hands Carwin first defeat

The question must have been posed to Shane Carwin at least 100 times last week.

"How are you going to handle it when an opponent finally gets through the first round against you?"

Brock Lesnar provided the answer, though he almost became just another victim of an early Carwin knockout.

Lesnar survived an onslaught of punches in the first round and made quick work of Carwin once the second round began to retain the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 116 at the MGM Grand Garden on Saturday.

Lesnar was the first of Carwin's 13 opponents to last beyond the first round, and the interim champion showed he had little left in the tank after punishing Lesnar early.

"I was going for the kill there," Carwin said. "Brock's a tough son of a bitch."

Lesnar secured a takedown early in the second round and quickly worked to improve his position. He locked in an arm triangle and had all his weight pushing down on Carwin, who was forced to tap out at the 2:19 mark.

Lesnar said he felt Carwin getting tired near the end of the first round.

"He's got some heavy shots. I just had to hang around," Lesnar said. "I knew he was getting tired. Each shot was less dramatic."

It was the first fight in a year for Lesnar, who survived a career-threatening bout with diverticulitis, an intestinal illness, late last year.

"This is about my family. This is about my doctors. This is about my training partners," Lesnar said. "I am blessed by God. I stand before you a humble champion, but I'm still the toughest SOB you'll ever meet."

Lesnar tipped his strategy in the opening seconds. He charged in and tried to take down Carwin, but after going to one knee, Carwin scrambled back up and punished Lesnar with a knee to the head for his efforts.

Moments later, Carwin rocked Lesnar with a straight right and a left hook that sent him back against the cage. Several more punches forced Lesnar to cradle against the fence and Carwin opened up the attack.

At several points, it appeared referee Josh Rosenthal would step in to stop the fight. Lesnar was able to block enough punches to hold off that decision, and he eventually mounted a limited counterattack from the precarious position.

"He hit me pretty good and I ended up on the ground," Lesnar said. "I just had to go in survival mode and stay busy. I really have to thank the referee for allowing that thing to go on. I wasn't really hurt."

Lesnar came out for the second round with new life and his early takedown attempt was met with less resistance.

It was one of several highly entertaining bouts on the card.

Chris Leben and Stephan Bonnar, both former cast members on the original season of "The Ultimate Fighter," pulled off dramatic victories in action-packed fights.

Leben won his second fight in two weeks by submitting Yoshihiro Akiyama with a triangle choke late in the third round.

The two exchanged wild flurries, and Leben was able to hold his own on the feet as expected. But it was on the mat where Leben was able to finish the accomplished ground fighter. Akiyama found himself in a triangle choke and was forced to tap out with just 20 seconds remaining in the fight.

Bonnar got a chance to avenge a controversial loss to Krzystof Soszynski and took full advantage of the opportunity.

Bonnar and Soszynski picked up right where they left off in February, trading furious exchanges all over the cage.

In the first bout, Bonnar lost after he was cut by a headbutt that was missed by the referee. There was no such controversy in the rematch.

Both fighters landed several huge shots, but Bonnar eventually won after dropping Soszynski with a right knee to the forehead. Bonnar followed and dropped a barrage of punches until the fight was stopped.

"There was no way I was losing this fight," Bonnar said. "They weren't taking this one away from me."

Also, Chris Lytle escaped a tight choke attempt from Matt Brown in the first round, then pulled off his own nifty submission in the second round. Lytle used several slick transitions to lock in a mounted triangle, then secured a simultaneous armbar to force Brown to verbally submit.

George Sotiropoulos opened the main card by winning a unanimous decision against Kurt Pellegrino.

On the Spike-televised portion of the card, Brendan Schaub took only 1:07 to knock out Chris Tuchscherer, and Ricardo Romero submitted Seth Petruzelli with an armbar in the second round.

Kendall Grove and Daniel Roberts each won by split decision on the undercard, and Jon Madsen took a unanimous decision. Gerald Harris knocked out Dave Branch with a slam.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.